English Grammar Tutorial
A relative clause gives extra information about a person, thing, place, or time. It often begins with a relative pronoun or relative adverb.
Example: The girl who is wearing a red dress is my sister.
Hindi: लाल पोशाक पहने हुई लड़की मेरी बहन है।
Here, “who is wearing a red dress” tells us which girl we mean.
| Word | Used for | Example | Hindi meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| who | People (subject) | The man who called you is here. | जिस आदमी ने तुम्हें फोन किया, वह यहाँ है। |
| whom | People (object; formal) | The woman whom I met was kind. | जिस महिला से मैं मिला, वह दयालु थी। |
| whose | Possession | The boy whose bag is missing is upset. | जिस लड़के का बैग गायब है, वह परेशान है। |
| which | Things and animals | The book which I bought is useful. | जो किताब मैंने खरीदी, वह उपयोगी है। |
| that | People or things in defining clauses | The phone that I bought works well. | जो फोन मैंने खरीदा, वह अच्छी तरह काम करता है। |
| Word | Used for | Example | Hindi meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| where | Place | This is the school where I studied. | यह वह स्कूल है जहाँ मैंने पढ़ाई की। |
| when | Time | I remember the day when we first met. | मुझे वह दिन याद है जब हम पहली बार मिले थे। |
| why | Reason | Tell me the reason why you are late. | मुझे वह कारण बताओ कि तुम देर से क्यों आए। |
A defining relative clause gives essential information. Without it, we may not know exactly which person or thing is meant. Do not put commas around it.
When the relative pronoun is the object, it can often be omitted: “The movie (that) we watched was exciting.”
A non-defining relative clause adds extra information that is not needed to identify the person or thing. Use commas around it.
| Example | Explanation |
|---|---|
| My brother, who lives in Delhi, is a teacher. | “who lives in Delhi” adds extra information. |
| Delhi, which is the capital of India, is a large city. | The clause gives additional information about Delhi. |
| My phone, which I bought last year, still works well. | “which I bought last year” is extra information. |
In everyday conversation, people often use who instead of whom, especially when the preposition is not placed before the pronoun.
| Incorrect | Correct | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| The man | The man who helped me is kind. | Use who for people. |
| This is the place | This is the place where I was born. | Where refers to a place. |
| My car, | My car, which is red, is new. | Do not use that in a non-defining clause. |
| The boy | The boy whose bag is blue is here. | Whose shows possession; who's means who is/who has. |
| The book | The book that/which I bought is good. | Use which or that for things. |
| No. | English sentence | Hindi meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The person who teaches me English is very helpful. | जो व्यक्ति मुझे अंग्रेज़ी पढ़ाता है, वह बहुत मददगार है। |
| 2 | This is the house where I grew up. | यह वह घर है जहाँ मैं बड़ा हुआ। |
| 3 | I have a friend whose brother works abroad. | मेरा एक दोस्त है जिसका भाई विदेश में काम करता है। |
| 4 | The food that you cooked was delicious. | जो खाना तुमने बनाया था, वह स्वादिष्ट था। |
| 5 | Monday is the day when we have our English class. | सोमवार वह दिन है जब हमारी अंग्रेज़ी की कक्षा होती है। |
| 6 | My teacher, who is very patient, explains everything clearly. | मेरे शिक्षक, जो बहुत धैर्यवान हैं, हर बात स्पष्ट रूप से समझाते हैं। |
| 7 | Tell me the reason why you missed the class. | मुझे वह कारण बताओ कि तुम कक्षा में क्यों नहीं आए। |
| 8 | The phone that you gave me is working well. | जो फोन तुमने मुझे दिया था, वह अच्छी तरह काम कर रहा है। |
Choose the correct answer for each question.