Leaving out the relative pronoun: the people we met

What does leaving it out mean?

A relative clause gives information about a noun. A defining relative clause tells you which person or thing you mean. When who, which or that is the object, you can use the clause without that word. The meaning stays the same.

In the first example, I booked the tickets. I is the subject, and the tickets are the object of booked. You can leave out that because it stands for the object.

Leaving out the pronoun is a feature of informal styles. You can also keep it.

Check who does the action

The subject does the action. The object receives it. Check the relative clause, not the whole sentence.

• The neighbour who I helped sent me a card. I helped the neighbour. Who is the object, so you can leave it out.
• The neighbour who helped me sent me a card. The neighbour helped me. Who is the subject, so keep it.

In these simple patterns, another subject after the pronoun is a useful sign that you can leave the pronoun out. A verb straight after it is a sign that it is the subject. Check the meaning as well as the next word.

Do not add another object

Leaving out the pronoun does not mean adding it, him or her later. The noun before the clause is already understood as the object.

• The bag you lent me is in the car.
• The doctor we called will arrive soon.

You lent me the bag. We called the doctor. Do not say the bag you lent me it or the doctor we called him.

Prepositions at the end

A preposition is a word such as to, with, in or about. In a defining clause, you can also leave out the pronoun when it goes with a preposition. Keep the preposition at the end of the relative clause.

Do not leave an empty space after a preposition at the start of the clause. For a formal pattern such as the chair on which you are sitting, keep which. See Prepositions in relative clauses: with whom, which... with.

When you must keep it

Keep who, which or that when it is the subject in a full relative clause.

• The road that leads to the beach is closed.

Keep the pronoun in a non-defining clause. This kind of clause gives an extra fact, with commas, rather than identifying the person or thing.

• My cousin, who you met in May, is moving here.

You met my cousin, so who is an object here. It still stays because this is a non-defining clause. See Non-defining relative clauses: extra information with commas.

A time expression without when

After a time noun, you can leave out when too. This is a separate pattern from leaving out an object pronoun.

• I remember the evening when the river froze. / I remember the evening the river froze.

For place expressions with where or a preposition, see Prepositions in relative clauses: with whom, which... with. Do not assume that every clause with where can simply lose it.

What comes next

See Defining relative clauses: who, which, that for the basic relative pronouns, Non-defining relative clauses: extra information with commas for extra information and Prepositions in relative clauses: with whom, which... with for preposition patterns. Reduced relative clauses: people waiting, a letter sent yesterday covers a different way to shorten some clauses.