Relative Pronouns Exercise
Fill in the blanks with an appropriate relative pronoun.
1. Have you got a novel …………………………. is really interesting to read?
that
which
Either could be used here
‘That’ is possible in this case. ‘That’ can be used to refer to people and things in identifying
relative clauses. An identifying relative clause introduces information that cannot be easily
left out. ‘Which’ is possible in this case. ‘Which’ can be used to refer to things in both
identifying and non-identifying relative clauses.
2. She has acted in a movie ……………………….. name I have forgotten.
which
who’s
whose
of which
‘Whose’ is a possessive relative word, used to refer to both people and things. It can replace
possessive relative pronouns ‘his / her / its’.
3. He is married to a writer ………………………….. you may have heard.
whom
of whom
that
Note that the preposition always goes before ‘whom’. We can’t say: He is married to a writer
whom you may have heard of.
4. It was a meeting ……………………………. purpose I did not understand.
of which
which
whose
Let’s split the sentence into two. It was a meeting. I did not understand its purpose. When we
combine these two sentences together, the relative pronoun should replace the pronoun ‘its’.
Since ‘its’ is in the possessive case, we need to use a possessive relative pronoun.
5. We became friendly with some students ………………………… we met on
the train.
that or which
that or who
that or whom
We became friendly with some students. We met them on the train. When we combine these
two clauses into one, the relative pronoun should replace the object pronoun ‘them’. As you
know, ‘who’ is in the nominative case. It is not possible here. Hence, we use ‘whom’. ‘That’ is
also possible.We became friendly with some students whom we met on the train. OR We
became friendly with some students that we met on the train.
6. Alice married her boyfriend, …………………………… made her parents
very unhappy.
that
what
which
The relative pronoun ‘which’ can refer to an entire clause that comes before it.
7. Mary, ………………………… teaches my daughter English, has moved to
another city.
who
that
which
Here the relative clause is not identifying. It does not identify the person Maya. She has
already been identified by her name. ‘That’ cannot be used in non-identifying relative
clauses. Therefore, we use who here.
8. I know a shop ……………………….. they sell imported perfumes.
that
where
which
‘Where’ can be used to introduce relative clauses after nouns referring to place. The
sentence ‘I know a shop where they sell imported perfumes’ means the same as ‘I know a
shop at which they sell imported perfumes’.
9. It is the best film ……………………………… has ever been made about
the French Revolution.
that
which
what
After superlatives, we use ‘that’, not ‘which’.
10. I have got something …………………………………… belongs to you?
that
which
what
After quantifiers like all, every, everything, some, something, any, anything, nothing, some,
little, few, much and only `that` is more common than `which`.
11. I have got …………………………………………. I need.
that
which
what
In modern English, we use ‘what’ instead of ‘that which’. in this case ‘what’ means something
like ‘all that’
12. He was respected by the people with ………………………….. he worked.
what
that
whom
We require a relative pronoun in the objective case here.
PLAY AGAIN !
Answers
1. Have you got a novel that / which is really interesting to read?
2. She has acted in a movie whose name I have forgotten.
3. He is married to a writer of whom you may have heard.
4. It was a meeting whose purpose I did not understand.
5. We became friendly with some students whom / that we met on the train.
6. Alice married her boyfriend, which made her parents very unhappy.
7. Mary, who teaches my daughter English, has moved to another city.
8. I know a shop where they sell imported perfumes.
9. It is the best film that has ever been made about the French Revolution.
10. I have got something that belongs to you?
11. I have got what I need.
12. He was respected by the people with whom he worked.