What are defining relative clauses?
A defining relative clause gives essential information about a noun — it tells us which person, thing, or place we are talking about. Without it, the sentence would be unclear.
"The man who called is my boss." (which man? → the one who called)
"I loved the book that you recommended." (which book? → the one you recommended)
"That's the restaurant where we had dinner." (which restaurant? → where we had dinner)
"I loved the book that you recommended." (which book? → the one you recommended)
"That's the restaurant where we had dinner." (which restaurant? → where we had dinner)
Relative pronouns: who, which, that, where
| Pronoun | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people | The woman who lives next door is very friendly. |
| which | things and animals | The car which broke down is at the garage. |
| that | people, things and animals (informal alternative to who/which) | The film that won the prize was amazing. · The person that called was my sister. |
| where | places | The town where I grew up has changed a lot. |
| whose | possession (= of who / of which) | The student whose essay won the prize is from Brazil. |
who or that?
Both "who" and "that" are correct for people in defining clauses: "The man who called" = "The man that called". In informal English, "that" is very common for both people and things. "Which" is never used for people.
When you can omit the pronoun
When the relative pronoun is the object of the relative clause (not the subject), you can leave it out.
Subject relative (cannot omit):
"The man who called me…" — "who" is the subject of "called" → must keep it
Object relative (can omit):
"The book (that) I read…" — "that" is the object of "read" → can omit
"The person (who/that) I met…" — "who" is the object of "met" → can omit
"The man who called me…" — "who" is the subject of "called" → must keep it
Object relative (can omit):
"The book (that) I read…" — "that" is the object of "read" → can omit
"The person (who/that) I met…" — "who" is the object of "met" → can omit
Quick test:
Ask: does the relative clause already have its own subject? "The book that I read" → I is the subject, so "that" is the object → can omit. "The man who called" → who is the subject → cannot omit.
Exercises
Choose the correct relative pronoun.
1. The doctor ___ treated me was very kind.
2. The laptop ___ I bought last year has already broken.
3. That's the café ___ we had our first date.
4. Can you show me the email ___ you received from the manager?
5. She's the student ___ work the teacher praised.