Answer key Choose the correct relative pronoun (who, which, whose).

1. This is the bank which (Use which because 'bank' is not a person and no information about
a possession is given. ) was robbed yesterday.

2. A boy whose(Use whose when information about a possession is given (the boy's sister)
sister is in my class was in the bank at that time.

3. The man who(Use who because 'man' is a person and no information about a possession
is given. )robbed the bank had two pistols. 4. He wore a mask which (Use which because 'mask' is not a person and no information about a possession is given. )made him look like Mickey Mouse. 5. He came with a friend who (Use who because 'friend' is a person and no information about a possession is given. ) waited outside in the car. 6. The woman who ( Use who because 'woman' is a person and no information about a possession is given. ) gave him the money was young. 7. The bag where (it refers to the place. ) contained the money was yellow. 8. The people who (Use who because 'people' is used for persons and no information about a possession is given. ) were in the bank were very frightened. 9. A man whose (Use whose when information about a possession is given (the man's mobile) ) mobile was ringing did not know what to do. 10. A woman whose (Use whose when information about a possession is given (the woman's daughter) ) daughter was crying tried to calm her. 11. The car which (Use which because 'car' is not a person and no information about a possession is given. ) the bank robbers escaped in was orange. 12. The robber whose (Use whose when information about a possession is given (the robber's mask) ) mask was obviously too big didn't drive. 13. The man who (Use who because 'man' is a person and no information about a possession is given. ) drove the car was nervous. 14. The reason why they were arrested is he didn't wait at the traffic lights which (Use which because 'traffic lights' is not a person and no information about a possession is given. ) were red. 15. A police officer whose (Use whose when information about a possession is given (the police officer's car) ) car was parked at the next corner stopped and arrested them. Relative clauses - defining or non-defining? Study the situations and then decide whether the following relative clauses are defining or nondefining. defining no commas non-defining commas 1. I have three brothers. My brother who lives in Sidney came to see me last month. Without relative clause: My brother visited me last month. As I have more than one brother, I must define which brother I am talking about. My brother, who lives in Sidney, came to see me last month. 2. I have one sister. My sister who is 25 years old spent her holiday in France. My sister, who is 25 years old, spent her holiday in France. Without relative clause: My sister spent her holiday in France. As I only have one sister, I need not define which sister I am talking about. 3. Bob's mum has lost her keys. Bob's mum who is a musician has lost her car keys. Bob's mum, who is a musician, has lost her car keys. Without relative clause: Bob's mum has lost her car keys. As usually everbody has only one mum, I need not define who exactly I am talking about.

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4. My friend Jane moved to Canada.

My friend Jane whose husband is Canadian moved to Canada last week. My friend Jane, whose husband is Canadian, moved to Canada last week. Without relative clause: My friend Jane moved to Canada last week. The person is identified by her name, so I need not define who exactly I am talking about. 5. I am a shoe fanatic. The shoes which I bought yesterday are very comfortable. Without relative clause: The shoes are very comfortable. Being a shoe fanatic, I own lots of shoes. So I have to define which pair of shoes I am talking about. The shoes, which I bought yesterday, are very comfortable. 6. Mr Robinson is very famous. Mr Robinson whom I met at the trade fair is a famous inventor. Mr Robinson, whom I met at the trade fair, is a famous inventor. Without relative clause: Mr Robinson is a famous inventor. The person is identified by his name, so I need not define who exactly I am talking about. 7. Tamara has two cats. Both of them are black. Tamara's two cats which can play outside are black. Tamara's two cats, which can play outside, are black. Without relative clause: Tamara's two cats are black. As Tamara has only two cats, I need not define which cats I am talking about. 8. Kevin has four cats. Two of them are black. Kevin's two cats which are black can play outside. Without relative clause: Kevin's two cats can play outside. As Kevin has four cats, I must define which of the cats I am talking about. Kevin's two cats, which are black, can play outside. 9. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church. The church which we visited yesterday is very old. Without relative clause: The church is very old. As it could be any church, I must define which church I am talking about. The church, which we visited yesterday, is very old. 10. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church. St. Mary's Church which we visited yesterday is very old. St. Mary's Church, which we visited yesterday, is very old. Without relative clause: St. Mary's Church is very old. The church is identified by its name, so I need not define which church I am talking about. Write relative clauses without using the relative pronoun.

1. I gave you a book. It had many pictures.

The book I gave you had many pictures.In both sentences we find information about the book. The sentence where 'book' is the subject (second sentence, here replaced by its pronoun 'it') is the main information. The additional information ('I gave you') is placed after the subject. The object 'a book' from the first sentence is dropped; the subject 'it' from the second sentence is replaced by 'the book'. 2. I am reading a book at the moment. It is very interesting. The book I am reading at the moment is very interesting.In both sentences we find information about the book. The sentence where 'book' is the subject (second sentence, here replaced by its pronoun 'it') is the main information. The additional information ('I am reading at the moment') is placed after the subject. The object 'a book' from the first sentence is dropped; the subject 'it' from the second sentence is replaced by 'the book'. 3. You live in a town. The town is very old. The town you live in is very old.In both sentences we find information about the town. The sentence where 'town' is the subject (second sentence) is the main information. The additional information ('you live in') is placed after the subject. The object 'a town' from the first sentence is dropped.

