What would you paint on a city wall? Omitting relative pronouns: the wall we chose

Q: What does omitting relative pronouns mean?

It means leaving out who , which or that in a relative clause: the wall that we chose becomes the wall we chose . You can do it only when the pronoun is the object of its clause, so a new subject follows the noun. The B1 lesson What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai teaches it with a mural that neighbors plan together.

Q: When can you omit a relative pronoun?

When a new subject comes right after the noun : The design the neighbors approved has a big garden. There, the neighbors is the subject, and the missing that would be the object. If a verb comes next instead, the pronoun is the subject and must stay: The kids who picked the colors live on the block. Never leave out who in the artist who painted it .

Q: Can you leave out who in a relative clause?

Only when who is the object : The girl who I met at the party is from Ohio can become The girl I met at the party is from Ohio. In The girl who won the race is from Ohio , who is the subject, so it stays. With people, use who or that , never which : the people (who) it shows , not the people which it shows .

Q: What's the difference between subject and object relative clauses?

In a subject clause, the pronoun does the action : the artist who painted it . In an object clause, someone else does it, and the pronoun can go: the wall (that) we chose . To tell them apart, cover the pronoun and look at the next word: a verb means a subject clause, and a new subject means an object clause. What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai drills both.

Q: Is it “the wall we chose it” or “the wall we chose”?

It's the wall we chose , with no it at the end . The noun is already in the sentence, so the clause doesn't repeat it: the roller Inez gave me , not the roller Inez gave me it . The same is true with that : the mural that I'd paint , not the mural that I'd paint it . The chat in What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai tests this slip.

Q: Why is Philadelphia called the “Mural Capital of the World”?

Because artists and neighbors have painted thousands of murals there . Mural Arts Philadelphia began in 1984 inside the city's Anti-Graffiti Network, and artist Jane Golden, who joined that year to work with young people through art, is called its founder. There were more than 1,000 outdoor murals by the mid-1990s and, a WHYY report says, more than 4,000 by 2025.

Q: What words do you need to talk about murals in English?

Start with the people and the tools : a muralist paints big pictures on walls, stands on scaffolding and uses a roller for large areas. A blank wall has nothing on it yet, graffiti is painted on walls without permission, and a portrait shows one person. What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai teaches twelve such words with pictures and audio.

Q: How do I teach omitting relative pronouns to B1 students?

Begin with full clauses, then take the pronoun out : the wall that we chose → the wall we chose . Show that it works only when a subject follows, and contrast the artist who painted it . What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai moves from Darius's mural feature and dialogue to the scheme, a yes-or-no table and three more drills.

Q: What's a good game for practicing relative clauses without a pronoun?

Play “Point to it” : a student describes something in the room with a clause and no pronoun, such as the pen I borrowed or the chair my partner sits on , and the class points to it. A wrong it at the end costs a point. The open boxes in What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai add prompts like Think of a blank wall you walk past every day.

Q: What's good homework for omitting relative pronouns?

Good homework gives the subject and verb of each clause and asks learners to build it: The movie ___ (we / watch) last night was really funny. → The movie we watched . In What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, and the last one is a student's mural proposal with words to drag in.

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches omitting relative pronouns, as in the wall we chose and the people it shows, through the murals artists and neighbors paint in Philadelphia.

Grammar: Clauses without who, which or that when the pronoun is the object (the colors the kids picked), but not when it's the subject (the artist who painted it).
Topic: Mural Arts Philadelphia, which began in 1984, and the murals people plan together, with words such as muralist, scaffolding, portrait and public art.
Activities: A feature to read, a day on the scaffolding and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a planning chat and a mural proposal built step by step.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: grab a brush!
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: art on the wallsVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: the city that paints its walls
- Look at the photo: a mural in PhiladelphiaPictureUnlock
- Read Darius's story on the show's websiteArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: Darius on the scaffolding
- Listen to Darius and InezListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the Listener's Take: Murray's messageListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: the wall we chose
- Study the scheme: the wall we choseGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: can you leave out who, which or that?Fill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: propose a mural!
- Choose the right replies: plan a mural with InezChatTry it
- Put the parts of Inez's model proposal in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
- Sort the words into the correct columns: the parts of a proposalSort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the correct option: a proposal templateChoose the optionUnlock
- Open a box and answer: present your artwork ideaOpen the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
- Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: can you leave it out?QuizUnlock
- Choose the correct option: Darius answers MurrayChoose the optionUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: Destiny's mural proposalDrag and dropUnlock

Art vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

muralist
blank
scaffolding
roller
portrait
graffiti
cloth
elevated train
spray paint

Grammar: relative clauses without who, which or that

When who, which or that is the object of its clause, English often leaves it out: the wall (that) we chose. With a neighborhood mural, learners check the word after the noun before they drop the pronoun, keep it before a verb, and never add it or them at the end.

The wall (that) we chose

When who, which or that is the object of its clause, you can leave it out. When it is the subject, keep it.

