Leaving Out Who, Which and That — When You Can
Practice when the relative pronoun can be left out (the phone I bought) and when it can't (the man who called) — and why you never add 'it'.
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This is the phone I bought ___ last week.
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'The phone I bought' already tells us what was bought. Don't add 'it' — the relative clause doesn't repeat the noun it describes.
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The man ___ called you this morning didn't leave his name.
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who
The pronoun is the subject here — straight after it comes the verb 'called'. A subject pronoun can't be left out, and a man is a person → 'who'.
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The town where I grew up ___ has changed a lot.
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'Where' already means 'in that place', so don't add 'in' or 'there' at the end: 'the town where I grew up'.
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The woman ___ sold me this bag said it was real leather.
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who
Straight after the gap comes the verb 'sold', so the pronoun is the subject and can't be left out → 'who'.
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The cake you made ___ was delicious!
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'The cake you made' is complete — 'you made it' is already inside the clause, so don't repeat 'it'. 'Which' after 'made' would leave the sentence without a main verb.
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Have you read the email ___ came this morning?
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that
The email came — the pronoun is the subject, so it can't be left out. 'That' works for things in clauses without commas. 'What' isn't used after a noun.
When Can You Leave Out the Relative Pronoun?
English often leaves out who, which or that: This is the phone I bought last week, The cake you made was delicious. This is only possible when the pronoun is the object of the clause, and the test is what comes straight after the gap. If it is a new subject — I bought, you made — the pronoun can go. If it is a verb — who called you, that came this morning — the pronoun is the subject and must stay: The man who called you didn't leave his name. A second rule matters just as much: the relative word already stands for the noun, so the noun is never repeated with it, him or them. The phone I bought it is a common error for speakers of languages where that extra pronoun is required.