Relative Pronouns in English with Examples, List, and Usage

Relative pronouns are important words in grammar. They are used to join two different parts of a sentence. You may recognize some of them like “who,” “which,” and “that.” They are used to point to the thing or person you’re talking about. Relative pronoun examples include, “The cat that ran away is mine.” Here, “that” is being used to point to the cat. These words make sentences clearer by providing more information about something. They’re like small assistants that are used to link thoughts together. Understanding them helps make sentences make more sense. So, knowing how to use them can make your writing better and easier to understand.

Relative Pronouns in English with Examples, List, and Usage

What are Relative Pronouns?

Relative pronouns are a type of pronoun that are mainly used to give introduction of relative clauses, which provide extra information about a noun in the main clause of a sentence. Relative pronouns join a dependent clause (the relative clause) to the noun or pronoun it modifies in the main clause. For Examples..

The person who called me is my friend.
To whom did you give the book?
The car that is parked outside is mine.

Types of Relative Pronouns:

Subject Relative Pronouns
Object Relative Pronouns
Possessive Relative Pronouns
Zero Relative Pronouns

Subject Relative Pronouns:
These pronouns act as the subject of the relative clause. They are used only when the relative clause describes the subject of the main clause. For Examples..
Who, Whose, That, Which, Whom

Object Relative Pronouns:
These relative pronouns act as the object of the relative clause. They are used when the relative clause describes the object of the main clause. For Examples..
Who, Which, That, Whom

Possessive Relative Pronouns:
These pronouns are used to indicate ownership within the relative clause. The most common possessive relative pronoun is “Whose.” For Examples..

He found a dog whose tail was wagging.
I have a friend whose car is spotless.
She met a woman whose daughter is an artist.

Zero Relative Pronouns:
In some situation, particularly in informal English or in limiting relative clauses, the relative pronoun can be missed out completely, leaving a gap or “zero” relative pronoun. The role of these relative pronouns is totally understood from the context. For Examples..

The house Jack built is very old.
The car she drives is red.
The dog chased the cat.

Common Relative Pronouns List:

Who: Refers to people.
Whom: Also refers to people, usually used in formal contexts or after prepositions.
Which: Refers to animals or things.
That: Refers to people, animals, or things.
Whose: Indicates possession and can refer to people, animals, or things.
What: Refers to things or situations, often used in place of “that which” or “the thing(s) which.”
Where: Refers to a place or location.
When: Refers to a time or period.
Why: Refers to a reason or cause.
Whoever: Refers to any person, usually used when the specific person is unknown or not stated.
Whomever: Refers to any person, usually used in formal contexts or after prepositions when the specific person is unknown or not stated.
Whichsoever: Indicates any of a specified type of thing or things.
Whatsoever: Indicates any of a specified type of thing or things.
Whomsoever: Indicates any specific time or period.
Wherever: Indicates any specific place or location.
However: Refers to any specific manner or way.
Whatever: Refers to any specific thing or things.
Whichever: Refers to any specific choice or option among several.
The one(s) that: Used to specify one or more particular things or people.

The one(s) who: Used to specify one or more particular people.

Pronoun	Usage	Example
Who	Refers to people	The person who helped me was kind.
Whom	Formal/people/prepositions	To whom did you give the book?
Which	Animals or things	The book, which is on the table, is mine.
That	People/animals/things	The cat that lives here is friendly.
Whose	Possession	The man whose car was stolen is upset.
What	Things/situations	What you said surprised me.
Where	Place/location	Do you know where he lives?
When	Time/period	Tell me when the party starts.
Why	Reason/cause	I wonder why she left early.
Whoever	Any person	Whoever finds the key can keep it.
Whomever	Formal/any person/prep.	Give it to whomever you choose.
Whichsoever	Any specified type of thing	Choose whichsoever you like.
Whatsoever	Any specified type of thing	He’ll eat whatsoever is on his plate.
Whomsoever	Any specific person	Whomsoever you appoint will lead.
Wherever	Any specific place/location	He’ll go wherever you ask.
However	Any specific manner/way	She can solve it however she wants.
Whatever	Any specific thing/things	I’ll eat whatever you make.
Whichever	Any specific choice/option	Whichever route you take, be careful.
The one(s) that	Specific things/people	This is the one that I like.
The one(s) who	Specific people	He’s the one who will help us.