Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns operate as redundancy for subjects or objects which are referred to in a relative clause. The most accepted ones are: who, whom, which, that and whose.
who
can only be used for people
used in questions: which people or group, i.e. Who told you that?
points out which person or group is being referred to, i.e This is the girl who wanted to see you.
used to add further information
whom
used as the object form of who,
i.e. The student to whom I was
openminded is a scientist now.
only in very formal writing
If you like to be old-fashion formal, use "whom" in writing and formal styles to refer to the person, when the person is the object.
whose
'whose' has a possessive meaning, belongs to who, i.e. Whose book is this? I wonder whose book that is.
Preposition + whose as a complement is more formal, i.e. Elisabeth Purple, with whose colleague she used to teach, immigrated to Slovakia.
which
replaces the subject, only for things, not people
refers to objects, can be left out with no Change in meaning
object + preposition, i.e. the place at which she arrived
add information, i.e. The class, which was well prepared, was a success.
That
does NOT like commas.
Which
is bad with people.
that
used for subjects: which are things and animals
can be used for a person, who has a superlative complement, i.e. best answer , greatest solution, smallest bit of information
can be left out, when it represents an object
- Use the boxes with the bookmarks for your notes.
- Pair-up and hide your
treasure
(3 squares horizontal, vertical or diagonal) in your chart. - Your partner has the same chart, now try to locate the treasure of your partner,
by using relative pronouns.
e.g. "Have you heard of a teacher who does funny games?
Direct hit: Mrs. Daddle is a teacher who does funny games.
Missed: No I have not heard of … - Who found the treasure first?
Have fun!
A | B | C | D | |
1 | ... a fish lives in an anemone? Nemo | ... a stone only consitst out of carbon? Diamond | ... an animal finds water on three legs? elephant | ... a tree leafs are needles? pine |
2 | … a nation built geometrical memorials? Egypt | ... a city is famous for salt? Lüneburg | ... a prince just got married? Prince Harry | ... an ocean in you can float ? Dead Sea |
3 | ... a fruit should keep the doctor away? apple | ... a dog tonge is blue? Chow-Chow | ... a country president uses only 140 letter messages? Trump | ... a fairy tale character grandma turns into a wolf? Red Riding Hood |
4 | ... a student shall be a know-it-all? Hermione | ... a pedagogy in children can dance there names? Waldorf | ... a girl friends are a horse and a monkey? Pippi Longstocking | ... a vegetable the Germans go crazy about? Asparagus |
