Relative Clauses

ივარჯიშე — Relative Clauses

Relative clauses give extra information about a noun. They use relative pronouns (who, which, that, where, whose) to connect the clause to the noun it describes.

Rule

Use 'who' for people, 'which' for things/animals, 'that' for both people and things (in defining clauses only), 'where' for places, and 'whose' for possession. Defining clauses (no commas) give essential information. Non-defining clauses (with commas) add extra, non-essential information — 'that' cannot be used in non-defining clauses.

Noun + who/which/that/where/whose + rest of clause

Examples

Who (people)The teacher who taught us English has retired.

Which (things)The book which I borrowed from the library was fascinating.

Where (places)That's the cafe where we first met.

Whose (possession)The student whose phone rang in class turned bright red.

Non-defining clauseMy sister, who lives in London, is visiting us next week.

Exam Tip

First ask: is this about a person, thing, or place? Person = who/that, thing = which/that, place = where, possession = whose. Then check for commas — if you see commas, it's non-defining, so you cannot use 'that'.

Common Errors

!Using 'which' for people: 'The girl which helped me' instead of 'The girl who helped me'.
!Using 'what' instead of 'that/which': 'The thing what I need' instead of 'The thing that I need'.
!Forgetting commas in non-defining clauses: 'My brother who is a doctor lives in Batumi' when it should be 'My brother, who is a doctor, lives in Batumi' (if you only have one brother).
!Using 'that' in non-defining clauses: 'Tbilisi, that is the capital of Georgia' instead of 'Tbilisi, which is the capital of Georgia'.