🔗 Lesson 6.2: Relative Clauses — who, which, that, where

Which man? The man who lives next door. Which book? The book that I bought. Which café? The café where we met. Relative clauses let you add exactly the right detail — and join two short sentences into one smooth sentence. This is how your English starts to flow. 🌊

📚 What You'll Learn

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Use who for people, which for things, that for both, and where for places
Add information to a noun with a defining relative clause
Join two short sentences into one longer, natural sentence
Know when you can leave out who / which / that

⏱️ Estimated Time: 45–55 minutes

🎯 Project: Describe three people, places, or things in your life using relative clauses — 6+ sentences, spoken to a partner or recorded on your phone.

In This Lesson

Adding the Right Detail

Imagine you say, "I saw a man." Your friend asks, "Which man?" You answer: "The man who lives next door." That little group of words — who lives next door — is a relative clause. It tells us exactly which man you mean.

Relative clauses answer the question "Which one?" They point to the exact person, thing, or place. Without them, we would need lots of short, separate sentences. With them, we join ideas into one clear sentence. 🔑

🧠 Mindset

You already describe things with adjectives — a tall man, a red book. A relative clause is just a longer, sentence-shaped description: a man who is tall, a book that is red. If it feels like a lot at first, remember: you're not learning a new idea, only a new way to add detail you already know how to give. 🌱

who, which, that, where

A relative clause usually starts with a special linking word called a relative pronoun. Which one you choose depends on what kind of noun you are describing:

Word	Use for	Example
who	people	the man who lives next door
which	things & animals	the book which I bought
that	people or things (informal)	the movie that we watched
where	places	the café where we met

graph LR
    N["a noun"] --> P["people: who"]
    N --> T["things: which"]
    N --> B["both: that"]
    N --> PL["places: where"]

the doctor who helped me · the phone which broke · the song that I like · the store where I work

💡 A quick memory hook

Who has an h, like human — it's for people. Which is for things. Where has the word here/there hidden in it — it's for places. And that is the easy one: it works for both people and things in informal English.

Joining Two Sentences

The real power of relative clauses is joining. Look at these two short sentences:

I know a woman. + She speaks five languages.

The word She and the word woman mean the same person. So we can replace She with who and join the sentences:

I know a woman who speaks five languages.

Here is the same trick with things and places:

Two short sentences	Joined with a relative clause
This is the book. It changed my life.	This is the book which changed my life.
I met a man. He works at the bank.	I met a man who works at the bank.
That's the café. We met there.	That's the café where we met.

⚠️ Watch Out: don't repeat the subject

When the relative pronoun replaces the subject, don't say the pronoun and the word. ✅ "the woman who speaks…" · ❌ "the woman who she speaks…" The word who already does the job of she, so you only need one.

that for People & Things

In everyday, informal English, that is a friendly all-rounder. It can replace who (for people) and which (for things):

With who / which	With that (informal)
the man who called	the man that called
the bag which I lost	the bag that I lost
the people who live here	the people that live here

💡 One small exception

that works for people and things, but not for places. For places, keep where: ✅ "the town where I grew up." In speaking and everyday writing, many people prefer that for people and things because it's short and easy. Both are correct.

⚠️ Important Note: This lesson teaches defining relative clauses — the ones that tell us which one, with no commas. You'll meet a second kind (with commas) later, at B1. For now, keep it comma-free: "the man who lives next door" — no comma.

When You Can Drop the Pronoun

Sometimes you can leave out who / which / that completely — and the sentence still sounds perfect. This happens when the relative pronoun is the object (there's a new subject right after it).

Full sentence	Shorter (pronoun dropped)
the book that I bought	the book I bought
the movie which we watched	the movie we watched
the person who you met	the person you met

How can you tell? Look at the word right after the pronoun. If it's a new subject (I, we, you, she…), you can drop the pronoun. If it's a verb, you must keep it:

Keep it: the man who lives here (verb after — keep who). · Drop it: the man (who) I met here (new subject after — you can drop it).

✅ Good News

This is optional. You never have to drop the pronoun — keeping it is always correct. It's just useful to recognize, because you'll hear native speakers do it all the time: "That's the song I love," "Here's the photo I took." 🎶

Describing People & Places

Relative clauses make it easy to describe the people and places in your life. Here's a phrase bank to get you started:

a person who … the friend who … a thing which … the app that … the place where … a city where …

Now let's hear two friends describe people and places they know:

A: Who's the woman who waved at you?
B: That's Nadia, the neighbor who helped me move. She's the person who knows everyone here.
A: Nice. And is this the café that you told me about?
B: Yes! This is the place where I study every morning. They make a coffee that I really love.
A: Is that the book you were reading last week?
B: It is. It's a story which starts slowly, but the ending is amazing. 📖

💡 Did you spot it?

In "the book you were reading," B dropped that — because a new subject (you) comes right after. But in "the person who knows everyone," B kept who — because a verb (knows) comes right after. Same rule you just learned! 🎉

🔊 Hear It & Repeat — Model Sentences

Listen to each model sentence, then say it back. Use the 🎧 Audio control (bottom-right) to pick a UK or US voice and make the speed slower. These sentences use relative clauses with who, which, that, and where.