Leave it out: noun + subject + verb

If a new subject comes right after the noun, the pronoun is the object, and you can leave it out: The mural we proposed has a big garden. The subject can be any person or noun: the wall I chose, the wall she chose, the colors the kids picked.

Noun	who / which / that	Subject + verb	Example
the design	(that / which)	the neighbors approved	We love the design the neighbors approved.
the mural	(that / which)	we proposed	The mural we proposed has a big garden.
the wall	(that / which)	they chose	The wall they chose faces the park.
the people	(who / that)	it shows	The people it shows are real neighbors.
the colors	(that / which)	the kids picked	Darius loves the colors the kids picked.
the mural	(that / which)	I'd paint	The mural I'd paint would show my street.
any subject	(that / which)	I / you / he / she / it / we / they + verb	the wall I chose, the wall she chose, the wall they chose

Keep it: who, which or that + verb

When a verb comes right after the noun, the pronoun is the subject, and it has to stay: The artist who painted it lives on our street. We chose the wall that faces the park. To check, cover the pronoun and look at the next word.

Keep it: who / which / that + verb

Noun	who / which / that + verb	Example
the artist	who painted it	The artist who painted it lives on our street.
the wall	that faces the park	We chose the wall that faces the park.
the kids	who helped Inez	The kids who helped Inez are in fourth grade.
a mural	which shows our neighbors	This is a mural which shows our neighbors.

How to check

Cover who / which / that and look at the next word. Is it a new subject (I, we, it, the kids, Inez)? Then who / which / that is the object, and you can leave it out: the wall (that) we chose. Is it a verb (painted, faces, helped)? Then who / which / that is the subject: keep it! The artist who painted it lives here.

No it or them at the end

The noun is already in the sentence, so don't repeat it with it or them, or with him or her: the wall we chose, not the wall we chose it. The same goes with that: the mural that I'd paint, not the mural that I'd paint it.

No it or them at the end

The noun is already in the sentence, so don't say it again with it, them, him or her: the wall we chose (not: the wall we chose it). With that, too: the mural that I'd paint (not: the mural that I'd paint it).

People, things and a preposition at the end

For people, the pronoun is who or that, never which; for things, which or that. A preposition moves to the end: the street I live on. The wall that we chose is right too; people just leave the word out more often when they speak.

People, things and prepositions

People: who or that (or nothing): the people (who) it shows. Not: the people which it shows. Things: which or that (or nothing). A preposition goes at the end: the street I live on, the wall I told you about. People often leave the word out when they speak, but the wall that we chose is right too.

On the street in Philadelphia

It's the wall the neighbors chose at the first meeting.
The people it shows are real neighbors.
The design they approved has a big garden.
The kids who picked the colors live on the block.
Oh no! This is the hoodie I wear in every episode!
A portrait of every neighbor I've met: that's the mural I'd paint.

Common mistakes

This is the wall we chose it.
This is the wall we chose.
no it at the end
The artist painted it is famous.
The artist who painted it is famous.
the artist is the subject: keep who
The mural that I'd paint it is huge.
The mural that I'd paint is huge.
that or nothing, but no it
The people which it shows are neighbors.
The people (who) it shows are neighbors.
people: who or that, not which

More lessons on this grammar: Relative clauses lessons and exercises

Try the omitting relative pronouns exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

20 auto-checked exercises
5 games
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

leave out that, which or who when a new subject follows: The design the neighbors approved has a big garden.
keep the pronoun when a verb follows: The kids who helped Inez are in fourth grade.
end the clause cleanly, with no extra it and the preposition last: the wall we chose, the street I live on
propose a public artwork: the place, what it shows, who will paint it and why: The people it shows are our neighbors.

Lesson 23 is the third lesson of Art and design, unit 6 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. After whose (lesson 21) and commas (lesson 22), it shows when a defining clause from A2.2 lessons 25 and 26 can lose its pronoun. Lesson 24 ends the unit with when and why. Planning a mural is a chain of choices, which make natural object clauses: the wall the neighbors chose, the colors the kids picked.

Students spin a wheel of questions about street art, painting and neighbors, then learn twelve words, from propose and approve to graffiti and spray paint, with pictures and audio. They read Darius's feature on Mural Arts Philadelphia, then hear him paint a sky with Inez, a muralist, and Murray from Pennsylvania describe the mural he'd paint at his college; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four self-checking drills, among them a table that asks whether the pronoun can go. The speaking chapter builds a mural proposal: a chat with Inez, her model proposal to order, phrases to sort, a template and boxes for presenting.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the mural words and a memory game, then new sentences with and without the pronoun, clauses to build from a subject and a verb, word order, a quiz on where the pronoun can go, Darius's answer to Murray with forms to choose, and Destiny's proposal for a mural at the community pool.

