10.6 Relative pronouns: WHO, WHOM, WHOSE, WHICH, THAT
The relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which and that. The choice of which pronoun we use in a relative clause depends on:
- the type of clause (defining or non-defining),
- the function of the pronoun in the clause (subject, object, possessive determiner or object of a preposition),
- the style (formal or informal).
Pronouns used in defining relative clauses
The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.
The pronoun that is used in informal styles and in spoken language.
In the defining relative clause, the pronoun can be omitted if it stands for the object of the clause. We use the phrase zero pronoun (-) to indicate such a case.
Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.
| Subject | Object | Possessive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | who that |
whom who that (-) |
whose ... |
| Non-person | which that |
which that (-) |
... of which |
The woman who/that answered the door was about forty years old.
He's the reporter whom/who/that/(-) I saw on TV last night.
The engineer whose design is selected will be offered a contract.
Do you know a shop which/that sells antique furniture?
What was the last film which/that/(-) you saw?
Police have found the car the owner of which was reported missing 3 weeks ago.
Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses
The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the non-defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.
Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.
In non-defining relative clauses, we can't omit the relative pronoun and we can't use that.
| Subject | Object | Possessive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | who | whom who |
whose ... |
| Non-person | which | which | ... of which |
Epictetus, who is one of the most well-known Stoic philosophers, was born a slave.
Mr Kowalski, whom/who you all know, will take over the Marketing Department from next month.
Van Gogh, whose paintings are popular today, was not appreciated during his life.
Madrid, which is the capital of Spain, lies on the River Manzanares.
Then they played "My Favourite Things", which I recognised immediately from "The Sound of Music".
The cupboard was full of glasses and cups, many of which were broken.