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Old 13-Jun-2007, 08:31
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Default relative clauses (that vs. who)

Jane's the best tennis player ____ has been selected from that club.

a) whose
b) which
c) that
d) who


The right answer is supposed to be c) that. However, I don't understand why "who" isn't used instead! Why?
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Old 13-Jun-2007, 08:59
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenka View Post
Jane's the best tennis player ____ has been selected from that club.

a) whose
b) which
c) that
d) who

The right answer is supposed to be c) that. However, I don't understand why "who" isn't used instead! Why?
The best is a superlative.
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Old 13-Jun-2007, 14:18
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea View Post
The best is a superlative.
What does it imply?

Can't "who" be used with a superlative?
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 09:08
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Normally, no.
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 12:41
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenka View Post
What does it imply?
The best person is a title, a thing, so it's compatible with that, not who.


Does that help?
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 12:51
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Red face Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea View Post
The best person is a title, a thing, so it's compatible with that, not who.


Does that help?
Then, what about Answer b) which? Would it be all right to choose it instead?
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 13:13
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by engee30 View Post
Then, what about Answer b) which? Would it be all right to choose it instead?
Good question. Take another look at this structure, Jane's the best tennis player. It's copular ('s = is). The subject complement here, a title, the best tennis palyer, refers to a person, Jane. So, the best pronoun for that referential pair would be that, not which, because that can refer to people and things, whereas which cannot.

Does that help?
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 13:18
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea View Post
...So, the best pronoun for that referential pair would be that, not which, because that can refer to people and things, whereas which cannot.

Does that help?
That was a very smart explanation!
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Old 14-Jun-2007, 14:07
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Well ... thank you.
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Old 15-Jun-2007, 20:21
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Default Re: relative clauses (that vs. who)

Hmmm... Maybe I shouldn't try to understand it, but simply learn it...

"A tennis player" (or the best one) is a person, not a thing, so I don't understand why "who" couldn't be used here, anyway, there are things that can't be understood (when learning a language)... For me, this is probably one of them.
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