##  [Relative pronouns](/writing-tips-plus/relative-pronouns-who-whom-whose-which-that)

##  Avertissement

Ce contenu est offert en anglais seulement.

## On this page

- [What is a relative pronoun?](#what-is-a-relative-pronoun)
- [Should you use “that” or “which”?](#should-you-use-that-or-which)
- [Essential clauses](#essential-clauses)
- [Non-essential clauses](#non-essential-clauses)
- [Should you use “who” or “whom”?](#should-you-use-who-or-whom)
- [Tip](#tip)
- [Additional information](#additional-information)

## What is a relative pronoun?

Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun. Relative pronouns are used at the beginning of an adjective clause (a dependent clause that modifies a noun). The three most common relative pronouns are **who**, **which** and **that**.

**Who** has two other forms: the object form **whom** and the possessive form **whose**.

- **Who** and **whom** are used mainly for people. However, these pronouns can also be used to refer to animals that are mentioned by name and seen as people.
- The musician who wrote this song is Canadian.
- The witnesses whom I interviewed gave conflicting evidence.
- The vacuum scared our cat Scooter, who was sleeping on the rug.
- **Whose** can be used for people, animals or things:
- The man whose daughter won the tournament is a tennis coach.
- A dog whose owner lets it run loose may cause an accident.
- The tree whose branches shade my kitchen window is an oak.

**Which** is used for things or for animals referred to in a general sense.

- Jason bought a hybrid car, which will help him save on gas.
- Bridget went to the park with her dog, which likes to chase squirrels.

**That** can be used for people, animals or things.

- The musician that won the award is Canadian.
- The car that Jason bought is a hybrid: it runs on electricity and gas.
- The dog that’s chasing the squirrels belongs to Bridget.

## Should you use “that” or “which”?

**That** and **which** are used to start two different types of adjective clauses, called essential and non-essential clauses.

### Essential clauses

**That** always indicates a clause that’s essential to the meaning of the sentence, because it defines or identifies the noun it refers to. An essential clause does not take a comma before it.

- Lisa wore the shoes that she bought in Toronto.
\[What shoes? The ones that she bought in Toronto. The clause identifies the shoes.\]

**Which** may also be used to introduce an essential clause.

- Lisa wore the shoes which she bought in Toronto.

### Non-essential clauses

**Which** is used in a non-essential clause modifying a thing or an animal referred to in a general sense. A non-essential clause is one that gives secondary, non-essential information about a noun that has already been fully identified. A non-essential clause is separated from its noun by a comma:

- Lisa wore her best leather shoes, which she bought in Toronto.
\[What shoes? Her best leather ones. The clause **which she bought in Toronto** is not needed to identify the shoes, so it is non-essential.\]

## Should you use “who” or “whom”?

The relative pronoun **who** may cause confusion because it has both a subject form (who) and an object form (whom). The key to choosing between these forms is to see what the pronoun is doing **in its own clause**.

Use **who** if the pronoun is the subject of the verb in the dependent clause.

- The people **who** just boarded the plane are in a rock band.
\[The pronoun is the subject of the verb **boarded**.\]

Use **whom** if the pronoun is the object of the verb in the dependent clause.

- The cousin **whom** we met at the family reunion is coming to visit.
\[The pronoun is the object of the verb **met**.\]

Use **whom** if the pronoun is the object of a preposition in the dependent clause.

- The agent with **whom** I spoke was able to help me.
\[The pronoun is the object of the preposition **with**.\]

### Tip

If in doubt, reword the clause, using a personal pronoun to see whether the subject case (**he**, **she**, **they** or **we**) or the object case (**him**, **her**, **them** or **us**) fits. Then replace that personal pronoun with **who** or **whom**, using the following rule:

- Use **who** for the subject case:
- The people **who** just boarded the plane are in a rock band.
\[Rewording: **They** just boarded the plane. So **who** is correct.\]
- Use **whom** for the object case:
- The cousin **whom** we met at the family reunion is coming to visit.
\[Rewording: We met **him** at the family reunion. So **whom** is correct.\]
- The agent with **whom** I spoke was able to help me.
\[Rewording: I spoke with **her**. So **whom** is correct.\]

## Additional information

- [“That” and “which”: Which is which?](/en/pecks-english-pointers/usage-1-that-which) (Peck’s English Pointers)
- [The how-tos of “who” and “whom”](/en/pecks-english-pointers/grammar-2-how-tos) (Peck’s English Pointers)

### Quizzes

- [That or which: It’s all relative!](/en/quiz/that-or-which-Its-all-relative-eng)
- [That or which: That’s essential!](/en/quiz/that-or-which-thats-essential-eng)
- [That or which: Which is it?](/en/quiz/that-or-which-which-is-it-eng)
- [Who or whom: Choose the correct pronoun!](/en/quiz/who-or-whom-choose-the-correct-pronoun-eng)
- [Who or whom: Which one is right?](/en/quiz/who-or-whom-which-one-is-right-eng)

##  Avis de droit d’auteur pour l’outil Writing Tips Plus

© Sa Majesté le Roi du chef du Canada, représenté par le ou la ministre des Services publics et de l’Approvisionnement
Un outil créé et mis en ligne par le Bureau de la traduction, Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada

## Rechercher par thèmes connexes

Vous voulez en apprendre davantage sur un thème abordé dans cette page? Cliquez sur un lien ci-dessous pour voir toutes les pages du Portail linguistique du Canada portant sur le thème choisi. Les résultats de recherche s’afficheront dans le [Navigateur linguistique](/fr/navigateur-navigator).

- [Grammar and syntax](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A476#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)
- [Pronouns](/fr/navigateur-navigator?search_api_fulltext=-&field_writing_tools=All&sort_by=views&f%5B0%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A476&f%5B1%5D=navigateur_navigator_english_theme%3A486#navigateur-navigator-resultats-results)

## Liens connexes

- [Writing Tips Plus](/fr/writing-tips-plus/index-fra) (page d’accueil)
- [Outils d’aide à la rédaction](/fr/outils-tools/index-fra)
- [Navigateur linguistique](/fr/navigateur-navigator) (permet de trouver rapidement des conseils linguistiques)
- [TERMIUM Plus®](http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-fra.html?lang=fra)