Grammar: B1 - ✨ Grammar Essentials: 🧩 Parts of Speech & 🏗️ Sentence Structure - Lesson 2: Defining Relative Clauses with "which" (for things)

✨ Lesson 2: Defining Relative Clauses with "which" (for things)

In our last lesson, we learned to use the relative pronoun 'who' to give essential information about people.

Today, we will learn the relative pronoun we use for things¹ and animals²: which.

How to Build the Sentence

The structure is exactly the same as with 'who'. A relative clause with 'which' joins two simple sentences to identify a specific thing.

Let's combine two sentences:

1. We have two simple sentences: "The restaurant serves great food." and "It is near the river."
2. We replace the second subject pronoun (It) with which.
3. We put this new clause directly after the noun it describes ('The restaurant').

The restaurant which is near the river serves great food.

The clause "which is near the river" defines which restaurant we are talking about.

More Examples

• I'm reading a book. The book is about Cambodian history.
  → I'm reading a book which is about Cambodian history.
• She bought a carving. The carving was made of wood.
  → She bought a carving which was made of wood.
• We are looking for a guesthouse. The guesthouse has a swimming pool.
  → We are looking for a guesthouse which has a swimming pool.

Informal English: Using 'that'
For things and animals, it is very common to use that instead of 'which', especially in conversation. Both are correct.

• The restaurant that is near the river serves great food. (Very common)

Summary: 'who' vs. 'which' vs. 'that'

Relative Pronoun	Used For	Example
who	People	The man who drives a tuk-tuk...
which	Things & Animals	The temple which is on the hill...
that	People or Things (Informal)	The man/temple that...

🧠 Practice Quiz: Choose 'who' or 'which'

Complete the sentences with the correct relative pronoun.

1. The tour guide ______ helped us was very funny.
   → who
2. I want to eat at the restaurant ______ serves the best fish amok.
   → which
3. The artist ______ painted this picture lives in Siem Reap.
   → who
4. This is the bus ______ goes to the airport.
   → which

📝 Homework: Describe Things

Write two sentences describing things you have or places you know in your town. Use a defining relative clause with 'which' in each sentence.

Example: I have a phone which takes good pictures.

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1: ___________________________________

2: ___________________________________

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Thing: (Noun) - វត្ថុ (voathto) - An object that is not alive, such as a table, phone, or book. ↩
2. Animal: (Noun) - សត្វ (sat) - A living creature that is not a human, such as a dog, cat, or bird. ↩