Illustration for Relative Clauses: Adding Information Without Starting a New Sentence

Relative Clauses: Adding Information Without Starting a New Sentence

ByNathan Cole

A relative clause attaches extra information to a noun without breaking the sentence in two:

  • Two sentences: I met a woman. She had climbed Everest.
  • One: I met a woman who had climbed Everest.

The relative pronouns

  • who — people, as the subject. the man who called
  • whom — people, as the object. the man whom I called
  • which — things. the book which arrived
  • that — people or things, in essential clauses. the book that arrived
  • whose — possession, people or things. the woman whose car it was
  • where, when — places and times. the town where I grew up

Whose is not restricted to people, despite the name: a house whose roof was leaking is correct, and the alternative — a house the roof of which was leaking — is why nobody objects to it.

The comma changes the meaning

This is the part that matters most, and it is covered fully in our guide to which and that. In short:

  • My brother who lives in Leeds is a doctor. — no commas, so the clause identifies which brother. It implies you have more than one.
  • My brother, who lives in Leeds, is a doctor. — commas, so the clause is extra. You have one brother.

Two commas, and the reader now knows how many siblings you have.

When you can leave the pronoun out

English lets you drop the relative pronoun when it is the object of the clause:

  • The book that I read → The book I read. Fine.
  • The book that arrived → The book arrived. Not fine — now it is a different sentence.

The test: if another subject follows the pronoun, you can drop it. In the book that I read, I is the subject, so that is droppable. In the book that arrived, that is the subject itself.

This only works in essential clauses. Never drop the pronoun from a clause sitting between commas.

Reduced clauses

Relative clauses can be compressed further, which is how experienced writers keep sentences tight:

  • The man who is standing there → the man standing there
  • The report which was written in May → the report written in May
  • Anyone who is interested should apply → anyone interested should apply

Watch for dangling modifiers when reducing — the participle must still attach to the right noun.

The common errors

  • Doubling the object. The book that I read it was good. The pronoun already stands for the book.
  • What for that. The book what I read is non-standard.
  • Wrong pronoun for people. The man which called → who.
  • Distance. The report on the desk which was late — was the desk late? Keep the clause next to its noun.

Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.

Nathan Cole writes the adjective guides and word lists on Grammar Simplified. Every guide he publishes is checked against Merriam-Webster for spelling and usage, the Chicago Manual of Style for punctuation, and the AP Stylebook where a convention is specific to web writing. Where a rule is genuinely disputed among those authorities, he says so in the guide rather than picking a side quietly. Corrections are welcome and get acted on — see the editorial policy.

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