Reference · module 23
The one that
Everything this module explains, on one page.
who, which, that
Join two sentences by describing a noun.
- who is for people, which is for things: The man who called. The book which I read. Each one points back at the noun before it.
- that works for both and is what people actually say: The man that called. The book that I read. It is shorter and completely standard.
- The relative word replaces the subject or the object, so it is not repeated: The book that I read it is a mistake, and a common one.
The mistake you are about to make
The book that I read it was good.
The book that I read was good.
Some languages keep a pronoun inside the clause as well. English does not: that has already taken the object slot, and it fills it twice.
Leaving it out
Drop the relative word where English drops it.
- The book I read was good. The relative word has vanished, and the sentence is completely normal — in fact it is the usual version.
- You can drop it when it is the OBJECT: the book that I read. You cannot when it is the SUBJECT: the man who called.
- The test is simple: if another subject follows, the word can go. the book that I read has I after it, so that may leave.
The mistake you are about to make
The man called was my brother.
The man who called was my brother.
Dropping the relative word works so smoothly in the book I read that it gets dropped everywhere. It only goes when it is the object.
where and when
Describe a place or a time with a clause.
- where describes a place: the town where I was born. It replaces in which, which is correct and sounds like a legal document.
- when describes a time: the day when we met. And it can be dropped: the day we met is what people actually say.
- why does the same for a reason: the reason why he left. That one can also be dropped, leaving the reason he left.
The mistake you are about to make
the town where I was born in
the town where I was born
Where already contains the in, so the one at the end is a second copy. Either the town where I was born, or the town I was born in.
Commas change the meaning
See what a pair of commas does to a sentence.
- My brother who lives in Rome is a doctor says you have several brothers and this is the Roman one. The clause narrows down which.
- My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor says you have one brother and adds a fact about him. The commas make it extra information.
- With commas you cannot use that: My brother, that lives in Rome is wrong. And with commas the word can never be dropped.
The mistake you are about to make
My brother, that lives in Rome, is a doctor.
My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor.
That fits everywhere else, so it gets used here too. With commas only who and which are allowed, and neither can be left out.