Relative clauses and pronouns
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Summary
Relative clauses and pronouns
In a nutshell
Relative clauses are types of subordinate clauses. They give extra information about a noun/noun phrase and are often separated by commas.
Relative clauses
Relative clauses come straight after the noun they are giving more information about a noun/noun phrase in a sentence. This is likely to be in the middle of the sentence and might be separated by commas, as in the following example.
Example
 |  |  |
| The fox, | who lost his shoes, | went parachuting. |
| | ↑ this is the relative clause, separated by commas. | |
Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns are the words that introduce a relative clause. The relative pronoun "who" is highlighted in bold above. Below is a full list of relative pronouns. The one you'll pick will depend on the type of person/object you're describing.
| who | which | that | when | where |
| for a person/people | for an object/idea | for an object (or person) | for a time | for a place |
Examples
 |  |  |
| The dog | that ate the cake | is on the bus. |
| | | |
 |  |  |
| The school | where Rachael goes | is far away. |
Remember that relative clauses might not always be embedded in the middle. They can simply be tagged on the end (separated by a comma):
 |  |
| The fox went skydiving, | which is a dangerous activity! |
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
What are relative pronouns?
Relative pronouns are the words that introduce a relative clause.
How do you identify a relative clause?
Relative clauses are likely to be in the middle of the sentence and might be separated by commas.
What is a relative clause?
Relative clauses come straight after the noun they are giving more information about a noun/noun phrase in a sentence.