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4. The sweets are delicious. I bought them yesterday.

The sweets I bought yesterday are delicious.In both sentences we find information about the sweets. The sentence where 'sweets' is the subject (first sentence) is the main information. The additional information ('I bought yesterday') is placed after the subject. The object 'them' from the second sentence is dropped. 5. The football match was very exciting. My friend played in it. The football match my friend played in was very exciting.In both sentences we find information about the football match. The sentence where 'football match' is the subject (first sentence) is the main information. The additional information ('my friend played in') is placed after the subject. The object 'it' from the second sentence is dropped. 6. The letter hasn't arrived yet. I posted it three days ago. The letter In both sentences we find information about the letter. The sentence where 'letter' is the subject (first sentence) is the main information. The additional information ('I posted three days ago') is placed after the subject. The object 'it' from the second sentence is dropped. 7. He lives in a house. The house is not very big. The house he lives in is not very big.In both sentences we find information about the house. The sentence where 'house' is the subject (second sentence) is the main information. The additional information ('he lives in') is placed after the subject. The object 'a house' from the first sentence is dropped. 8. They are playing a song on the radio. Do you like it? Do you like the song they are playing on the radio?In both sentences we find information about the song. As 'song' is the object in both sentences (in the second sentence it is replaced by 'it'), the information from the first sentence is placed after the information from the second sentence. Note that 'it' must be replaced by 'the song'. 9. Jane wore a beautiful shirt yesterday. Did you see it? Did you see the beautiful shirt Jane wore yesterday?In both sentences we find information about the shirt. As 'shirt' is the object in both sentences (in the second sentence it is replaced by 'it'), the information from the first sentence is placed after the information from the second sentence. Note that 'it' must be replaced by 'the shirt'. 10. Sue is going out with a boy. I don't like him. I don't like the boy Sue is going out with.In both sentences we find information about the boy. As 'boy' is the object in both sentences (in the second sentence it is replaced by 'him'), the information from the first sentence is placed after the information from the second sentence. Note that 'him' must be replaced by 'the boy'.

A holiday in Scotland

1. We spent our holiday in Scotland last year. Scotland is in the north of Great Britain.
Last year we spent our holidays in Scotland, which is in the north of Great Britain.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'Scotland'. This is a non-defining relative clause. Use commas. Which may not be replaced with that. Subject pronouns must always be used. 2. People live in Scotland. They are called Scots. The people who live in Scotland are called Scots.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'people'. This is a defining relative clause (otherwise we wouldn't know 'which people' are meant). Don't use commas. Subject pronouns must always be used. 3. We first went to Edinburgh. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. We first went to Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland.The relative clause must be

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placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'Edinburgh'. This is a non-defining relative clause. Use commas. Which may not be replaced with that. Subject pronouns must always be used. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh. He wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories. Arthur Conan Doyle , who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, was born in Edinburgh.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'Arthur Conan Doyle'. This is a non-defining relative clause. Use commas. Who may not be replaced with that. Subject pronouns must always be used. Then we visited a lake. It is in the Highlands. The lake we then visited is in the Highlands.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'lake'. This is a defining relative clause (we don't mean any lake, but the lake we visited). Don't use commas. In defining relative clauses, the object pronoun can be dropped. Loch Ness is 37 km long. People know it for its friendly monster. Loch Ness , which people know for its friendly monster, is 37 km long.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'Loch Ness'. This is a non-defining relative clause. Use commas. Which may not be replaced with that. In non-defining relative clauses, object pronouns must be used.) There we met an old man. He told us that he had seen Nessie. An old man we met there told us that he had seen Nessie.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'man'. This is a defining relative clause (we don't man any man, but the man we met). Don't use commas. In defining relative clauses, the object pronoun can be dropped. We then travelled to a mountain. The mountain is near the town of Fort William. We then travelled to a mountain which is near the town of Fort William.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'mountain'. This is a defining relative clause (not any mountain, but the one near Fort William). Don't use commas. Subject pronouns must always be used. The mountain is the highest mountain in Great Britain. It is called Ben Nevis. The mountain , which is the highest mountain in Great Britain, is called Ben Nevis.The relative clause must be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'mountain'. This is a non-defining relative clause (as is has been defined in the previous sentence). Use commas. Which may not be replaced with that. Subject pronouns must always be used.

10. I sent you a postcard. It was written on the summit of Ben Nevis. The postcard I sent you was written on the summit of Ben Nevis.The relative clause must
be placed right after what it refers to, which in this case is 'postcard'. This is a defining relative clause (not any postcard, but the one I sent you). Don't use commas. In defining relative clauses, the object pronoun can be dropped.

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