Tips and Tricks and Shortcuts for Relative Pronoun

Tip 1:

Relative Pronouns act as adjectives in the subordinating clause describing the main noun

The woman who stole my purse was never found again

The book that has been read by the wise always gives motivation

The the two sentence, the relative pronoun points to the noun that is the main subject. (who) points to the noun (woman) and (that) points to the noun (book).

The adjectives here are:

• Never found again – describes that the main subject was missing.
• Read by the wise – describe the book which is read by wise people

Tip 2:

We use comma to separate non-restrictive clause with the main cause. Do not use comma with a restrictive clause.

A restrictive clause is one that adds meaning to a sentence and hence cannot be omitted. In such a case, do not use comma with a restrictive clause.

For Example:

To study for the examination, the students need theory books that are written by eminent philosophers.

A non-restrictive clause on the other hand does add meaning to a sentence but this meaning or information is not very important. This clause can be removed from the sentence and will still make no difference. Such a clause is set off with a comma.

For Example:

To study for the examination, the students need elaborate theory books, which are written by eminent philosophers, a month prior.

Tip 3:

Choosing what type of relative pronoun will go in a sentence depends upon what type noun it is referring to.

Here are some rules for relative pronoun:

• Use that for restrictive cause and which for non-restrictive clause
• Use ‘which’ only for objects, ‘who’ for people and ‘that’ for both things and people (only to refer to a group or class collectively)
  • The teachers couldn’t believe that a student who would always fail in English has topped in the final examinations
  • The family that eat together, stays together.
• We use ‘who’ to refer to the subjects while ‘whom’ is used of objects of the verb in a sentence.
  
  • I am bringing flower for the boy whom I love
  • The boy who I love is bringing flowers for me

Tip 4:

Using Preposition with Relative Pronoun

We use a preposition at the beginning of a clause or in the end with a relative pronoun – who(m), that, which.

For Example:

In the beginning of the clause:

• I have a friend in the neighborhood, from who(m) I can borrow the notebooks
• He bought a new racket, with which he plays badminton.

At the end of the clause:

• I have a friend in the neighborhood, who(m) I can borrow the notebooks from.
• He bought a new racket, which he plays badminton with.

However, we use a preposition only at the end of the clause when we use ‘that’.

• I didn’t know  I had a friend that  I could borrow the notebooks from
• He couldn’t find the racket that he plays badminton with