Relative clauses modify nouns just like adjectives do. In fact, relative pronouns are sometimes called adjective pronouns.

We use relative clauses to join two sentences together. It is a shorter way of saying the same thing.

A. A. Milne is an author.

A. A. Milne wrote many books and poems.

We can combine these two sentences together using a relative clause. As you can see, the relative clause 'who' in this sentence replaces the noun 'A. A. Milne'.

A. A. Milne is an author who wrote many books and poems.

Subject

Relative clauses usually begin and end with a relative pronoun. When we use the relative clause as the subject of a sentence, here are the relative pronouns we might use:

for people for things and ideas
who that

Here are some examples of sentences that are combined using relative clauses as subjects. You know it is a subject because the relative pronoun is always followed by a verb.

Two Sentences Using Relative Clauses
Jackie O. was a first lady of the USA. Jackie O. was a first lady of the USA who was known for her style and fashion.
She was known for her style and fashion.
Mr. MacLeod is a teacher. Mr. MacLeod is a teacher who works with students with special needs.
He works with students with special needs.
I know of a park. I know of a park that is full of beautiful orchids.
The park is full of beautiful orchids.
An omnivore is an animal. An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and other animals.
An omnivore eats both plants and other animals.

Object

When we use the relative clause as the object of a sentence, here are the relative pronouns we might use:

for people for things and ideas for places for time for explanation
who that where when what, why

Here are some examples of sentences that are combined using relative clauses as objects. You know it is an object because the relative pronoun is always followed by a subject + verb.

Two Sentences Using Relative Clauses
That's the woman. That's the woman who I saw at the museum yesterday.
I saw her at the museum yesterday.
This is the restaurant. This is the restaurant where Jenny had her birthday dinner.
Jenny had her birthday dinner here.
Mexico is a country. Mexico is a country where our cousin held her wedding last year.
Our cousin held her wedding in Mexico last year.
They ate all the food. They ate all the food that we brought to the party.
We brought the food to the party.

Do you remember learning about using 'that'? Remember, sometimes it's okay to leave it out in a sentence. For example, you can say 'They ate all the food we brought to the party' instead of 'They ate all the food that we brought to the party.'

Exercise

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Exercises

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