Cannot Omit Relative Pronouns (Subject Position)

Every relative clause has a job. It describes a noun. In a "subject" relative clause, the pronoun is the boss. It is the one doing the verb. For example, look at the sentence: "The man who lives here is kind." The word who refers to "the man." But who is also the subject of the verb lives. Because who is doing the living, it is the subject. In English, every verb needs a visible subject. If you remove who, the verb lives is lonely. It has no one to do the action. This is why we cannot omit it. It is like a lead singer in a band. You cannot just have the instruments playing! You need that voice to lead the melody.

1. 1Building these sentences is like playing with Lego blocks. Follow these simple steps:
2. 2Start with your main noun (the person or thing).
3. 3Choose your relative pronoun (who for people, which for things, that for both).
4. 4Add the verb that the pronoun is doing.
5. 5Finish the rest of the description.
6. 6Complete your main sentence.
7. 7Example: "The cake (1) + that (2) + sits (3) + on the counter (4) + is for you (5)."
8. 8It is a straight line of logic. You are identifying something and then giving it an action. Remember, the pronoun and the verb are a package deal. You cannot have one without the other in this position.

You will use this rule every single day. Imagine you are ordering food. You might say, "I want the burger that comes with fries." Here, that is the subject of comes. You cannot say, "I want the burger comes with fries." That sounds like a broken robot! In a job interview, you might say, "I am a person who loves challenges." Again, who is the subject of loves. It shows you are confident and clear. Even when asking for directions, it is useful. "Is there a bus that goes to the station?" The word that is the subject of goes. It is the engine of your question. Using it correctly makes you sound like a pro. It shows you understand how English sentences are anchored.

There is a sneaky trap here. Sometimes you *can* delete the pronoun. This happens when the pronoun is the "object." This means there is *another* subject after the pronoun. For example: "The book (that) I read was good." In this case, I is the subject of read. The word that is just an extra guest. You can ask him to leave! But in our rule today, the pronoun *is* the subject. If there is no other person or thing doing the action, the pronoun must stay. If you see a verb immediately after who, which, or that, do not touch it! It is glued to the sentence. Removing it is like taking the wheels off a car. You won't get very far.

The biggest mistake is the "Ghost Pronoun." This is when a speaker forgets the pronoun entirely. They might say, "The girl lives next door is a doctor." To a native speaker, this sounds like two sentences crashed together. It is confusing. Another mistake is using the wrong pronoun. Don't use which for your grandmother! She is a person, so use who or that. Also, some people try to add a second pronoun. "The dog that it barked was loud." You don't need it! The word that is already doing the job. Adding it is like wearing two hats at once. It is a bit much, right? Just keep the relative pronoun and let it work.

Let's compare Subject and Object clauses.

Subject: "The man who called you is my boss." (Pronoun + Verb).

Object: "The man (who) you called is my boss." (Pronoun + New Subject).

In the first one, who is the one calling. He is the hero! In the second one, you are the hero doing the calling. In the second sentence, who is optional. You can drop it like a hot potato. But in the first one? It is essential. Think of the subject pronoun as a permanent employee. The object pronoun is just a freelancer. The freelancer can leave, but the permanent employee has to stay and do the work.