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B2 FIRST · GRAMMAR · PART 2

Relative clauses

Who, which, that, whose, where, when, why and what – and when you can leave the pronoun out.

Finn the puffin with glasses and a book, your grammar teacher
Finn says

Relative words join two ideas and tell us which person, thing or place we mean. They're among the most common answers in Part 2 – let's learn when to use each one!

Relative pronouns

who / that
people
The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
which / that
things and animals
The book which I lent you is very old.
whose
possession (his, her, its, their)
That's the boy whose bike was stolen.
where / when / why
places, times and reasons
the town where I grew up, the day when we met, the reason why I left
whom
formal, after a preposition
the person to whom I spoke

Defining and non-defining

Defining
tells us which one – no commas; that is possible
The film that we saw was great.
Non-defining
extra information – with commas; never that!
My brother, who lives in Cork, is a nurse.
The whole idea
, which refers to everything before it
He passed, which surprised everyone.
Leaving it out
only when it is the object of a defining clause
The film (that) we saw was great.

What

'What' means 'the thing(s) that'. There is no noun before it.

what
= the thing that
What I love about summer is the long evenings.
what or which?
no noun before the gap → what
I didn't understand what he said. (✗ which he said)

How it comes up in Part 2

In Part 2 you write one word in each gap. No word is given, so you need to know the grammar.

Lisa, whose parents are both teachers, wants to become a vet.

Possession: Lisa's parents → whose parents.

That's the café where we first met.

A place: where = in which.

The museum was closed, which was very disappointing.

', which' refers to the whole idea before it.

Common mistakes

  • ✗ My sister, that lives in Paris, is a designer.✓ My sister, who lives in Paris, is a designer.No 'that' in a non-defining clause (with commas).
  • ✗ The man which I met was friendly.✓ The man who I met was friendly.'Which' is for things; use 'who' or 'that' for people.
  • ✗ This is the thing what I wanted.✓ This is the thing that I wanted. / This is what I wanted.Don't use 'what' after a noun.
Finn the puffin, smiling kindly
Finn's exam tip

Look before the gap. A person → who; a thing → which or that; a place → where; 'his / her / their' → whose; no noun at all → what. And a comma before the gap means 'that' is wrong!

Quick check

Write one word in each gap.

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