A2 · Elementary · Practice

Relative Clauses: A2 Exercises

60 exercises · 20 multiple choice · 20 fill in the blank · 20 word ordering

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A relative clause is how English joins two sentences about the same thing into one. I met a woman. She works at the museum. becomes I met a woman who works at the museum. The relative pronoun does two jobs at once: it links the clauses and it stands in for the noun, which is why adding a second pronoun — the woman who she works there — is the commonest error in this topic.

Choosing the pronoun is a matter of what the noun is. Who is for people, which is for things and animals, where is for places, whose is for possession, and that can replace who or which in a defining clause. These sixty exercises drill that choice, the doubled-pronoun error, and the point where relative clauses become genuinely useful: producing longer, more natural sentences instead of a string of short ones, which is exactly what examiners at A2 are looking for in written work.

60 exercises in this set

3 question types

~25 minutes to finish

80% to pass

What these exercises drill

Every question in this set tests one of the rules below. If any of them is unfamiliar, read the Relative Clauses lesson first — practice before the rule is understood mostly teaches you your own guesses.

Who refers to people, which to things and animals, where to places.
That can replace who or which in defining clauses.
The relative pronoun replaces the repeated noun — don't say it twice.
Defining clauses add essential information and take no commas.

Practise Relative Clauses now

Answer at your own pace — nothing is timed and nothing is submitted. Each answer is marked the moment you give it, the explanation appears whether you were right or wrong, and the progress bar tracks all 60. Your score is saved in this browser, and to your account if you are signed in.

Multiple choice questions

Choose the correct answer.

That's the woman ___ lives next door.which · who · where · whose
This is the book ___ changed my mind.who · which · where · whom
That's the café ___ we first met.which · who · where · whose
He's the man ___ car was stolen.who · which · whose · where
Which sentence is correct?The film that I saw it was long. · The film that I saw was long. · The film which I saw it was long. · The film who I saw was long.
The train ___ goes to Batumi leaves at nine.who · which · where · whose
She's the teacher ___ taught me French.which · who · where · whom's
This is the village ___ my grandparents grew up.which · who · where · whose
Which pronoun can replace both who and which in a defining clause?whose · that · where · what
The people ___ live upstairs are very quiet.which · who · where · whose
I've lost the keys ___ open the back door.who · which · where · whose
That's the hotel ___ we stayed last summer.which · who · where · whose
Join these: I have a friend. She speaks Japanese.I have a friend who speaks Japanese. · I have a friend which speaks Japanese. · I have a friend who she speaks Japanese. · I have a friend where speaks Japanese.
The company ___ he works for is Turkish.who · which · where · whose
She's the neighbour ___ dog barks all night.who · which · whose · where
The restaurant ___ opened last month is excellent.who · which · where · whom
Which sentence has an extra word that should be removed?The man who called was polite. · The man who he called was polite. · The man that called was polite. · The man who called me was polite.
That's the road ___ leads to the castle.who · which · where · whose
I know somebody ___ could fix that.which · who · where · whose
The summer ___ we went to Greece was the hottest on record.who · which · when · whose

Fill-in-the-blank questions

Type the missing word.

That's the man __________ helped me with my luggage.
This is the film __________ won the award last year.
That's the restaurant __________ we celebrated our anniversary.
She's the colleague __________ husband is a pilot.
The bus __________ goes to the airport runs every hour.
I know a shop __________ you can buy Georgian wine.
The students __________ finished early may leave.
That's the house __________ roof was damaged in the storm.
I've found the umbrella __________ you left here.
The year __________ we moved was very difficult.
She's the doctor __________ treated my father.
This is the village __________ my mother was born.
The car __________ he bought last month has broken down.
I have a cousin __________ lives in Tbilisi.
That's the writer __________ books I was telling you about.
The hotel __________ we stayed had no lift.
The parcel __________ arrived this morning is for you.
He's the only person __________ understands the system.
That's the beach __________ we swam every day.
The neighbours __________ children play outside are very friendly.

Sentence structure: word ordering

Put the words in the correct order.

