RELATIVE PRONOUNS — MCQs for Competitive Examinations

(Based on Wren & Martin's English Grammar)

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Average Standard

1. The girl ________ won the first prize is my neighbour.

• A) whom
• B) which
• C) who
• D) whose

2. This is the house ________ I was born and brought up.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) which
• D) where

3. The book ________ you lent me last week was very interesting.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) whose
• D) which

4. He is the same person ________ helped me during my difficult times.

• A) which
• B) whom
• C) that
• D) whose

5. The man ________ car was stolen filed a complaint at the police station.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) whose
• D) which

6. She is the most intelligent student ________ has ever studied in this school.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) which
• D) that

7. Choose the correct sentence:

• A) The dog which bit the child was caught by the police.
• B) The dog who bit the child was caught by the police.
• C) The dog whom bit the child was caught by the police.
• D) The dog whose bit the child was caught by the police.

8. I met the scientist ________ discoveries have changed the world of medicine forever.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) which
• D) whose

9. Identify the error in the following sentence: "The teacher which taught us English last year has been transferred to another school."

• A) The teacher
• B) which taught us
• C) last year
• D) another school
• E) No error

10. All ________ glitters is not gold — this is a famous proverb in English.

• A) who
• B) whom
• C) whose
• D) that

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Answers

1. C) who "Who" is a relative pronoun used as the subject of the relative clause when referring to persons. Wren & Martin states that "who" is used for persons only and functions as the subject of the verb in the relative clause — here "who won the first prize."

2. D) where "Where" is a relative adverb used to refer to a place already mentioned in the main clause. Wren & Martin states that "where" is used to introduce a relative clause that describes a place — here "the house where I was born" correctly identifies the place.

3. D) which "Which" is a relative pronoun used for things and animals, not for persons. Wren & Martin clearly states that "which" refers to things or animals and functions either as subject or object in the relative clause — here "which you lent me" refers to the book (a thing).

4. C) that After the expression "the same," the relative pronoun "that" is always used instead of "who" or "which." Wren & Martin specifically states that "that" is preferred after "the same," "the only," "all," and superlatives — making "that" the correct choice here.

5. C) whose "Whose" is the possessive form of the relative pronoun "who" and is used to show belonging or possession. Wren & Martin states that "whose" is used for persons to indicate possession — here "whose car was stolen" correctly shows that the car belonged to the man.

6. D) that After superlative adjectives like "most intelligent," the relative pronoun "that" is preferred over "who" or "which." Wren & Martin clearly lists this as a specific rule — "that" must be used after superlatives, "the only," and "the same" to introduce the relative clause.

7. A) The dog which bit the child was caught by the police. "Which" is used for animals and things, not "who" or "whom." Wren & Martin states that "who" and "whom" are strictly used for persons only, while "which" is used for animals and things — here the subject is a dog, so "which" is correct.

8. D) whose "Whose" is used here to show that the discoveries belong to the scientist. Wren & Martin states that "whose" is the possessive relative pronoun used for persons to avoid the awkward construction "of whom" — "the scientist whose discoveries" is cleaner and more natural than "the scientist of whom the discoveries."

9. B) which taught us "Which" is used for things and animals, never for persons. Wren & Martin strictly states that "who" must be used when the antecedent is a person. Since "teacher" is a person, "which" is incorrect and must be replaced by "who." Correct sentence: "The teacher who taught us English last year has been transferred to another school."

10. D) that After "all" used as an antecedent, the relative pronoun "that" is always used instead of "who" or "which." Wren & Martin specifically states that "that" is preferred after "all," "the same," "the only," and superlative degrees — here "all that glitters" correctly follows this rule.