Forms of The Relative Pronouns :
Case.....Singular…..Plural
Nominative Case..... Who.....Who
Genitive Case.....Whose.....Whose
Accusative Case.....Whom.....Whom
1. He is the man who reads the news.
2. He is the man whose car has been stolen.
3. This is the girl whom all praise as beautiful.
4. These are the men who are visiting us.
5. These are the men whose payments are due.
6. These are the men whom we all wanted to meet.
Note : Forms of the Relative Pronoun WHO are the same both for singular and plural.
This is the flat which belongs to my wife.
Which - Relative Pronoun
subject of "belongs"
nominative case
The apartment, which I bought, cost me Rs. 5 lakhs.
I bought the apartment. It cost me Rs. 5 Lakhs.
which - refers to apartment
which - Relative Pronoun object of bought
accusative case
apartment - Antecedent.
Note : The Relative Pronoun WHICH has the same form for the Nominative and Accusative case.
1. He, that is content, is rich.
2. They that touch the live electric wire will get hurt.
3. The fact, that you don't like her, has nothing to do with the affair.
4. Take whatever you like.
5. I will get you anything that you want.
Note : The Relative Pronoun THAT has the same form for singular and plural and also, for nominative and Accusative case. The Relative Pronoun will have the same number, gender and case of its Antecedent.
WHAT - (Pre-determiner - determiner - pronoun)
(used in questions about an unknown thing or person or kind of thing or person)
1. I believed what he told me.
2. She told me what to do.
3. I am very thankful for what you did.
4. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh is determined to.
resist what he regards as blackmail by the leftists.
5. He gave me just the cash that I wanted.
6. He gave me just what 1 needed.
7. The thing, that I wish for is nothing in the world.
8. What I wish for is nothing in the world.
Note : The Relative Pronoun, THAT, in the sentences above, refers to a noun that is before it. But note, 'what' as a Relative Pronoun, does not 'repeat the meaning' of a noun that comes before it. It includes the meaning of a noun.
1. I say what I mean.
2. She succeeded in what he attempted.
Note : WHAT is Relative Pronoun in the above sentences. Its antecedent is not mentioned. WHAT as a Relative Pronoun has the same form both for nominative and accusative cases.
1. There is no one who can help me.
2. I know the person who owns the house.
3. The lady who fell off the motor-cycle, did not hurt herself.
Note : When the Relative Pronoun is the subject, WHO is used for people.
1. The parcel, that was received just now, is for my wife.
2. Was the car comfortable that took you to Chennai?
3. The bird, which lays its eggs in other bird's nests, is called the cuckoo.
Note : When Relative Pronoun forms the subject, THAT or WHICH is used.
1. The man, you met now, is my cousin.
2. Mrs. Govind saw many persons (that) she knew.
3. The lady, (whom) you saw, is the Manager of the Company.
4. The director put the same questions to everyone he saw.
5. Parasuram was introduced to the girl he is going to marry.
Note : When the Relative Pronoun is the object we use WHOM or THAT for people. But the Relative Pronoun is left out in Conversation.
1. The mistake (that) Seenu made was not a serious one.
2. I do agree with the word (that) you have said.
3. Is this the dog (which) you want to give away?
4. You may keep any you find.
Note : When the Relative Pronoun is the object, WHICH or THAT is used for animals and things, but usually the Relative Pronoun is left out.
1. You remember the girl I was going out with.
2. That is the building I told you about.
3. It was the man with whom she used to be in love.
4. The problem about which I was worried had been solved.
5. Here is the man about whom we are speaking.
6. Here is the man (that) we are speaking about.
7. Who was the girl to whom I spoke just now?
8. Who was the girl (that) I spoke to just now?
9. Is that the student you lent your dictionary to just now?
10. That is not the boy I played tennis with.
11. Mr. Dey wants to meet the teacher Mr. Minus he has great faith in.
Note : When there is a preposition with the Relative Pronoun we use WHOM for persons. But this is only used in formal writing. More often we put the preposition after the verb or its object and use THAT. Most often, however we put the proposition after the verb and leave out THAT.
1. Are those the cows you get all the milk from?
2. The restaurant, my friend took me to, was a very expensive one.
3. I haven't read the novel you were talking about.
4. The bottle, Mrs. Ray poured the milk into was, cracked.
5. The street along which we walked was narrow.
6. The street that we walked along was very narrow.
7. The tool with which I was working is called chisel.
8. The tool that I was working with is called chisel.
Note : Forms of The Relative Pronouns : When there is a preposition with the Relative Pronoun, we use WHICH for things. Often, the preposition is put after the verb or its object and WHICH is replaced by THAT or left out.
1. We never discovered whose (money) it was.
2. That is the man whose house was burned down.
3. A triangle, whose three sides are equal, is called an equilateral triangle.
4. I know the Bank Manager whose house was burgled.
5. Mrs. Vanitha is that kind of woman whose age is hard to guess.
6. Let me tell you about the lady whose car I borrowed.
Study the following sentences.
1. This is the flat where I live.
2. This is the flat in which I live. (Grammatically correct – but clumsy)
3. Do you remember the day (when) you came to see us?
4. Can you show me the exact spot where it happened?
5. The chair Mr. Clark stood on looked old and shabby.
6. I had never seen him in the kind of rage he was in last night.
7. She said she had never seen him eat the way he ate yesterday.
8. Quite the way Mr. Gandhi criticized them that day.
9. The man who helps in the garden has just come.
10. The shopkeeper, we bought it from, has plenty more.
11. Of all the films (that) I have ever watched this is the most exciting.
12. This is the most exciting film (that) I have ever watched.
Forms of The Relative Pronouns
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