Identify a neighbour with a relative clause.That's / the / woman / who / lives / next / door.
Describe an influential book.This / is / the / book / which / changed / everything.
Point out a meaningful place.That's / the / café / where / we / first / met.
Identify somebody by their possession.He / is / the / man / whose / car / broke / down.
Identify a delayed service by its destination.The / train / which / goes / to / Batumi / is / late.
Recommend a place by what it sells.I / know / a / shop / where / they / sell / records.
Identify a person by what they did for you.She / is / the / teacher / who / taught / me / French.
Identify lost objects by their function.The / keys / that / open / the / gate / are / missing.
Point out previous accommodation.That's / the / hotel / where / we / stayed / last / year.
Describe a friend by their skill.I / have / a / friend / who / speaks / Japanese.
Describe an employer, with the preposition at the end.The / company / which / he / works / for / is / Turkish.
Identify somebody by a noisy pet.She / is / the / neighbour / whose / dog / barks.
Recommend a new place by when it opened.The / restaurant / which / opened / recently / is / good.
Give directions using a relative clause.That / is / the / road / which / leads / to / the / castle.
Offer a useful contact.I / know / somebody / who / could / repair / it.
Identify a period with a time relative.The / summer / when / we / met / was / very / hot.
Point out somebody's childhood home.This / is / the / village / where / she / grew / up.
Identify a delivery by its arrival time.The / parcel / which / arrived / today / is / yours.
Identify an author by their books.He / is / the / writer / whose / novels / I / love.
Point out a holiday location.That / is / the / beach / where / we / swam / daily.

Show the answer key for all 60 exercises

Every answer with the reason behind it. Read the explanation for the ones you got right as well — that is where you find out whether you were right for the right reason.

Multiple choice questions — answers

1. That's the woman ___ lives next door. → who: Who is used for people.
2. This is the book ___ changed my mind. → which: Which is used for things.
3. That's the café ___ we first met. → where: Where is used for places.
4. He's the man ___ car was stolen. → whose: Whose shows possession.
5. Which sentence is correct? → The film that I saw was long.: The relative pronoun replaces the object, so no second pronoun is needed.
6. The train ___ goes to Batumi leaves at nine. → which: A train is a thing, so it takes which or that.
7. She's the teacher ___ taught me French. → who: Who refers to a person.
8. This is the village ___ my grandparents grew up. → where: Where refers to a place.
9. Which pronoun can replace both who and which in a defining clause? → that: That works for both people and things in defining clauses.
10. The people ___ live upstairs are very quiet. → who: People are human, so the relative pronoun is who or that, never which.
11. I've lost the keys ___ open the back door. → which: Keys are things, so the pronoun is which or that.
12. That's the hotel ___ we stayed last summer. → where: A hotel here is the place of the action, so where is used.
13. Join these: I have a friend. She speaks Japanese. → I have a friend who speaks Japanese.: Who links the clauses and replaces she.
14. The company ___ he works for is Turkish. → which: A company is a thing, and the preposition for stays at the end.
15. She's the neighbour ___ dog barks all night. → whose: Whose shows that the dog belongs to the neighbour.
16. The restaurant ___ opened last month is excellent. → which: The restaurant is the subject doing the opening, so which is used.
17. Which sentence has an extra word that should be removed? → The man who he called was polite.: Who already stands for the man, so he is redundant.
18. That's the road ___ leads to the castle. → which: The road is the subject of leads, so which is correct.
19. I know somebody ___ could fix that. → who: Somebody refers to a person, so it takes who.
20. The summer ___ we went to Greece was the hottest on record. → when: When is the relative pronoun for periods of time.

