Relative Pronouns - Defining Clauses

Defining clauses

These clauses define the noun and they identify which thing or person we are referring to.

Things

"The present which he bought me is beautiful."

People

"The man who has started an English course is from Spain."

Using whom

Whom is used to refer to the object of the verb.

The people with whom I was sitting were very noisy.

However, it is hardly ever used in spoken English. Instead, "who" is used with the preposition:

The people who I was sitting with were very noisy.
To whom are you speaking? = Who are you speaking to?
For whom are you buying the present? + Who are you buying the present for?

Using that

In spoken English, "that" is often used instead of "which", "whom"or "who".

"The present that he bought me is beautiful."

"The man that has started an English course is from Spain."

When, where and whose

When: Is there another time when (that) I can call you?

Where: Can you tell me where I can buy wrapping paper?

Whose: (possessive) Have you seen the TV show whose catchphrase is "Deal no deal?"

Omitting that, who and which

If the pronoun ("that", "who", "which") is the object of the verb, it can be omitted.

"The company that she works for is based in London." ("That"is an object pronoun.)

= "The company she works for is based in London." ("That"can be omitted.)

But:

"The company that employs her is based in London." ("That" is a subject pronoun.)

The company employs her (the company is the subject). In this case, it is not possible to omit "that". You need the pronoun because it is the subject of the verb.