Relative Clauses Flashcards

The woman _______ bag was stolen called the police.

Answer: whose

'Whose' is the relative possessive pronoun, indicating the bag belongs to the woman. 'Who' is a subject pronoun and cannot show possession. 'Which' refers to things, not people (and cannot show possession here). 'Whom' is the object form and also cannot show possession.

Which sentence uses a non-defining relative clause correctly?

Answer: My brother, who lives in Madrid, is a doctor.

Non-defining relative clauses are separated by commas and add extra information. 'That' cannot be used in non-defining clauses. 'Which' refers to things, not people. Option B is a defining clause (no commas), implying the speaker has more than one brother.

The hotel _______ we stayed last summer has now closed.

Answer: where

'Where' is used as a relative adverb referring to a place, replacing 'at/in which'. Using 'which' or 'that' here would require a preposition ('at which', 'in which') or sounds unnatural when referring to location. 'Who' refers to people.

This is the scientist _______ research changed our understanding of climate.

Answer: whose

The blank must express that the research belongs to the scientist: 'her research' → 'whose research'. 'Who' is a subject pronoun. 'Which' refers to things, not people's possessions. 'That' cannot show possession.

The film, _______ I had already seen twice, won three awards.

Answer: which

The commas indicate a non-defining clause. 'That' cannot be used in non-defining relative clauses. 'Who' and 'whose' refer to people, not films. 'Which' correctly refers to a thing (the film) in a non-defining clause.

The day _______ they announced the results was very tense.

Answer: when

'When' acts as a relative adverb for time, replacing 'on which'. 'Which' would need a preposition ('on which'). 'Where' refers to places. 'That' is possible informally but 'when' is the standard relative adverb after time nouns like 'day', 'time', 'moment'.