The table, whose legs were broken, / the legs of which were broken, has been...

[Tan Elaine]

1. The table, whose legs were broken, has been thrown away.

2. The table, the legs of which were broken, has been thrown away.

a) For the first sentence, are the commas needed?

b) Which is the more natural sentence, the first or the second?

Thanks.

[Drear Pooson]

Not a teacher.


a) Yes (if there is but one table as sentence 2 suggests).

b) Probably 1.

[emsr2d2]

I am having a debate with myself as to whether I would use "whose" when referring to an inanimate object such as a table.

I think I would be more likely to say:

The table with the broken legs has been thrown away.
The table was thrown away because its legs were broken.

The first suggests there was more than one table so you are being clear which one was thrown away. The second suggests there is only one table and you are making a point of explaining why it was thrown away.