Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are words like who, whom, whose, which, and that which help you join two short sentences into one longer, more informative sentence by introducing a relative clause.

What You'll Learn

At the P5 level, you will build on what you learnt about relative pronouns in P3 (who, which, that) and go further:

• Use whom correctly when referring to the object of a clause
• Use whose to show possession within a relative clause
• Choose the right relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) depending on whether you are referring to a person, a thing, or showing ownership
• Combine two separate sentences into one sentence using relative pronouns

When to Use

1. Giving more information about a person: "The author who wrote this novel is from Singapore."
2. Referring to a person as the object: "The teacher whom we invited gave an inspiring talk."
3. Showing possession: "The boy whose bag was lost reported it to the office."
4. Giving more information about a thing or animal: "The report which was published last week contained surprising findings."
5. Combining sentences about people or things: "I visited the museum. The museum had a special exhibition." becomes "I visited the museum that had a special exhibition."

How to Form

Choosing the Right Relative Pronoun

How to Combine Two Sentences

Follow these steps to join two sentences with a relative pronoun:

1. Identify the shared noun — find the noun that appears in both sentences.
2. Decide which sentence gives extra information — this becomes the relative clause.
3. Replace the repeated noun in the second sentence with the correct relative pronoun.
4. Place the relative clause right after the noun it describes.

Example:

• Sentence 1: The scientist discovered a new species.
• Sentence 2: The scientist works at the National University of Singapore.
• Combined: The scientist who works at the National University of Singapore discovered a new species.

Who vs Whom — The Subject/Object Test

Quick trick: Try replacing the relative pronoun with "he/she" or "him/her". If "him/her" sounds right, use whom. If "he/she" sounds right, use who.

Key Rules

1. Who for people (subject): Use who when the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause — it does the action. "The girl who plays the piano is talented."

2. Whom for people (object): Use whom when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause — it receives the action. "The neighbour whom I greeted smiled back."

3. Whose for possession: Use whose to show that something belongs to someone or something. "The family whose house is near the MRT station moved in last year."

4. Which for things and animals: Use which when referring to animals or things. "The project which we completed took three months."

5. That for people or things: That can often replace who or which, especially in everyday writing. "The bus that goes to Jurong East is number 99." However, that cannot replace whom or whose.

6. Place the relative clause next to the noun it describes: Putting the clause too far from the noun creates confusion. "The boy is my friend who lives next door" is less clear than "The boy who lives next door is my friend."

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Use who when you see:

person + does the action (subject position): the student who studies, the man who works

Use whom when you see:

person + receives the action (object position), or after prepositions: whom I met, whom she called, to whom, for whom

Use whose when you see:

possession words nearby — someone's thing: whose book, whose idea, whose turn

Use which when you see:

a thing or animal being described: the car which, the cat which, the school which

Use that when you see:

people or things in everyday sentences — can replace who or which in most cases

Tip: Ask yourself three questions: (1) Am I talking about a person or a thing? (2) Is the pronoun the doer or the receiver? (3) Am I showing ownership? Your answers will point you to the right relative pronoun every time.

Practice Tips

1. The he/him test for who vs whom: Replace the relative pronoun with "he" or "him". If "him" fits, use whom. If "he" fits, use who. For example: "The man [who/whom] I called" — "I called him" sounds right, so use whom.

2. Sentence-splitting check: After you combine two sentences, try splitting them apart again. Each part should still make sense on its own. If it does not, check that you chose the right pronoun.

3. Possession spotlight: Whenever you see an apostrophe-s ('s) or a possessive word in the second sentence, it is a strong signal to use whose.

4. Proximity rule: Read your combined sentence aloud. The relative clause should sit right next to the noun it describes. If it sounds awkward or unclear, move the clause closer to the noun.

Quick Reference