Relative Clauses with Where, When, and Whose in English

In Brief

Use where to connect a place to what happens there, when to connect a time to an event, and whose to show possession: the café where we met, the year when I graduated, a writer whose books I love. Use commas when the clause only adds extra information; in a defining clause, you may omit an object who, which, or that, but never a subject relative pronoun.

Overview

A relative clause (a group of words that describes a noun) lets you combine ideas without starting a new sentence. In the café where we met, the clause where we met describes the café. The noun being described is called the antecedent—in plain language, the person, thing, place, or time that the clause points back to.

At B1, where, when, and whose make your descriptions more precise. They build on basic clauses with who, which, and that. You also need to distinguish defining clauses, which identify exactly which person or thing you mean, from non-defining clauses, which add optional information.

These choices affect both meaning and punctuation. Compare The employees who work remotely meet online with The employees, who work remotely, meet online. The first can mean only the remote employees; the second presents remote work as extra information about all the employees already identified.

How It Works

Where for places

Use where after a noun that refers to a place. It means roughly in which, at which, or sometimes to which.

Pattern	Example	Equivalent idea
place + where + subject + verb	the room where we had lunch	the room in which we had lunch
place + where + subject + verb	the shop where she works	the shop at which she works

The clause after where already contains the idea of location. Do not normally add another location word with the same job:

• This is the hotel where we stayed.
• This is the hotel at which we stayed. (formal)
• Not: This is the hotel where we stayed at.

A place does not always require where. Choose the relative word according to the noun's role inside the clause:

• The hotel where we stayed was quiet. We stayed at the hotel: location.
• The hotel that we booked was quiet. We booked the hotel: object of booked.
• The hotel that overlooks the bay is expensive. The hotel overlooks the bay: subject of overlooks.

When for times

Use when after a word for a time, period, or occasion: day, moment, year, summer, age, or time. It can mean on which, in which, or at which.

Pattern	Example	Equivalent idea
time + when + subject + verb	the day when we moved	the day on which we moved
period + when + subject + verb	a period when prices were rising	a period during which prices were rising

In defining clauses, when is often optional after common time nouns:

• I remember the day when we met.
• I remember the day we met.

However, keeping when can make a long sentence easier to follow. Also choose by function: the week that changed my life uses that, because the week is the subject of changed; the week when my life changed uses when, because the change happened during that week.

Whose for possession and relationships

Whose is a relative determiner—a word placed before a noun to show which person or thing that noun belongs or relates to. The pattern is:

person or thing + whose + noun + clause

• a neighbour whose dog barks at night
• a company whose products are sold worldwide

The possessed noun comes immediately after whose. The whole phrase then has a role in the relative clause. In the student whose laptop disappeared, whose laptop is the subject of disappeared. In the student whose laptop I found, it is the object of found.

Whose is not the same as who's. Who's is a contraction of who is or who has; whose shows possession.

Although whose often refers to people, standard English also uses it for organisations, places, and things. A house whose roof needs repair is correct and natural. In more formal prose, you may also see a house the roof of which needs repair.

Defining relative clauses: essential information

A defining (or restrictive) clause tells the listener which person or thing you mean. Do not put commas around it.

• The customer whose card was declined called the bank.
• The office where I work closes at six.

Without the clause, the customer or the office may not be identifiable. That can replace object or subject who/which in many defining clauses, but it cannot replace where, when, or whose in every structure. Compare:

• the town where I grew up / the town that I grew up in
• the year when they married / the year that they married / the year they married
• the woman whose bicycle was stolen (not the woman that bicycle was stolen)

Non-defining relative clauses: extra information

A non-defining (or non-restrictive) clause adds information about a noun that is already identified. Set it off with commas—or with one comma if it comes at the end.

• Our apartment, where we have lived for six years, is being renovated.
• I called Maya, whose number was still in my phone.
• We moved in 2020, when many offices were closed.

If you remove the clause, the main reference stays clear. In careful standard English:

• do not use that in a non-defining clause;
• do not omit the relative word;
• use commas to mark the clause as additional information.

The commas are not decorative. They can change the meaning:

• My cousins who live in Canada are visiting. Only the cousins in Canada are identified as visiting.
• My cousins, who live in Canada, are visiting. All the cousins being discussed live in Canada, and they are visiting.

When a relative pronoun can be omitted

You can omit who, whom, which, or that when it is the object (the person or thing receiving the action) in a defining relative clause.

• The book that I ordered has arrived. → The book I ordered has arrived.
• The colleague who you met is our designer. → The colleague you met is our designer.

A quick test is to look for a subject after the relative word. In the book that I ordered, I is the subject, so that is the object and can disappear.

Do not omit a relative pronoun when it is the subject (the person or thing doing the action):

• The book that contains the map is upstairs.
• Not: The book contains the map is upstairs.

Do not omit the relative word in a non-defining clause or directly after a fronted preposition:

• This book, which I ordered yesterday, has arrived.
• The person to whom I spoke was helpful.

