Lesson XXXVI
Relative Pronouns
The Relative Pronoun
who, which, that
Relative pronouns relate groups of words to
nouns or other pronouns.
Relative pronouns are part of a relative clause.
This is a type of “dependent” or “subordinate”
clause.
A dependent clause contains a subject and a
verb, but cannot stand alone as a sentence
(i.e., a complete thought).
The Relative Pronoun
Find the independent (stand-alone) clauses:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Because he cannot be here
Why can’t he be here?
Who cannot be here
Of whom we spoke
We spoke of him.
The Relative Pronoun
Find the dependent/subordinate (can’t-standalone) clauses:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
For which it stands
To whose advantage
Of thee I sing
What so proudly we hailed
With a grain of salt
The Relative Pronoun
Relative clauses begin with a relative pronoun
and end (usually) with a verb.
The woman who rules Britain is Queen Elizabeth.
The boy whose bike I stole is pressing charges.
Have you seen the girl to whom I gave the books?
The girl whom I visited was my cousin.
The land from which our parents came was
beautiful.
Now, try the sentences on your
handout! 
The Relative Pronoun (also the Interrogative Adjective)
quī, quae, quod - who, which, that
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
Abl.
Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
Abl.
quī
cuius
cui
quem
quō
quae
cuius
cui
quam
quā
quod
cuius
cui
quod
quō
Sg.
quī
quōrum
quibus
quōs
quibus
quae
quārum
quibus
quās
quibus
quae
quōrum
quibus
quae
quibus
Pl.
Relative Pronoun Chart
M.
Nom. who, which, that
F.
N.
quī
quae
quod
whose, of whom,
of which
cuius
cuius
cuius
Dat.
cui
cui
cui
quem
quam
quod
quā
quo
quae
quārum
quibus
quās
quibus
quae
quorum
quibus
quae
quibus
Gen.
to/for whom,
to/for which
Acc.
whom, which, that
Abl. by, with, etc. whom, quō
Sg.
which
quī
quōrum
quibus
quōs
quibus
Pl.
Finding the case, number, and gender
of relative pronouns.
Relative pronouns agree with their antecedent in GENDER and NUMBER.
But their CASE is determined by how they work in their own clause.
The woman who rules Britain is Queen Elizabeth.
Who refers to woman.
Gender of woman: feminine
Number of woman: singular
Who: “who rules Britain”--- “who” is the subject of its clause.
---subjects are nominative
Therefore, “who” in this sentence is feminine, singular,
nominative: QUAE
Relative Pronouns
The boy whose bike I stole is pressing charges.
Whose refers to the boy.
Gender of boy: masculine
Number of boy: singular
Whose: “whose” shows possession---I stole whose (his) bike.
Possession is shown by using the genitive case.
Therefore….
WHOSE is masculine, singular, genitive: CUIUS
Try these! (and learn a big secret
about using who/whom in English…!)
Have you seen the girl to whom I gave the
books?
Feminine, singular, dative: CUI
The girl whom I visited was my cousin.
Feminine, singular, accusative: QUAM
The land from which our parents came was
beautiful.
Feminine (terra), singular, ablative (after “from”): QUA
Who vs. Whom in English
WHOM
1. The child ________
I babysit lives next door.
WHO
2. The person ________
is texting me right now has no
idea I’m in school and must focus on this challenging
lesson. ;-)
WHO
3. The lady ________
lives next door always calls her cat
every evening ad nauseam.
WHOM
4. The people ___________
I most admire are my
parents.
WHOM you see in this picture, lives in
5. My friend, ________
Texas.
The Relative Pronoun
Vidi reginam quae Britanniam regit.
I saw the queen who rules Britain.
Puer cuius librum habeo est amicus noster.
The boy whose book I have is our friend.
Virum cui librum dedi vidisti.
You saw the man to whom I gave the book.
Oppidum quod vidit erat parvum.
The town that he saw was small.
Inimici erant viri quibuscum pugnabatis.
The enemies were the men with whom you were fighting.