English Grammar: How to Use Relative Pronouns Where/When/Whose in Adjective Clauses

Language Focus: An explanation of how to use the relative pronouns where, when, and whose. Includes several exercises.

Worksheet Download: adjective-clause-worksheet-esl.docx (scroll down to study the exercises online)n

Note: An adjective clause and relative clause are the same. We will use the word adjective clause.

This is the second lesson on adjective clauses. There are three lessons in this unit:

1. Lesson 1: Making adjective clauses with subject and object relative pronouns
2. Lesson 2: Using the relative pronouns where, when, and which
3. Lesson 3: Punctuating adjective clauses (with commas)

In our previous lesson, we learned how to use the relative pronouns 'who/whom/that/which' in adjective clauses. This lesson will focus on where, when, and whose.

Before we go further, let's review the relative pronouns.

Relative Pronouns for Adjective Clauses

Adjective Clauses: Using When as a Relative Pronoun

'Where' is used for places, of course. But sometimes places can be things. This can be confusing. Let's look at two examples.

John lives in a town. The town is near the ocean.

Now, the first step in making an adjective clause is finding a word in each sentence that refers to the same thing.

John lives in a town . The town is near the ocean.

The next step is replacing the second word ('The town') with a relative pronoun (who/whom/that/which/where/when/whose).

Which relative pronoun are we going to use? Well, 'The town' is a place, but in the sentence, The town is near the ocean, the words 'The town' are the subject. This means we should use a subject relative pronoun, which are who/that/which. Because 'The town' is the subject and a thing, we'll use that or which.

John lives in a town. [ that/which ] is near the ocean.

Next, we would move the behind the noun it modifies (a town), but it is already in the right place. So the full sentence looks like this:

So When Do We Use the Relative Pronouns Where (and When)?

We only use where or when to replace words that are not the subjects of a sentence. Here's an example:

John lives in a town . He works in the town .

If we look at the second sentence, He works in the town, we can see that the subject is 'He'. The word town is not the subject and it is not the object of a verb either. It is an adverb of place.

Rule : When the place or time is not the subject or object, then you can use the relative pronouns where and when.

Let's continue following our steps.

Step 2: Replace the second word with a relative pronoun.

John lives in a town . He works in the town WHERE.

Step 3: Move the relative pronoun to the beginning of the second sentence/clause.

John lives in a town . WHERE He works in the town .

Step 4: Move the behind the noun it modifies.

John lives in a town where he works. Maybe he is a fisherman.

That's it. You might have noticed that if the noun (e.g. 'town') has prepositions or articles (e.g. 'in the') that belong to it, then we remove the prepositions or articles too.

Let's do another example with a time.

I love spring. The birds sing songs in spring.

Step 1: Find two words that refer to the same thing in each sentence.

I love spring . The birds sing songs in spring .

So, let's look at the sentence, The birds sing songs in spring.

• Is spring the subject? (No -- 'The birds' is the subject)
• Is spring the object of a verb (No -- the noun 'songs' is the object of the verb 'sing')

Okay, so then we can use the relative pronoun 'when'.

Step 2: Replace the noun with the relative pronoun.

I love spring . The birds sing songs in spring WHEN .

Step 3: Move the noun to the beginning of the clause.

I love spring . WHEN the birds sing songs in spring .

Step 4: Move the behind the noun it modifies

To summarize, we do not use when and where to replace subjects or objects. We use them to replace adverbs (of time or place).

Quickly, let's look at two sentences that refer to the same 'house'. How would we combine them?

I live in a house . The house has a swimming pool. ('House' is a subject in the second sentence).

I live in a house . I bought the house . ('house' is the object of the verb bought in the second sentence).

I live in a house . My wife also lives in the house . ('house' is not a subject or an object here (it is an adverb).)

The rules are the same for when.

Note: We can also replace adverbs like 'here' or 'then' with relative pronouns. For example.

I can meet you tomorrow . I'll be free then .

What does 'then' refer to? Tomorrow. So, we can replace it with the relative pronoun 'when', and make a complex sentence with an adjective clause:

Exercise #1 - Making Adjective Clauses with Where and When

Change the second sentence into an adjective clause, and then add it to the first sentence.

1. There are a lot of shopping malls downtown. I want to live downtown.
Show Answer

• There are a lot of shopping malls downtown(,) where I want to live .

2. My best friend lives in the town. + I was born there.

• My best friend lives in the town where I was born .

3. On Friday it was raining. We met on Friday.

• On Friday(,) when we met (,) it was raining.

4. Let's meet early next week. I will have more time then.

• Let's meet early next(,) when I will have more time .

5. The Internet is huge. You can find anything you want on the Internet.

• The Internet(,) where you can find anything you want (,) is huge.

