Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

4.7.1.1.1.1: Relative Clauses (Who / Whom)

  • Page ID
    122472
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Relative Clauses (Who / Whom)

    Exercise 21:  Combine the following sentences by making the second sentence a relative clause.  If replacing a subject, use who; if replacing an object, use whom.   Remember to make the second sentence part of the first sentence.

    1.     The two men went into the office.  They had an important meeting to attend.

    2.     I went to the party with John and Bob.  I have known them for many years.

    3.     The teacher forgot to copy the assignment.  He had been very busy with meetings and conferences at school.

    4.     The girls brought their father to the airport.  He had to attend a meeting in San Francisco.

    5.     The mailman delivered the package to my office.  I had never seen him before.

    6.     The baseball players went to the restaurant.  They play for the Seattle Mariners.

    7.     The doctor operated on the man’s heart.  The doctor is famous all over the world.

    8.     My sister-in-law is coming to my house this weekend.  My wife doesn’t like her very much.

    9.     Some students were fighting in the cafeteria.  They used to attend a different school.

    10.  I took my son to his music lesson last Tuesday.  He plays both the piano and violin.

    11.  My sister took care of my brother all the time.  She used to always make dinner for him. 

    12.   Mike and Tom love to play baseball.  I saw them at the mall yesterday.

    13.  I gave Bob a beautiful new baseball glove.  I have known Bob for many years.

    WHICH is a relative pronoun that replaces things and animals.  WHICH replaces both subjects and objects.  As with who and whom, it follows the same rules.  The relative clause follows the noun which it modifies.

    Examples with WHICH

    The book is on the table.  My father gave me the book.
    The book which my father gave me is on the table.

    My dog chewed on the leg of the table.  My dog always destroys things.
    My dog which always destroys things chewed on the leg of the table.

    The students were doing their homework.  I gave them their homework.
    The students were doing their homework which I gave them.


    This page titled 4.7.1.1.1.1: Relative Clauses (Who / Whom) is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Don Bissonnette.

    • Was this article helpful?