GRAMMAR DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They provide information about the person, place or thing we are talking about. They are often used to give a definition. person object/animal SUBJECT OBJECT INDIRECT OBJECT who/that who(m)/that/ - prep. + whom/ prep. which/that which/that/ - prep. + which/ prep. place where time when possession whose The pronoun that is often used instead of who and which in conversational, informal style. Hardware refers to the physical components that make up a computer. The pronoun is often left out when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause. Software is the term we use to refer to computer programs. Prepositions can come before the relative pronoun, or at the end of the relative clause in conversational, informal style. Software refers to programs with which hardware operates Software refers to programs hardware operates with. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They provide additional information which is usually included between commas. They are rarely used in conversation, but are very common in written formal English. SUBJECT OBJECT INDIRECT OBJECT who who(m) prep. + whom person object/animal which prep. + which place where time when possession whose The pronoun that cannot be used. The pronoun can never be omitted. Software, which refers both to data and instructions, can be open source. The new software, with which I work, is open source. 92 Module 2 DEBUGGING