ACADEMIC SKILLS CENTRE, DAWSON COLLEGE B3.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS: WHO, WHICH, THAT

HOW TO USE WHO, WHICH, AND THAT

WHO: -- refers only to people, never to things

-- used in either restrictive or non-restrictive clauses

examples: restrictive clause: I don't like people who are always criticizing others.
non-restrictive clause: My father, who loves antiques, collects old books.

WHICH: -- refers only to things, never to people

-- used in both restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, but more often in non-restrictive clauses

examples: restrictive clause: The plane which arrived late was from London.
non-restrictive clause: My car, which is very old, breaks down often.

THAT: -- refers to people or things

-- used in restrictive clauses only
-- used to identify a specific person, place, or thing

examples: The book that I read was very exciting.

The man that lives next door is very helpful.

Note: a relative pronoun (who, which, or that) is always placed next to the word, phrase or clause to which it
refers. (This can be seen in all the examples above.)

RESTRICTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSES

provide essential information to identify a specific person or thing

cannot be left out of a sentence without changing the meaning
are not separated from the sentence with commas
are introduced with "that" or which if referring to things, or with who if referring to a person

examples: Sidewalks that are cracked and uneven are dangerous to pedestrians.

Sidewalks which are cracked and uneven are dangerous to pedestrians.

Pedestrians who must use damaged sidewalks are in danger.

 NON-RESTRICTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSES

add extra information to a sentence

are always enclosed by commas
can be introduced by "who" (for a person) or "which" (for a thing), but never by "that"

examples: My mother, who lives in Ottawa, is coming to visit.

My bicycle, which Ive owned for years, needs some repairs.

THE USE OF WHO and WHOM, WHOEVER and WHOMEVER

All these pronouns can refer to one person or to many people.

The word who acts as a subject. Like the pronouns she, I, and we, it refers to the person or people
doing something.

Who is used in questions (when identity is unknown) or in restrictive clauses (to identify the person).

examples: Who is arriving today?

The woman who gave the lecture is a very good speaker.

The word whom is used in the objective case. Like the pronouns her, me, and us, it refers to the person
or people affected by or receiving an action. Whom is often seen in restrictive clauses and in questions.

examples: There are the women whom we met yesterday.

This is the man to whom the package was sent.

To whom did you submit your paper?

The words whoever and whomever are used when the identity of a person is entirely unknown or unspecified.

Whoever acts as a subject, while whomever is used in the objective case.

examples: Whoever did this should be punished.

Give it to whomever you choose.

ASC 2003