✨ Lesson 3: Defining Relative Clauses with "that" (for people & things)
In our last two lessons, we learned to use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. Today, we will learn about a very useful and flexible1 relative pronoun2 that can often replace both: that.
Using 'that' Instead of 'who' and 'which'
In defining relative clauses, we can almost always use 'that' as a more informal3 alternative to 'who' and 'which'. It is very common in everyday speech.
For People (instead of 'who'):
- The tour guide who helped us was great.
→ The tour guide that helped us was great. - I know the woman who owns that restaurant.
→ I know the woman that owns that restaurant.
For Things (instead of 'which'):
- This is the bus which goes to the airport.
→ This is the bus that goes to the airport. - I want the book which is on the top shelf.
→ I want the book that is on the top shelf.
So, Which One Should I Use?
This is a great question! It depends on how formal you want to be.
| Relative Pronoun | Best Situation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | For people (always correct, good for formal writing) | The professor who teaches history... |
| which | For things (always correct, good for formal writing) | The report which I submitted... |
| that | For people or things (very common, best for informal speech and writing) | The guy that I met... The phone that I bought... |
My Advice: It is excellent to use 'who' for people and 'which' for things in your writing to be clear and formal. However, you should know that using 'that' is very common, so you will hear it and see it all the time!
🧠 Practice Quiz: Is 'that' okay?
Read the sentence. Can you replace the bold word with 'that'?
- The artist who painted this is very talented.
→ Yes, 'that' is a common alternative. - The tuk-tuk which is waiting outside is for you.
→ Yes, 'that' is a common alternative. - This is my friend, who lives in Phnom Penh.
→ No. This is a non-defining clause (extra information), so we must use 'who'. We will learn about this in a future lesson!
📝 Homework: Rewrite the Sentences
Rewrite these sentences by replacing 'who' or 'which' with 'that' to make them sound more informal.
Example: The coffee which I drank was delicious. → The coffee that I drank was delicious.
1. The student who sits next to me is from Korea.
→ ________________________________________________.
2. I lost the key which opens my hotel room.
→ ________________________________________________.
(Answers: 1. The student that sits next to me is from Korea. 2. I lost the key that opens my hotel room.)
Vocabulary Glossary
- Flexible: (Adjective) - បត់បែនបាន (bât'baen'ban) - Able to change or be used in different ways easily. ↩
- Relative Pronoun: (Noun) - សព្វនាមភ្ជាប់ (sappĕa'nām phchoăp) - A word (who, which, that) that introduces a relative clause. ↩
- Informal: (Adjective) - មិនផ្លូវការ (mĭn phluv'kaa) - Used in relaxed situations, with friends and family. ↩