Examples in Context

English	Meaning	Note
This is the neighbourhood where I grew up.	I grew up in this neighbourhood.	Where expresses place.
The restaurant where we had dinner has closed.	We had dinner at that restaurant.	Defining clause; no commas.
The restaurant, where we had our first date, has closed.	The first date is extra information about an identified restaurant.	Non-defining clause; commas.
I still remember the day when the results arrived.	The results arrived on that day.	When expresses time.
Friday is the day we usually work from home.	We usually work from home on Friday.	When is omitted naturally.
There was a time when nobody carried a smartphone.	In that period, smartphones were not commonly carried.	A period described with when.
The cyclist whose bike was damaged filed a report.	The cyclist's bike was damaged.	Whose bike is the subject.
I thanked the neighbour whose parcel I had received.	I had received that neighbour's parcel.	Whose parcel is the object.
We chose a hotel whose rooms face the sea.	The hotel's rooms face the sea.	Whose can refer to a thing or organisation.
The film that we watched was surprisingly funny.	We watched the film.	That is an object.
The film we watched was surprisingly funny.	Same meaning as the previous sentence.	Object relative pronoun omitted.
The actor who played the detective won an award.	The actor played the detective.	Who is the subject and cannot be omitted.
Edinburgh, where my sister lives, is busy in August.	My sister's residence is extra information about Edinburgh.	A non-defining place clause.
2019, when the project began, now feels distant.	The project began in 2019.	A non-defining time clause.
Lena, whose desk is beside mine, starts early.	Lena's desk is beside mine.	A non-defining possession clause.

Common Mistakes

Repeating the place preposition after where

• Wrong: That's the café where we met at.
• Right: That's the café where we met.
• Also right: That's the café that we met at.
• Why: Where already carries the idea of at the café. Use either where or a structure that keeps the preposition, not both.

Omitting a subject relative pronoun

• Wrong: The woman works upstairs is an architect.
• Right: The woman who works upstairs is an architect.
• Why: Who is the subject of works. Only an object relative pronoun can normally be omitted.

Using that in a non-defining clause

• Wrong: My laptop, that I bought last month, has stopped working.
• Right: My laptop, which I bought last month, has stopped working.
• Why: Standard English does not use that in non-defining relative clauses.

Leaving out commas around extra information

• Wrong: Aisha whose application was successful starts Monday.
• Right: Aisha, whose application was successful, starts Monday.
• Why: The name already identifies Aisha. The whose clause adds extra information, so it is separated by commas.

Confusing whose and who's

• Wrong: The client who's address changed contacted us.
• Right: The client whose address changed contacted us.
• Why: Whose shows a relationship or possession. Who's means who is or who has.

Choosing where just because the antecedent is a place

• Wrong: The city where attracts the most visitors is nearby.
• Right: The city that attracts the most visitors is nearby.
• Why: The city performs the action attracts, so the clause needs a subject pronoun such as that or which, not a location word.

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, English often prefers a defining clause with a final preposition: the town I grew up in, the person I spoke to. The alternatives the town in which I grew up and the person to whom I spoke are correct but more formal. A preposition placed at the end is called a stranded preposition; it is normal in modern English, not an error.

When is frequently omitted in expressions such as the day we met, the last time I called, and the year she graduated. Where is less freely omitted because a location preposition may still be needed: say the house where I lived or the house I lived in, not normally the house I lived.

In speech, listeners hear pauses around non-defining clauses; in writing, commas represent those pauses and signal the intended meaning. With a proper name, a unique place, or a possessive expression, a non-defining reading is often likely: Mount Fuji, which is visible from Tokyo on clear days, ... Still, the writer chooses punctuation according to meaning, not simply according to the type of noun.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Preposition plus which or whom

Formal English can place a preposition before which or whom:

• the building in which they work
• the date on which the contract ends
• the consultant with whom we spoke

Do not use that after a fronted preposition: not the building in that they work. In less formal English, move the preposition to the end and use which, who, that, or no object pronoun: the building (that) they work in; the consultant (who) we spoke with.

Whose with abstract and inanimate nouns

Whose can link more than literal ownership. It can express a part, feature, or association:

• a theory whose influence is still visible
• a village whose population has doubled
• an investigation whose outcome remains uncertain

This use is standard across registers and is often smoother than an of which construction.

Which referring to a whole preceding idea

In a non-defining clause, which can comment on an entire earlier statement rather than one noun:

• The train was cancelled, which meant we had to drive.

Here, which refers to the cancellation as a whole. This differs from the train, which was cancelled, where which directly describes the train.

Reduced alternatives

More advanced writing sometimes shortens a relative clause:

• Students living off campus should register online. (= students who live off campus)
• The documents sent yesterday contain an error. (= documents that were sent yesterday)

These are reduced relative clauses. They are useful for concise writing, but the full clause is often clearer when the sentence is complex.

Practice Tips

1. Transform pairs. Rewrite the office where I work as the office that I work in and the office in which I work. Notice how the preposition moves and how the register changes.
2. Test for omission. Underline the subject inside each relative clause. If a subject already follows who/which/that in a defining clause, try removing the relative pronoun: the report that we submitted → the report we submitted.
3. Read commas for meaning. Take one noun in the plural and write both versions: The guests who arrived early... and The guests, who arrived early,... Explain whether the clause identifies some guests or adds information about all of them.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses: who, which, that — introduces the basic relative pronouns and defining clauses.
• Next step: Cleft Sentences — uses clause structures to place emphasis on particular information.
• Later topic: Nominal Clauses — explores clauses that function like nouns rather than clauses that describe nouns.