Relative and Interrogative Pronouns

Syllabus tag: Kenya CBC | Grade 9 English | Theme 7.0 Natural Resources | Strand 7.3 Grammar | Sub-Strand 7.3.1 Relative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns (2 Lessons)

Lesson objectives

By the end of this sub-strand, you should be able to:

• Identify relative and interrogative pronouns in sentences.
• Use who, whom, whose, which and that correctly to join clauses.
• Distinguish defining from non-defining relative clauses and punctuate them.
• Use interrogative pronouns to form correct questions.

Summary

The same small set of words does two different jobs. As relative pronouns, who, whom, whose, which and that introduce a clause describing a noun already mentioned: the river that flows through the valley. As interrogative pronouns, who, whom, whose, which and what begin questions: which river flows through the valley? The distinction that causes most difficulty is between defining clauses, which identify the noun and take no commas, and non-defining clauses, which merely add information and take commas.