Relative Clauses – Removal of ‘Relative Pronoun’

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So I have a grammar book that says you can remove relative pronoun when it is used in defining relative clause, if it is non-defining you can't.

For example:

The man who we met yesterday was a sales representative.

The man we met yesterday was a sales representative.

both correct. But:

My father, who you met yesterday, lives in Germany.

According to the book you can't remove "who" from this sentence. Is this acceptable for all cases or just particular ones?

Best Answer

The book has it right, except for one further condition: you cannot remove the relative pronoun when it functions as the subject of the relative clause.

So:

The man [who] we met yesterday... - "who" is optional. But

The man who came to see us yesterday... - "who" is required.

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