practice / IELTS Writing Task 2 / Grammatical Range & Accuracy
#GR12
Relative clause error
A relative clause adds extra information about a noun using who, which, that, whose, where, when, or a preposition plus pronoun — and picking the wrong one, or dropping it where it can't be dropped, is a fast way to confuse a reader. Our mainframes flag this as #GR12, and in IELTS Writing Task 2 it counts against Grammatical Range & Accuracy every single time.
Type the missing relative pronoun into each gap — a single word (who, which, that, whose, where, when, why) or, in the last rule, a preposition plus pronoun (in which, to whom...).
Exam result
Step 1 Ask what the pronoun refers to: a person, a thing, a place, a time, or a reason.
Step 2 Check for commas around the clause — if there are any, "that" is banned; use who/which instead.
Step 3 If a preposition belongs to the clause, decide whether formal style pulls it in front of the pronoun.
In your next essay, check every who/which/that/whose against the noun it points back to — and watch this error's count drop in your writing passport.