Relative pronouns

A relative pronoun is a word that functions both as a conjunction and as a pronoun, such as that or which. Because it functions as a conjunction, it can join a main clause and a subordinate clause; because it functions as a pronoun, it also functions as one of the nouns needed in the subordinate clause. It is important to note that some people refer to clauses that are "marked" with a relative pronoun not as subordinate clauses but as relative clauses. Because most of the grammar that we deal with on TestMagic is relatively simple (at least compared with some other grammar that does not come up in standardized tests), we do not really need to make a differentiation between subordinate clauses and relative clauses.

Let's look at an example to make things clear:

• I can see the car that is next to you.

This sentence has two clauses--a main clause (I can see the car) and a subordinate clause (that is next to you). We say that the word that is the conjunction needed to join the main clause and the subordinate clause. Notice also that the part of the sentence after the that in the subordinate clause (i.e., is next to you) is missing a subject. We say that the word that replaces the head noun (car) and functions as the subject.

Some grammarians would further explain that the sentence above could be seen as two separate sentences:

• I can see the car.
• The car is next to you.

that have been joined:

• I can see the car that is next to you.

It is important to note that the word that is not always a relative pronoun; that can also function as a subordinating conjunction. Look at the following sentence:

• I know that you are smart.

Notice that after the word that, there is a full sentence and therefore no noun is missing. In this case, the word that functions only as a conjunction, not as a pronoun.