[Grammar] WHO, WHOM, THAT. WHICH

[ehsaning]

Hello,
I'm confused between the usage of "WHO, WHOM, THAT. WHICH"
I've learned how to use them in a sentence, But the following tests drove me crazy! Maybe two answers are correct, But I want to find out the most correct one.
If you want to answer my questions, please explain.

A. She is probably the hardest working student .... I've ever taught.
1. Who
2. Whom
3. That

B. It is one of the most interesting books ... I've read this year.
1. Which
2. That

C. Her husband .... has a master degree in economic, has a good job with the government.
1. That
2. Whom
3. Who

D. I have a friend ... ran in the Greece Marathon last year.
1. Who
2. Whom
3. That

 

[SirGod]

* Not a teacher

You could give it a try and somebody will probably tell you if your answers are correct or not.

 

[TheParser]

C. Her husband .... has a master degree in economic, has a good job with the government.
1. That
2. Whom
3. Who

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Don't feel bad. Many young (and not so young) native speakers could not pass this test, either.

(2) As SirGod said, the teachers here prefer that you try first. Then they will check your answers.

(3) Nevertheless, I think that it's OK if I try to help you with one. I have chosen the
easiest one. Some of the others may, indeed, have two answers. But we''ll leave that to the teachers.

(4) I'm 99.99% sure that the only answer for "C" is "who":

Her husband, who has a master's degree in economics, has a good job with the

government.

(a) As you know, those two commas indicate that the clause between the two

commas is non-defining or non-restrictive. In other words, if you deleted (erased)

the clause, the sentence would still be what you wanted it to be:

Her husband has a good job with the government.

(i) That clause was just "thown in" to give some nice but not necessary information.

It is a strict rule in English: a non-defining clause cannot begin with "that."

(5) Please post your answers. Many of us learners are eager to read the teachers'

answers.

Good luck!

 

[SoothingDave]

If there is some rule between which and that (question B), I don't know what it is. I could see either word being used in conversation nowadays.

 

[TheParser]

If there is some rule between which and that (question B), I don't know what it is. I could see either word being used in conversation nowadays.

NOT A TEACHER


(1) As I understand it (hopefully, correctly):

(a) The great Fowler brothers set down this rule:

Use "that" for a defining clause.

Use "which" for a non-defining clause.

The newspaper that used to be the newspaper in England was The Times.

The Times, which used to be the newspaper in England, is no longer considered with the awe that it once inspired among the British people.

(b) American teachers have been successful in getting most Americans to follow

the Fowler brothers' rule.

(c) I hear that the brothers have NOT been so successful in their homeland!

 

[ehsaning]

C. Her husband .... has a master degree in economic, has a good job with the government.
1. That
2. Whom
3. Who

I think the correct answer is "Who", Because has a master degree in economic is active.

B. It is one of the most interesting books ... I've read this year.
1. Which
2. That

It should be "That", because "one of...."

D. I have a friend ... ran in the Greece Marathon last year.
1. Who
2. Whom
3. That

I think this one is "That", because he sentence is started with "a friend"

 

[5jj]

C. Her husband .... has a master's degree in economics, has a good job with the government.
1. That.....2. Whom.....3. Who

I think the correct answer is "Who", Because has a master degree in economic is active.
Right answer, wrong reason. 'Who' is the grammatical subject of the verb 'has'. (He has a degree.)

It is one of the most interesting books ... I've read this year.
1. Which .....2. That

It should be "That", because "one of...." X
This is a non-defining clause, and so the relative pronoun can be 'that' or 'which'. As it is the grammatical object of 'Ive read', it can also be omitted.

I have a friend ... ran in the Greece Marathon last year.
1. Who.....2. Whom.....3. That

I think this one is "That", because he sentence is started with "a friend"
No (to the reason).This is a non-defining clause, and so the relative pronoun can be 'that' or 'who(m)'. As it is the grammtical subject of 'ran', it cannot be 'whom'.

 

[SoothingDave]

I have a friend ... ran in the Greece Marathon last year.
1. Who.....2. Whom.....3. That

I think this one is "That", because he sentence is started with "a friend"
No (to the reason).This is a non-defining clause, and so the relative pronoun can be 'that' or 'who(m)'. As it is the grammtical subject of 'ran', it cannot be 'whom'.

I realize in common use that either word (that or who) might be heard, but isn't it better to use "who" when talking about people?

 

[Rover_KE]

I realize in common use that either word (that or who) might be heard, but isn't it better to use "who" when talking about people?

Yes, it is better, in my opinion. I always use who.

Rover

 

[TheParser]

isn't it better to use "who" when talking about people?

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Here is what the great Fowler brothers say in their 1906 masterpiece

The King's English:

(a) YES.

(b) "That" is OK, however, if the antecedent is "it" or if the antecedent has a superlative or other word of

exclusive meaning attached to it. The brothers' examples include:

The most impartial critic that ....
The only man that I know of.
It was you that said so.

(c) They said that except for such examples, it was "archaic (in 1906!) to use "that"

for people. I guess that in 2012, it would be super "archaic" to do so.

P.S. Of course, some highly gifted professional writers might occasionally "break the rule" in order

to create a certain effect.

 

[philo2009]

It is one of the most interesting books ... I've read this year.
1. Which .....2. That

It should be "That", because "one of...." X
This is a non-defining clause, and so the relative pronoun can be 'that' or 'which'. As it is the grammatical object of 'Ive read', it can also be omitted.

Sorry, but must disagree here. Yes, in general it is true that either pronoun may be used in a restrictive (a.k.a. defining) clause, but only 'that' is considered natural/acceptable by most contemporary speakers when the antecedent is a NP modified by a comparative or superlative adjective phrase.

 

[5jj]

Sorry, but must disagree here. Yes, in general it is true that either pronoun may be used in a restrictive (a.k.a. defining) clause, but only 'that' is considered natural/acceptable by most contemporary speakers when the antecedent is a NP modified by a comparative or superlative adjective phrase.

Well, 'the most adjective noun which ...' has 53 citations in COCA,, so it seems to be acceptable. However, with 664 citations, 'the most adjective noun that ...' is far more common.

 

[philo2009]

Well, 'the most adjective noun which ...' has 53 citations in COCA,, so it seems to be acceptable. However, with 664 citations, 'the most adjective noun that ...' is far more common.

Yes, FAR more!