Fill-in-the-blank questions — answers

1. That's the man ___ helped me with my luggage. → who: Who refers to a person.
2. This is the film ___ won the award last year. → which: A film is a thing, so it takes which or that.
3. That's the restaurant ___ we celebrated our anniversary. → where: Where refers to the place of the action.
4. She's the colleague ___ husband is a pilot. → whose: Whose shows possession.
5. The bus ___ goes to the airport runs every hour. → which: A bus is a thing, so which or that is used.
6. I know a shop ___ you can buy Georgian wine. → where: The shop is the place the buying happens.
7. The students ___ finished early may leave. → who: Students are people, so who is used.
8. That's the house ___ roof was damaged in the storm. → whose: Whose links the roof to the house that owns it.
9. I've found the umbrella ___ you left here. → which: An umbrella is a thing, and it is the object of left.
10. The year ___ we moved was very difficult. → when: When is the relative pronoun for time.
11. She's the doctor ___ treated my father. → who: A doctor is a person, so who is correct.
12. This is the village ___ my mother was born. → where: Where refers to a place.
13. The car ___ he bought last month has broken down. → which: A car is a thing and the object of bought.
14. I have a cousin ___ lives in Tbilisi. → who: A cousin is a person, so the relative pronoun is who or that.
15. That's the writer ___ books I was telling you about. → whose: Whose connects the books to their author.
16. The hotel ___ we stayed had no lift. → where: The hotel is the place the staying happened.
17. The parcel ___ arrived this morning is for you. → which: A parcel is a thing and the subject of arrived.
18. He's the only person ___ understands the system. → who: The noun person is human, so the relative pronoun is who or that.
19. That's the beach ___ we swam every day. → where: The beach is the location of the swimming.
20. The neighbours ___ children play outside are very friendly. → whose: Whose links the children to the neighbours.

Sentence structure: word ordering — answers

1. Identify a neighbour with a relative clause. → That's the woman who lives next door.: Identify a neighbour with a relative clause.
2. Describe an influential book. → This is the book which changed everything.: Describe an influential book.
3. Point out a meaningful place. → That's the café where we first met.: Point out a meaningful place.
4. Identify somebody by their possession. → He is the man whose car broke down.: Identify somebody by their possession.
5. Identify a delayed service by its destination. → The train which goes to Batumi is late.: Identify a delayed service by its destination.
6. Recommend a place by what it sells. → I know a shop where they sell records.: Recommend a place by what it sells.
7. Identify a person by what they did for you. → She is the teacher who taught me French.: Identify a person by what they did for you.
8. Identify lost objects by their function. → The keys that open the gate are missing.: Identify lost objects by their function.
9. Point out previous accommodation. → That's the hotel where we stayed last year.: Point out previous accommodation.
10. Describe a friend by their skill. → I have a friend who speaks Japanese.: Describe a friend by their skill.
11. Describe an employer, with the preposition at the end. → The company which he works for is Turkish.: Describe an employer, with the preposition at the end.
12. Identify somebody by a noisy pet. → She is the neighbour whose dog barks.: Identify somebody by a noisy pet.
13. Recommend a new place by when it opened. → The restaurant which opened recently is good.: Recommend a new place by when it opened.
14. Give directions using a relative clause. → That is the road which leads to the castle.: Give directions using a relative clause.
15. Offer a useful contact. → I know somebody who could repair it.: Offer a useful contact.
16. Identify a period with a time relative. → The summer when we met was very hot.: Identify a period with a time relative.
17. Point out somebody's childhood home. → This is the village where she grew up.: Point out somebody's childhood home.
18. Identify a delivery by its arrival time. → The parcel which arrived today is yours.: Identify a delivery by its arrival time.
19. Identify an author by their books. → He is the writer whose novels I love.: Identify an author by their books.
20. Point out a holiday location. → That is the beach where we swam daily.: Point out a holiday location.

The errors these questions are built to catch

The doctor which treated me was kind.

The doctor who treated me was kind.

People take who (or that), never which.
That's the hotel where we stayed there.

That's the hotel where we stayed.

Where already contains the place — adding there duplicates it.
I have a friend who she speaks five languages.

I have a friend who speaks five languages.

Who is the subject of the clause; a second pronoun is redundant.

After this set

Relative clauses let you build longer sentences. The next topic is a short one that does the opposite — the question tag, which adds four words to the end of a statement and changes it completely.