Note : You may have noticed that sometimes I have put commas in the answers. You can learn about how to use commas in adjective clauses in the next lesson on defining and non-defining adjective clauses.

Exercise #2 - Choose the Correct Relative Pronoun

In the next exercise, you will select a correct relative pronoun. Scroll up and re-read the table if you need to review which pronouns are used for subjects, objects, or other (adverbs).

October is a month ___ is in autumn.

If we look at ” ___ is in autumn”, we can see that it is missing a subject, so we need a subject relative pronoun (that/which).

October is a month ___ I love.

If we look at “___ I love”, we can see that there is already a subject (“I”). Also, October is what you love (it is the object of the verb). So we use an object relative pronoun (that/which/(nothing)).

October is the month __ I met Jill.

If we look at "___ I met Jill", we can see that there is already a subject ("I") and already an object (Jill is the object of met). So, we can use a pronoun for an adverb (when/where)

1. The house I want to buy is too expensive.
2. The house I was born is in a small town.
3. The house burned down was on Main Street.
4. That was a time I needed to be patient.
5. That was a time I will always remember.
6. That was a time was difficult to forget.

1. 1998 was the year I got married.
2. Friday is the day I love the most.
3. I hid the food the dog couldn't find it.
4. I heard the news in the morning I was brushing my teeth.
5. The Nile is the river flows through twelve African countries.
6. We saw the island Napoleon had lived.

Let's learn one more thing before we do more exercises.

Adjective Clauses: Whose as a Relative Pronoun

Whose is another relative pronoun that is not used for objects or subjects. It is used for possessions. For example:

The boy stood up. The teacher had called his name.

Step 1: What is the same here in these two sentences? Well, none of the words are. However, 'his' refers to the 'boy', which is the first sentence, so we can make an adjective clause.

The boy stood up. The teacher had called his name .

Step 2: Replace the second word with the correct relative pronoun -- here will use 'whose' because the name belongs to the boy (it's his possession).

The boy stood up. The teacher had called his WHOSE name .

Step 3: Move the relative pronoun (whose) and the noun it modifies to the beginning of the clause.

Step 4: Move the behind the noun it describes (the boy)

That's it. It's the same basically, except you move the relative pronoun whose and the noun it modifies. Let's do some exercises.

Exercise #4 - Making Adjective Clauses with the Pronoun Whose

1. That's the actress. Her husband was in the movie.

• That's the actress whose husband was in the movie .

2. There were students at the party. I didn't know their names.

• There were students whose names I didn't know at the party.

3. She works at a bank. Its head office is on Queen St.

• She works at a bank whose head office is on Queen St.

4. Susie is my friend. You met her parents last night.

• Susie, whose parents you met last night , is my friend.

5. I met two people from Japan yesterday. Their names were Mai and Yuko.

• I met two people(,) whose names were Mai and Yuko (,) from Japan yesterday.

Now, it's time for our final exercises. Let's bring it all together.

Exercise #5 - Places, Times, and Possessives in Adjective Clause

Change the second sentence into adjective clauses. Use subject relative pronouns (who/that/which), object relative pronouns (whom/that/which), as well as use when/where/whose.

Don't worry about commas now if you haven't studied them yet.

1. I study at a college. It has many courses.

• I study at a college which has many courses .
• I study at a college that has many courses .

2. I was born in 1978. My best friend Jay was born in 1978.

• I was born in 1978(,) when my best friend Jay was born .

3. The people were very welcoming. We visited their house.

• The people whose house we visited were very welcoming.

4. Cheryl's family goes camping every August. She loves August.

• Cheryl's family goes camping every August(,) which she loves .

5. 11:30 is the time. My flight departs then.

• 11:30 is the time when my flight departs .

6. September is busy at the college. It is the beginning of the fall semester.

• September(,) which is the beginning of the fall semester (,) is busy at the college.

7. The man yelled at me. I hit his car with my car.

• The man whose car I hit with my car yelled at me.

8. The company sells baked goods. I applied to work there once.

• The company(,) where I applied to work once (,) sells baked goods.

Exercise #6 - Select the Correct Relative Pronoun

1. My wife, name is Margaret, likes to travel.
2. We went on a trip last summer, I wasn't working.
3. We visited a park had a beautiful garden.
4. We sat in the garden we could also see birds.
5. I saw a beautiful bird feathers were purple and red.
6. On that day, we met a nice Swedish couple English was quite good.
7. They invited us to visit them in the Swedish countryside they had a big house.
8. I told them that maybe we could visit them next year we should have free time.

I hope you now understand how to use the relative pronouns where, when, and whose. It's not easy. If you were confused, please review the first lesson on subject and object relative pronouns.

If you have any questions or if you find a mistake, please leave a comment below.

-- Matthew Barton (copyright) / Creator of Englishcurrent.com

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