[0:00]The book which I read was amazing. The book that I read was amazing, or simply the book I read was amazing. Now, one of my students asked me about this the other day, but what about you? Do you know which one is correct? Well, in this video, I'm going to tell you the answer, and I'm also going to explain how to use all the relative pronouns. Who, which, that, whose, where, and when. And most importantly, tell you when you can actually leave them out and just delete them, and when you absolutely must use them in a sentence. You really need to know how to use all these little words. Are you ready?
[0:54]Okay, before we look at each of these little words, these relative pronouns, it's really, really important for you to know the difference between essential and non-essential information. I'm going to be talking about this a lot during this lesson. So it's really important to understand that concept before we continue. Essential information is something you need in the sentence. It tells us exactly which person or which thing you're talking about. And without that essential information, we don't know what you're talking about. That's why it's essential, because you absolutely need it. Now, non-essential information is just extra information. It's interesting, but you can remove that information, and the sentence still makes perfect sense. So look at this as a good example. The woman who works in the bakery is my sister. This is essential information because you need to know who I'm talking about. If I just said the woman is my sister, you would think which woman? Which woman are you talking about? But if I say the woman who works in the bakery, that's essential information, so that you know exactly who I'm talking about. Okay, now compare that sentence with this one. My sister, who works in the bakery, is very kind. This is non-essential information. I've already said my sister, so we know who you're talking about, and the rest who works in a bakery is just extra non-essential, interesting information. The main goal of this sentence is to say, my sister is kind. The fact that she works in a bakery is just extra non-essential information.
[3:26]Now, this is also going to help you understand why we sometimes use commas. You can see with the non-essential information, we normally put it between commas when we are writing. And when we're speaking, we normally put a little pause, like my new car, pause, which I bought last week, pause, is electric. Okay, so now you've understand that, we can continue with the lesson. By the way, if you're new here, I'm Greg from English with Greg. I make advanced grammar simple and teach you British English pronunciation, so that you can speak clearly and understand native speakers easily. And you can download the latest edition of my Quick Fix Magazine. This really helps you learn the grammar, because you can see it used naturally in a story. You also learn the top chunks or groups of words that use this grammar, and it also has a quiz, a writing challenge, and a few other fun activities that will help you remember this grammar in a cool, fun way. So you can download it by clicking up there in the description or scanning the code, enter your email address and I will send it to you via email. Okay, so let's have a look at this first relative pronoun. Who. And we use the relative pronoun who when we're talking about people. When we use it for essential information, with no commas and no pause, we can use it when we're giving essential information. For example, the girl who answered the phone was very polite. Okay, it's essential because I'm specifying which girl I'm talking about. The girl who answered the phone was very polite. The employee who manages the account is on holiday. Again, if I just said the employee is on holiday, you would think which employee? So I specify by using who who manages the account is on holiday. Okay, we can also use this to give non-essential information. As I said before, we use commas in written English or a little pause in spoken English. And between those commas, or between those pauses, we give the extra information. For example, my friend Tom, who lives in New York, is visiting next week. The only important part of this sentence is that my friend Tom is visiting next week. But when we want to give extra non-essential information, we use who and give that information. My friend Tom, who lives in New York, and then we continue with the rest of the sentence is visiting next week. Okay, another example, Sarah, who loves baking, made this cake. But with extra non-essential information, Sarah, who loves baking, made this cake. Okay, for each of the relative pronouns, I'm going to answer this question. Can we delete who from the sentence? Well, if who is the subject, no, we can't delete it. For example, the man who fixed the sink did a great job. Okay, here, it's the subject, so we can't delete it. The man fixed the sink did a good job? No. However, if who is the object, then yes, we can delete it. For example, the girl who I met on the bus was very nice. We can say, the girl I met on the bus was very nice. Or the colleague who we invited didn't come. Again, the colleague is the object of the conversation