WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-10 MCQs on Relative Pronouns,

10 MCQs on Relative Pronouns, Forms of Relative Pronouns and Use of Relative Pronouns

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1. "The student *___ * scored the highest marks in the examination was awarded a gold medal." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: D) who ("Who" is the correct relative pronoun here because it refers to "the student" which is a person — "who" is used as the subject of the relative clause "scored the highest marks in the examination" — relative pronouns that refer to persons are "who" in the subject form "whom" in the object form and "whose" in the possessive form.)

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2. "The book *___ * she borrowed from the library last week has been praised by many literary critics." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: C) that ("That" is the correct relative pronoun here because it refers to "the book" which is a thing — in defining or restrictive relative clauses "that" is commonly used to refer to things and sometimes to people — it introduces a clause that is essential to identifying the noun it modifies and cannot be omitted without changing the meaning.)

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3. "She met a kind and generous man *___ * son had won the prestigious national award." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: D) whose ("Whose" is the possessive form of the relative pronoun and is used to show that something belongs to or is associated with the person mentioned — "whose son" indicates that the son belongs to the man — "whose" can refer to both persons and things and functions as a possessive adjective within the relative clause.)

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4. "The scientist *___ * the committee honoured last evening has made several groundbreaking discoveries." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: D) whom ("Whom" is the objective form of the relative pronoun "who" and is used when the relative pronoun functions as the object of the verb in the relative clause — in the clause "the committee honoured" the relative pronoun is the object of the verb "honoured" making the objective form "whom" grammatically correct.)

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5. "The old building *___ * stands at the corner of the street is said to be over two hundred years old." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: D) which ("Which" is the correct relative pronoun here because it refers to "the old building" which is a thing — "which" is used to refer to animals and inanimate objects in both defining and non-defining relative clauses — unlike "that" "which" can also be used in non-defining clauses where it is set off by commas.)

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6. "This is the village *___ * she was born and spent the early years of her childhood." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: C) where ("Where" is a relative adverb used to refer to a place — it introduces a relative clause that describes the location associated with the antecedent "the village" — relative adverbs such as "where" "when" and "why" function as relatives that modify nouns of place time and reason respectively.)

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7. "The day *___ * she received the news of her promotion was the happiest day of her entire life." — Choose the correct relative pronoun or adverb.

• A) which
• B) where
• C) whose
• D) when

Answer: D) when ("When" is a relative adverb used to refer to a time — it introduces a relative clause describing the time associated with the antecedent "the day" — "when" as a relative adverb replaces an adverbial phrase of time and connects the relative clause to the noun of time in the main clause.)

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8. "Which of the following sentences correctly uses a non-defining relative clause?"

• A) The woman who lives next door is a renowned cardiologist.
• B) The book that she recommended was extremely informative and well written.
• C) Shakespeare, who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, is considered the greatest writer in the English language.
• D) The students who passed the examination were given certificates of merit.

Answer: C) Shakespeare, who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, is considered the greatest writer in the English language. (A non-defining relative clause adds extra information about a noun that is already clearly identified — it is separated from the main clause by commas and can be removed without changing the essential meaning — "who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon" is additional information about Shakespeare who is already fully identified.)

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9. "She donated all the money *___ * she had saved over the years to a charitable organisation." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.

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

Answer: D) that ("That" is the correct relative pronoun here referring to "the money" which is a thing — in defining relative clauses "that" is preferred over "which" especially when the antecedent is something specific and the clause is essential to the meaning — "that" cannot be used in non-defining clauses while "which" can be used in both.)

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10. "Which of the following sentences correctly illustrates the omission of the relative pronoun?"

• A) The film that it was released last month has received outstanding reviews from critics worldwide.
• B) The woman whom she met at the conference was a highly respected and experienced diplomat.
• C) The letter she wrote to the editor was published in the newspaper the very next day.
• D) The house which stands at the corner of the lane belongs to a retired army officer.

Answer: C) The letter she wrote to the editor was published in the newspaper the very next day. (The relative pronoun "that" or "which" has been correctly omitted in this sentence — when the relative pronoun functions as the object of the verb in the relative clause it can be omitted in defining relative clauses — "the letter that she wrote" can be correctly reduced to "the letter she wrote" without any loss of meaning.)