Relative Pronoun

Relative Pronoun

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause.

Example: The person who called me last night is my teacher.

Subject	Object	Possessive
who	Who/whom	whose
which	which	whose
that	that

Who

We use who in relative clauses to refer to people, and sometimes to pet animals. We use it to introduce defining and non-defining relative clauses:

The man who called you is my friend.

Some children who are under sixteen dropped out from the school.

The woman who discovered spoon is an Indian.

I have a friend who speaks five languages.

That’s the dog who doesn’t like me.

My brother who is a doctor has gone to America. - Defining clause

My brother, who is a doctor, has gone to America. - Non defining clause

The first sentence means that the speaker has several brothers, and the clause who is a doctor distinguishes a particular one of them. In the second, the clause does not define and the implication is that the speaker has only one brother.

Whom/Who – object

The customer whom /who you called is here.

This is the girl whom/who all praise.

I was invited by the teacher whom/who I met at the competition.

The police officer to whom I gave my passport wrote down my information.

He remembered the person with whom he had shared his room.

Language lab in schools is particularly good for pupils for whom English is a second language.

Whose - possessive

Ram whose father is an engineer is a brilliant student.

The woman whose name is Ginka is on the phone.

The teacher whose teaching methodology is amusing teaches at MLCK.

These are the boys whose exercises are done well

Do you know the boy whose father is a politician?

Which

We use which in relative clauses to refer to animals and to things.

Example:

The car which hit me was yellow.

The moment whichis lost is lost forever.

He gives me the book which I found very useful.

The dog whichI recently sold is Alsatian.

It is the picture which I saw at the art exhibition.

That

We use that instead of who, whom or which in relative clauses to refer to people, animals and things.

Example:

He remembers one lesson that his mum had taught him.

Don’t take money that doesn’t belong to you.

It’s the same ring that my brother has.

He that is not with me is against me.

This is the boy that I told you of.

I know the house that he lives in.

All that I said had no effect on him.

Contact clause

We leave out the relative pronoun (who/which/that) if it is not the subject in the sentence.

Example:

This is the boy who I met at the party/ This is the boy I met at the party.

Exercises

Write the correct pronoun

1.       I talked to the girl ..............................car had broken down in front of the shop.

2.       Mr Randy....................... is a driver, lives near the market.

3.       We often visit our aunt in Sainthamaruthu......................  is in Kalmunai Municipality.

4.       This is the doctor...........................comes from China.

5.       That's Subash, the boy......................  has secured first palace in javelin.

6.       Thank you very much for your book ..................was very interesting.

7.       The man, father is a professor, forgot his umbrella.

8.       The doctor ..................she visited is famous.

9.       The children, ........................played in the street, are not from our school.

10.   The car,........................driver is a young man, is from  Malikaikadu.

11.   What did you do with the money ...................... your mother lent you?

12.   The boy to .......................... you spoke is my cousin.

13.   Do you know the girl................. I danced with?

14.   The apples ......................... are on the table are bad. 

15.   The apples .................... we bought in the shop are bad.

16.   He is the doctor ......................I will see this afternoon.

17.   John is the boy ........................... father is a painter.

18.   The gloves ............................ I lost at school yesterday are my father’s.

19.   We will stay at a hotel ......................... my friend has recommended to us. 

20.   That is a museum .......................... I like very much.

21.   This is the man .................. lives in Switzerland.

22.   This is the man ................ built our house.

23.   There is the bridge ..............................we have to cross.

24.   She is the girl ...................... I saw at the party last night.

25.   The bus .............................takes you to the station should be here any minute.

26.   This is the dog ..................... barks every night.

27.   This is the painting ....................... Mr.Shaw showed us last week.

28.   The magazine ...................... you lent me is interesting.

Make one sentence from the two short ones using relative pronoun.

1. She worked for a man. The man used to be an athlete.

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2. They called a lawyer. The lawyer lived nearby.

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3. I sent an email to my brother. My brother lives in Australia.

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4. The customer liked the waitress. The waitress was very friendly.

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5. We broke the computer. The computer belonged to my father.

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6. I dropped a glass. The glass was new.

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7. She loves story books. The story books have happy endings.

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8. They live in a city. The city is in Northern Province.

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9. The man is in the garden. The man is wearing a blue shirt.

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10. The girl works in a bank. The girl is from America.

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11. My brother has three children. My brother lives in Maldives.

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12. The money is in the kitchen. The money belongs to servant.

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13. The table got broken. The table was my grandmother’s.

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14. The television was stolen. The television was bought 20 years ago.

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15. The fruit is on the table. The fruit isn’t fresh.

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Underline most suitable pronoun

1. The people ..................... moved in next door seem very friendly

1.       who

2.       whom

3.       which

 2. Where are the people ...................... ordered the taxi?

1.       that

2.       which

3. I’ve lost the paper ........................ I had written her phone number on

1.       whose

2.       that

4. The day ...................... I started work there was a disaster

1.       which

2.       that

3.       where

5. The man .................... Interviewed you is the boss

1.       that

2.       who

3.       which

6. The man .................... house was robbed has still not been paid by the insurance company

1.       which

2.       that

3.       whose

7. He’s got three dogs, all of ...................are aggressive

1.       which

2.       that

8. You should complain to the people .................... supplied it

1.       who

2.       which

9. They arrested the man ........................ was over the alcohol limit

1.       that

2.       which

3.       whom

10. The pub, ....................... lost its licence, has been turned into a shop

1.       which

2.       that

Complete the sentences with the information in brackets.

a. (we met some people) The people we met were very nice.

b. (I’m wearing shoes) The shoes __________________________________ are not very comfortable.

c. (you’re reading a book) What’s the name of the ________________________________________?

d. (I wrote a letter to her) She didn’t get the _____________ I _______________________________.

e. (you gave me an umbrella) I’ve lost __________________________________________________.

f. (they invited some people to dinner) The people ______________________________ didn’t come.

Indefinite pronoun

Singular indefinite pronouns.- Another, Anybody, Anyone, Anything, Each, Either, Everybody, Everyone, Everything, Neither, Nobody, No one, Nothing, One, Somebody, Something, Someone, less, much, little, other, enough,

There are three houses, and each has its own flag and colour

Someone is about to arrive.

Everything is going as planned

Everyone clapped when the drama ended.

Somebody rang the doorbell.

Plural indefinite pronouns:  both, Few, many, several

Several students passed the exam.

Many missed the bus.

Some indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural- all, any, either, none, some, more, most.

Most of the work is finished.

Most of the books are out of date.

Reciprocal pronoun

·         each other- ஒருவருக்கொருவர்

two people

·          one another - ஒருவருக்கு மற்றொருவர்

more than two

Example:

Peter and Jud hate each other.

Both teams played hard against each other.

They can't see each other.

The parliamentarians were all blaming one another.

Our two dogs and your cat love one another

The sisters were hugging one another.

               

Each Other or One Another

1. Jumana and Sathiya have met _____________________________.

2. Kumarika, Kosila and Kokila gave _____________________________ a book.

3. Three children talked to _____________________________.

 4. I and my uncle talk to _____________________________ every day.

5. She and her brother stopped talking and looked at _____________________________.

6. John and his mother bought _____________________________ presents for Christmas.

7. My cat and his dog looked at _____________________________ with dread.

8. Barbara's three sons and their father hate _____________________________.

9. I think that all people should love _____________________________.No matter where they live.

10. Jahana and Mubarak looked at _____________________________.I would say he looked at her with admiration.