That's the man who lives next door.
This is the book which changed my life.
She's the friend that I trust the most.
This is the café where we first met.
I know a woman who speaks five languages.

Practice & Project

🏋️ Exercise 1: who, which, or where?

Objective: Fill each gap with who (people), which (things), or where (places).

That's the teacher helped me last year.
This is the phone I bought yesterday.
That's the hotel we stayed.
She's the woman works at the bank.
Here's the restaurant they had dinner.

✅ Answer

1. who · 2. which · 3. where · 4. who · 5. where (who for people, which for things, where for places)

🏋️ Exercise 2: Join the two sentences

Objective: Type the one relative pronoun (who, which, or where) that joins the two sentences into one.

I have a friend. She lives in Spain. → I have a friend lives in Spain.
This is the car. It broke down. → This is the car broke down.
That's the school. I studied there. → That's the school I studied.
He's the man. He fixed my roof. → He's the man fixed my roof.
This is the park. We play soccer there. → This is the park we play soccer.

✅ Answer

1. who · 2. which · 3. where · 4. who · 5. where

🎯 Your Project: People, Places & Things in My Life

Speak out loud — to a partner, in class, or into your phone's recorder. Describe some people, places, and things that matter to you.

(3 min) Say 6 or more sentences with relative clauses about your life: a person who …, a place where …, a thing which/that …. Example: "My best friend is a person who always makes me laugh."
(2 min) Use all four pronouns at least once: who, which, that, where.
(2 min) Join two short sentences of your own into one, out loud: "I have a phone. It has a great camera." → "I have a phone which has a great camera."
(1 min) If you recorded yourself, listen back. Did you avoid repeating the subject (no "the man who he …")?

✅ Project Completion Checklist

☐ I said 6+ sentences with relative clauses
☐ I used who, which, that, and where
☐ I joined two short sentences into one
☐ I did not repeat the subject (no "who she", "which it")
☐ I kept my defining clauses comma-free

🎯 Quick Quiz

Question 1: Choose the correct sentence.

Question 2: Which word joins "This is the café. We met there."?

Tips & Common Mistakes

✅ Do's

Match the pronoun to the noun: who (people), which (things), where (places).
Use that for people or things when you want a short, informal word.
Put the relative clause right after the noun it describes.
Keep defining clauses comma-free (they tell us which one).

❌ Common Mistakes

⚠️ Watch Out

"the man which lives here" ❌ → "the man who lives here" ✅ (use who for people).
"the woman who she works here" ❌ → "the woman who works here" ✅ (don't repeat the subject).
"the town that I grew up" ❌ → "the town where I grew up" ✅ (use where for places).
"the book what I bought" ❌ → "the book that I bought" ✅ (never use what as a relative pronoun).

📓 Learning Journal

Keep your learning journal going. After this lesson, take a few minutes to write down:

Key concepts you learned
Things that clicked for you
Questions or confusion points to revisit
Ideas you want to try
Your progress and feelings about joining ideas into longer sentences

✍️ This lesson's prompt: Write three sentences that describe real things in your life using relative clauses — one about a person (who), one about a thing (which/that), and one about a place (where). For example, "My mother is the person who taught me to cook." Then take two short sentences of your own and join them into one.

📝 Lesson Summary

🎓 Key Takeaways

who = people · which = things & animals · where = places.
that can replace who or which in informal English (but not where).
Relative clauses join two short sentences into one and answer "Which one?"
Don't repeat the subject: "the woman who works…" — not "who she works".
You can drop who/which/that when a new subject follows: "the book (that) I bought."

🎉 What You've Accomplished

You just learned to add exactly the right detail and to join ideas smoothly. Instead of lots of short, choppy sentences, you can now say "That's the friend who lives in the apartment where I stayed." This is a big step toward fluent, natural English — the kind that flows. 🎉

❓ Common Questions at This Stage

Should I use "who" or "that" for people?

Both are correct. who is a little more careful and common in writing; that is very common in everyday speech: "the man who called" = "the man that called." Use whichever feels natural — you can't go wrong.

Why is "where" different from "which"?

where already means "in/at that place", so you don't need an extra word: "the café where we met." If you used which, you'd need a preposition: "the café which we met in." At A2, where is the simple, natural choice for places.

Do I always have to include who/which/that?

Not always. When a new subject comes right after (I, you, she…), you can leave the pronoun out: "the movie (that) we watched," "the person (who) you met." But keeping it is never wrong, so include it whenever you're unsure.

🔭 Looking Ahead

You can now join ideas by adding detail about a noun. Next, we'll join whole ideas together — adding, contrasting, and giving reasons. In Lesson 6.3, we'll meet linking words: and, but, so, because, and although. They turn short sentences into longer, more natural ones.

✅ Before the Next Lesson

Describe three people, places, or things using who, which/that, and where.
Join two short sentences of your own into one.
Find one sentence where you can drop that and say it both ways.
Write your Learning Journal entry for this lesson.

🌟 Encouragement for the Journey

Every person, place, and thing in your life has a story. Relative clauses let you tell those stories in one smooth breath instead of many short ones. Keep joining your ideas — your English is starting to flow. See you in Lesson 6.3! 👋