here, so we can delete who. The colleague we invited didn't come. Okay, the object is the person who receives the action, the subject is the person who does the action. The girl I met on the bus, I'm doing the action, I met the colleague we invited, here we are doing the action, and the colleague is receiving the action. So, if who is the subject, you need it. If who refers to the object, you can delete it and speak quicker. Okay, let's move on to the next relative pronoun. We look at all this by the way in my brilliant B2 course. That course is packed with upper intermediate grammar lessons, pronunciation lessons, vocabulary lessons, lots of exercises so that you master all the essential grammar you need to reach an impressive B2 level of English. If you want more information, I'll put a link in the description for you. All right, the next relative pronoun is, which. And we use which to talk about things and animals. And we can use it for essential information. For example, the book which won the prize is amazing. Or the dog which barked all night kept us awake. And we can also use it for non-essential information. For example, their car, which they bought last year, is electric. Or this website, which I use daily, is very helpful. Okay, so very similar to who, but while we use who for people, we use which for things and animals. Now, can we delete which in a sentence? Well, if it's essential and which is the object, yes. In other words, instead of saying the film which I watched last night was boring, you can say the film I watched last night was boring. Okay, this is essential information because we're specifying which film that you're talking about, and it's the object of the sentence. Okay, I watched the film, so I is the subject, I'm doing the verb, and the film is the object, receiving the verb. So, when it's the object and when we're talking about essential information, you can just delete which. The film I watched last night was boring. Or the chair which she painted looks new. Again, delete it, because the chair is the object and it's essential information, instead of the chair which she painted, just say the chair she painted looks new. However, if we're talking about non-essential information, we must use which, we cannot delete it. For example, that novel, which I read last summer, is a classic. Here, we cannot say that novel, I read last summer is a classic. No, if you're adding information about a thing or an animal, giving extra information, you always need which after the little comma or after the little pause that you make when you're speaking. Okay, you're going to see all of these in context in the story in this week's magazine, and you're also going to learn a few lovely chunks, like groups of words, that you can use to help you sound more fluent when you're using these relative pronouns in English. So, make sure you download this special relative pronouns edition of the Quick Fix Magazine. Okay, now let's have a look at the relative pronoun that. Now, we used who for people, we used which for things and animals, and we use that for people and things and animals. But the thing is with that, is that we only use it for essential information. We don't use this to give non-essential information. The teacher that helped me was kind. Okay, this is essential information. The teacher was kind, which teacher? The teacher that helped me. Okay, you need that information. And it's a person with a person, you can say who or you can say that. That's your choice, but both are correct. The teacher who helped me, the teacher that helped me. Both are great. The jacket that you lent me fits perfectly. The jacket that you lent me, again, this is a thing, it's essential information, we use that. The phone that rings constantly is annoying. Okay, again, it's a thing, it's essential information, we use that. Which leaves one question, can we delete that? Well, if that is the object, then yes. The coat that I borrowed is in the wardrobe. Here, I borrowed the coat. I am the subject, the coat is the object. The coat that I borrowed is in the wardrobe. If it's the object, then delete that and speak quicker. The coat I borrowed is in the wardrobe. If that is the subject, then no, you cannot delete it. You need to use it. For example, the girl that won the race is my sister. We can't say the girl won the race is my sister. That is incorrect. So when that is the subject, the girl, the one the race, we need that and we cannot delete it. Okay, the next one is not too complicated, but a lot of English learners avoid this, because they're never quite sure how to use it. I'm talking about the relative pronoun whose. And we use this to talk about possession, like who something belongs to. So let's have a look at using whose with essential information. The woman whose phone rang during the interview was embarrassed. The woman whose phone rang. Okay, so we're using whose to specify which woman we're talking about. But we use it when we're talking about possession. Whose phone, in other words, the phone belongs to the woman. The woman whose phone rang during the interview. Let's have a look at another example. The artist whose paintings were stolen is devastated. Really, really upset. Again, we're