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Myriora English › Grammar and punctuation › Chapter 2: Sentences

Relative clauses

Ages 9–11Chapter 2 · Lesson 4

In this lesson

Your turn

Which word fits? That's the girl blank bag was lost.

Show the answer

Whose! The bag belongs to the girl, so we use whose.

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake. Lots of people use which for people. But which is for things and animals. For a person, use who: the teacher who helped me.

Try it at home

Who am I? Describe someone or something with a relative clause (the person who makes our dinner, the room where we sleep, the girl whose cat is ginger) and guess.

Read the whole lesson

Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! A relative clause adds information about a noun. The girl who lives next door has a pony. Who lives next door tells us which girl.

Relative clauses start with a relative pronoun. Use who for people: the boy who won the race. Use which for things and animals: the cake which Gran baked. Whose shows belonging: the man whose dog ran away. And where is for places: the park where we play.

That can be used for people or things: the bike that I wanted. And when a relative clause just adds extra information in the middle of a sentence, we put commas round it. My uncle, who lives in Wales, is a vet.

Let's try one together. Which word fits? This is the house blank I was born. Say it out loud!

Where! This is the house where I was born. A house is a place, so we use where. Well done if you said where!

Here's a common mistake. Lots of people use which for people. But which is for things and animals. For a person, use who: the teacher who helped me.

Your turn! Which word fits? That's the girl blank bag was lost. Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! Whose! The bag belongs to the girl, so we use whose.

Quick review. A relative clause adds information about a noun. Who is for people, and which is for things. Whose shows belonging, and where is for places. That works for people or things. See you next time!