Defining Relative Clauses: Who, Which, That, Where

Free A2 English test with exercises and answers. Use who, which, that, and where to practice defining relative clauses. Great for A2 students and tests!

Defining Relative Clauses: Who, which, that, where – Exercises

Relative clauses give us more information about a person, thing, or place. We need this information because it tells us exactly who or what we are talking about. The sentence isn’t clear without this clause.

These words are used to start the clause:

• who → for people
• which → for things or animals
• that → for people OR things (you can almost always use “that” instead of “who” or “which”)
• where → for places

Examples

1. The man lives next door. → The man who lives next door is very kind.
   (“who lives next door” tells us which man)
2. I lost my phone yesterday. → The phone which I lost yesterday was new.
   (or: The phone that I lost yesterday was new.)
3. This is my school. → This is the school where I study English.
   (“where I study English” tells us which school)
4. She is the teacher. She helped me. → She is the teacher who helped me.

Important Rules

• In defining clauses, we do NOT put a comma before who, which, that, or where.
• We can leave out who, which, or that if it is the subject of the clause.

Examples (object – can omit):

• The book (which/that) I read was interesting. → The book I read was interesting.
• The girl (who/that) I met is my cousin. → The girl I met is my cousin.

But we cannot omit when it is the subject:

• The dog that barks every night is big. (Correct – “that” is subject)
• The dog barks every night is big. (Wrong)

Table of Quick Summaries

Avoid These Common A2 Mistakes

• Wrong: My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor. (This is non-defining → needs commas → B1/B2)
• Correct for A2: My brother who lives in London is a doctor. (We have only one brother)
• Wrong: The movie where I watched was scary.
• Correct: The movie which I watched was scary. (or that)