using whose to specify which artist we're talking about. But we use whose to talk about possession. The paintings belonged to the artist, the artist whose paintings were stolen is devastated. Now we can also use whose to talk about non-essential information. For example, my cousin, whose French is excellent, moved to France. Okay, so it's non-essential information because the main sentence is my cousin moved to France. But we're adding this extra information, my cousin whose French is excellent, moved to France. And again, we're using who to talk about possession. Okay, the French belongs to my cousin. Think of it like this, my cousin, his French is excellent, moved to France. Instead of his, use whose to connect these parts of the sentence together. Another example, Mr. Allen, whose office is next to mine, is retiring soon. Okay, Mr. Allen, his office is next to mine, is retiring soon. Okay, but we use whose to talk about his office, possession. Okay, let's have a look at the next relative pronoun, which is where. And we use this for, surprise, surprise, places. And we can use the relative pronoun where to give essential information, like the town where I grew up is very small. Or the school where she teaches is very modern. And we can also use where to give extra non-essential information. For example, Hyde Park, where many concerts are held, is beautiful in spring. Or our favorite pub, where we celebrated last New Year, is now under renovation. Okay, so I'm sure you're getting the idea now of essential and non-essential information. But can we leave the word where out? Can we delete it from the sentence? Well, we can, but we need to kind of restructure the sentence using a preposition. For example, instead of saying, that's the school where I studied, you would have to say that's the school I studied at. Or instead of saying that's the cafe where they met, you would have to say that's the cafe they met at. So yes, it's possible, but you need a preposition in that sentence if you want to delete the relative pronoun where. Okay, the next relative pronoun is when. And, I'm sure you can guess, we use this to talk about time. Time, okay, a time or a moment. We use it for essential information. For example, the year when I moved abroad was exciting. The year. Or the moment when I proposed will stay with me forever, I proposed, when I said, "Will you marry me?" Okay, so both of those are specific times. So we use where. And we can also use it when we're giving extra non-essential information, like that summer, when it rained every day, was miserable. Or his birthday, when we all gathered together, was unforgettable. So can we delete when from a sentence? Yes, especially when we're talking. Okay, it's really, really common. Okay, when we're talking, we generally want to give the message as quickly as possible, using as few words as possible. So, and with the relative pronoun when, we can delete it. Great. So, instead of the day when we met was special, we say, the day we met was special. The year when we moved was a busy year. Delete when, the year we moved was a busy year. Okay, let's go back to the first example that I gave you at the beginning of the video. Let's see now if that is a little bit clearer for you. The sentences were, the book which I read was amazing, the book that I read was amazing, or the book I read was amazing. Which one's correct? Well, hopefully, now you know, they're all correct. Okay, we use which to talk about things or animals. We use that to talk about people or things. So you can use either of those. Or you can simply delete it in this situation and say, the book I read was amazing. I am the subject, the book is the object, and it's essential information, so we can delete it. Okay, so if you've liked this video, make sure you subscribe, and then you can use this in real life. You can say, oh, Greg, who makes grammar seem really simple, has just published a new video, and you who as a non-essential relative pronoun. It's, it's going to feel fantastic, but first you need to subscribe. If not, you can't say those things. Okay, I'm given a lot of information in this lesson. So let's have a quick summary of when to use each relative pronoun and whether or not you can delete it. Let's go. Who, we use it for people. You can delete it only if it's the object. Which, we use it for things and animals. You can delete it only if it's essential and the object. That, we use for people and things. We can only use this for essential information. And you can delete it if it's the object. Whose, we use for possession. Never delete it. Where, we use it for places, and you can delete it if you add a preposition. When, we use it for time, and you can normally delete it. Okay, so there you go, a quick little reference, so you can use relative pronouns like a pro. Okay, if you want to keep learning with me now, I think a great next lesson would be my lesson on reported speech, specifically how to change the tenses and the pronouns to use reported speech perfectly and naturally. So watch that video next, and don't forget to download the relative pronouns edition of the Quick Fix Magazine, you're going to love it. Okay, thanks for watching, and bye for now.
