Writing Better English for ESL Learners

6. It
   a.
   b.
   c.


7. He
   a.
   b.
   c.


8. You (plural)
   a.
   b.
   c.

Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a word that does two things: (1) It replaces a noun or pro-
noun in the sentence. (2) It combines the sentence with a second sentence. Look
at the two sentences that follow. The phrase the officeris in both sentences:

The officersaw him speeding. The officergave him a ticket.

These two sentences can be combined by changing one of the phrases the offi-
certo a relative pronoun. The English relative pronouns are whoor thatfor peo-
ple and whichor thatfor things. See how the preceding sentences are changed:

The officer, who saw him speeding, gave him a ticket.

or

The officer, who gave him a ticket, saw him speeding.

It is generally a good rule to use a comma before whoor whichin a relative
clause. This is especially true when that clause simply provides additional infor-
mation about the antecedent. If the clause specifies “which person” or “which
thing,” the comma should be omitted. The relative pronoun thatcan also be
used.

Preparing to Write 51