Grammar:: relative clauses · leaving out who, which, that · object relative clauses · subject vs object relative clauses
Topic:: Mural Arts Philadelphia · Philadelphia · murals · public art · neighborhoods · art and design · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

Cover the pronoun with a finger and look at the next word: a subject such as we or the kids means it can go, and a verb such as painted means it stays. Students test five sentences this way.
Before the feature, ask about local walls: are the ones students pass every day blank, painted or covered in graffiti? Then they read how Philadelphia turned walls into public art with its neighbors.
Play the scaffolding dialogue twice: first for who chose, approved and picked what, then for the clauses without a pronoun. Students note each one: the wall the neighbors chose, the design they approved.
Hold a mini gallery walk after the proposal steps: pairs sketch a wall design on paper, put it up and present it with The wall we chose… and The people it shows…

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Start-up stories
the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides
Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow
the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous
Unit 3 Food for the future
comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out
Unit 4 Memory and learning
reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands
Unit 5 Customs and manners
degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do
Unit 6 Art and design
relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why
1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
3. Lesson 23 · you're hereWhat would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where
Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers
verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather
Unit 8 Adventure and challenge
possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What does omitting relative pronouns mean?

It means leaving out who, which or that in a relative clause: the wall that we chose becomes the wall we chose. You can do it only when the pronoun is the object of its clause, so a new subject follows the noun. The B1 lesson What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai teaches it with a mural that neighbors plan together.

When can you omit a relative pronoun?

When a new subject comes right after the noun: The design the neighbors approved has a big garden. There, the neighbors is the subject, and the missing that would be the object. If a verb comes next instead, the pronoun is the subject and must stay: The kids who picked the colors live on the block. Never leave out who in the artist who painted it.

Can you leave out who in a relative clause?

Only when who is the object: The girl who I met at the party is from Ohio can become The girl I met at the party is from Ohio. In The girl who won the race is from Ohio, who is the subject, so it stays. With people, use who or that, never which: the people (who) it shows, not the people which it shows.

What's the difference between subject and object relative clauses?

In a subject clause, the pronoun does the action: the artist who painted it. In an object clause, someone else does it, and the pronoun can go: the wall (that) we chose. To tell them apart, cover the pronoun and look at the next word: a verb means a subject clause, and a new subject means an object clause. What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai drills both.

Is it “the wall we chose it” or “the wall we chose”?

It's the wall we chose, with no it at the end. The noun is already in the sentence, so the clause doesn't repeat it: the roller Inez gave me, not the roller Inez gave me it. The same is true with that: the mural that I'd paint, not the mural that I'd paint it. The chat in What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai tests this slip.

Why is Philadelphia called the “Mural Capital of the World”?

Because artists and neighbors have painted thousands of murals there. Mural Arts Philadelphia began in 1984 inside the city's Anti-Graffiti Network, and artist Jane Golden, who joined that year to work with young people through art, is called its founder. There were more than 1,000 outdoor murals by the mid-1990s and, a WHYY report says, more than 4,000 by 2025.

What words do you need to talk about murals in English?

Start with the people and the tools: a muralist paints big pictures on walls, stands on scaffolding and uses a roller for large areas. A blank wall has nothing on it yet, graffiti is painted on walls without permission, and a portrait shows one person. What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai teaches twelve such words with pictures and audio.

How do I teach omitting relative pronouns to B1 students?

Begin with full clauses, then take the pronoun out: the wall that we chose → the wall we chose. Show that it works only when a subject follows, and contrast the artist who painted it. What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai moves from Darius's mural feature and dialogue to the scheme, a yes-or-no table and three more drills.

What's a good game for practicing relative clauses without a pronoun?

Play “Point to it”: a student describes something in the room with a clause and no pronoun, such as the pen I borrowed or the chair my partner sits on, and the class points to it. A wrong it at the end costs a point. The open boxes in What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai add prompts like Think of a blank wall you walk past every day.

What's good homework for omitting relative pronouns?

Good homework gives the subject and verb of each clause and asks learners to build it: The movie ___ (we / watch) last night was really funny. → The movie we watched. In What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, and the last one is a student's mural proposal with words to drag in.

How do you practice omitting relative pronouns one-to-one?

Plan a real artwork together: the student picks a wall near home and answers What's the wall you'd choose?, Who are the people it would show? and What colors would you pick? The chat in What would you paint on a city wall? on edio.ai needs no partner: Inez, a muralist, helps the student plan a mural for their neighborhood.

Are there interactive exercises for relative clauses without a pronoun?

Yes. This page plays three parts of What would you paint on a city wall?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: Darius and Inez's dialogue, a gap-fill built from a subject and a verb and the mural-planning chat. Everything else needs an account.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Art vocabulary

Grammar: relative clauses without who, which or that

Leave it out: noun + subject + verb

Keep it: who, which or that + verb

Keep it: who / which / that + verb

No it or them at the end

People, things and a preposition at the end

On the street in Philadelphia

Common mistakes

Try the omitting relative pronouns exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

Unit 1 Start-up stories

Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

Unit 3 Food for the future

Unit 4 Memory and learning

Unit 5 Customs and manners

Unit 6 Art and design

Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students