In the sentence 'The old man who lives next door is very nice,' which word is the relative pronoun?

In the sentence 'The old man who lives next door is very nice,' which word is the relative pronoun?

• A. Which
• B. Who
• C. That
• D. Whom

Answer: (B)

A relative pronoun introduces a clause that adds information about a noun. In the sentence, the phrase who lives next door provides extra details about the old man. The word who acts as the subject of the verb lives in that clause, referring back to the old man. Since who is the subject form used for people, it fits perfectly here. Other pronouns wouldn’t work as well: which refers to things, and whom is the object form used when the pronoun is the object of a verb or a preposition, which isn’t the case in this clause. So who is the correct choice.

A relative pronoun introduces a clause that adds information about a noun. In the sentence, the phrase who lives next door provides extra details about the old man. The word who acts as the subject of the verb lives in that clause, referring back to the old man. Since who is the subject form used for people, it fits perfectly here. Other pronouns wouldn’t work as well: which refers to things, and whom is the object form used when the pronoun is the object of a verb or a preposition, which isn’t the case in this clause. So who is the correct choice.