Ace the TSA Writing Skills Challenge 2026 – Unleash Your Inner Wordsmith!

Relative pronouns are specifically designed to connect a subordinate clause—an additional piece of information that cannot stand alone—to the main clause. They serve as a bridge, clarifying the relationship between the two parts of a sentence. Common relative pronouns include "who," "whom," "whose," "that," and "which." For instance, in the sentence "The book that I borrowed was fascinating," the relative pronoun "that" relates the subordinate clause "that I borrowed" to the main clause, indicating which specific book is being discussed.

The other types of pronouns mentioned do not serve this function. Possessive pronouns show ownership, while intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or pronoun already mentioned. Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object of a sentence refer to the same entity. Thus, only relative pronouns perform the critical role of linking subordinate clauses to main clauses in a sentence.