PE-58: Relative Clauses: who, which, that
How to add information about a noun without starting a new sentence — and why English puts the description AFTER the noun, unlike Uzbek.
PE-58: Relative Clauses: who, which, that
Compare these: "I have a friend. He lives in Khiva. He is a doctor." versus "I have a friend who lives in Khiva and who is a doctor." The second sounds like an adult speaking. The tool is a relative clause — a small piece of information attached to a noun. And it involves one big structural difference from Uzbek that is worth understanding properly.
In this lesson you will learn
- who, which, that, whose, where, when — and which noun each one follows
- Why English puts the description after the noun
- When you can leave the relative pronoun out
- The "double object" mistake
1. The structural difference from Uzbek
Uzbek puts the description before the noun: men oʻqigan kitob. English puts it after: the book that I read. This single fact explains a large share of the mistakes learners make with these clauses.
the man who lives next door · the book that I bought · the school where I study
qoʻshnimizda yashaydigan odam · men sotib olgan kitob · men oʻqiydigan maktab
In Uzbek the description comes first; in English it always follows the noun.
2. Which word for which noun
1who — people
the girl who won the prize
2which — things
the film which we watched
3that — both
the man that called · the book that I read
4whose — possession
the boy whose bike was stolen
5where — places
the town where I was born
6when — times
the day when we met
That is the friendly all-rounder — it can replace who or which in everyday English. (There is one situation where it cannot, and that is PE-59.)
3. When can you leave it out?
Here is a rule that instantly makes your English sound more natural. If the relative pronoun is the object of its clause — if another subject follows it — you may simply drop it.
Subject → must keep it
- the man who lives next door
- the bus which goes to the centre
A verb follows directly.
Object → can drop it
- the book (that) I bought
- the girl (who) you met
A new subject follows.
The film we saw yesterday was excellent. — The man who helped us was very kind.
Kecha koʻrgan filmimiz ajoyib edi. — Bizga yordam bergan odam juda mehribon edi.
Sentence 1 drops that (object); sentence 2 must keep who (subject).
That's the boy whose father teaches us maths, and this is the house where he lives.
Anavi — otasi bizga matematikadan dars beradigan bola, bu esa u yashaydigan uy.
Whose replaces his; where replaces in which.
4. The double-object mistake
Because Uzbek builds these phrases differently, learners often repeat the object at the end. The relative pronoun is the object — nothing else is needed.
The book that I read it was interesting.
The book that I read was interesting.
The city where I live in is beautiful.
The city where I live is beautiful. / The city which I live in is beautiful.
5. Common mistakes
I have a friend which lives in Nukus.
I have a friend who lives in Nukus.
The man who's car was stolen called the police.
The man whose car was stolen called the police.
This is the house where I was born in it.
This is the house where I was born.
The lives next door man is a doctor.
The man who lives next door is a doctor.
Do you know the girl who she won the competition?
Do you know the girl who won the competition?
Practice
1 Join: I met a woman. She teaches Korean.
Show answer
I met a woman who teaches Korean.
Who is the subject of teaches, so it cannot be dropped.
2 Join, then drop the pronoun if possible: This is the phone. I bought it yesterday.
Show answer
This is the phone (that) I bought yesterday.
A new subject (I) follows, so that is optional — and notice it disappears.
3 Choose: The teacher ? daughter is in my class is very strict.
Show answer
whose — it shows possession: the daughter belongs to the teacher.
4 Correct it: The restaurant where we ate in it was cheap.
Show answer
The restaurant where we ate was cheap.
Where already contains "in which", so both in and it must go.
5 Describe your best friend in one sentence using a relative clause.
Show answer
Model: Afsona is the friend who always helps me when I have a problem.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- Relative clauseaniqlovchi ergash gap
- Relative pronounnisbiy olmosh
- To describetaʼriflamoq
- Whosekimning
- To omit / droptushirib qoldirmoq
- Competitionmusobaqa
- To stealoʻgʻirlamoq
- Stricttalabchan
- Next doorqoʻshnida
- Excellentajoyib
🎯 Remember this
- English puts the description after the noun — Uzbek puts it before.
- who people · which things · that both · whose possession · where places.
- Drop the pronoun when a new subject follows it: the book I read.
- Never repeat the object:
the book that I read it. - where already means "in which" — don't add a preposition.