[Grammar] Missing relative pronoun

[dawnngcm]

Hi teachers,

I would like to ask,

Where should I put ‘missing relative pronoun’ in the following sentence? And which one should be used - ‘who/which/that’?

'The really important point is that because he did not invite the one man he certainly should have asked his father was angry.'

This sentence is from ‘Swan’ at section 515.3.

Thank you!

 

[TheParser]

Where should I put ‘missing relative pronoun’ in the following sentence? And which one ‘who/which/that’?

'The really important point is that because he did not invite the one man he certainly should have asked his father was angry.'


NOT A TEACHER


(1) I know that you are going to get some really interesting answers from the teachers.

(2) As for me, I wish to speak and write "perfect" English, so I should write:

... because he did not invite the one man whom he should have asked, his father

was angry.

(3) I think that some experts would allow (or even prefer) "that."

(4) "Who" is, of course, ridiculous.

(5) "Which" might be acceptable in some Englishes, but hopefully not in American English.

 

[dawnngcm]

(2) As for me, I wish to speak and write "perfect" English, so I should write:

... because he did not invite the one man whom he should have asked, his father

was angry.

Thanks TheParser! You are quick!

I considered putting a comma like you did. But it seems his examples in the same part didn't do this.

 

[5jj]

I should write: ... because he did not invite the one man whom he should have asked, his father was angry. :tick:

(3) I think that some experts would allow (or even prefer) "that." :tick:

(4) "Who" is, of course, ridiculous. Well, it's very commonly used, and most of us accept it these days.

(5) "Which" might be acceptable in some Englishes, but hopefully not in American English. And not in any standard English.

I agree that the comma after 'asked' is important. I'd also put one between 'that' and 'because.

 

[TheParser]

I agree that the comma after 'asked' is important. I'd also put one between 'that' and 'because.

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Teacher Fivejedjon has pointed out something very important for us learners who

want to punctuate correctly.

(a) The ideal punctuation of Member Dawnngcm's sentence should be:

The really important point is that, because he did not invite the one man whom/ that he certainly should have asked, his father was angry.

Compare:

The really important point is that his father was angry because he did not invite the one man whom /that he certainly should have asked. (Most books tell us that a comma is usually not necessary if the adverbial clause is at the end.)

In the first sentence, we use two commas. They indicate that if we wanted to, we

could delete (erase) the words between them (the adverbial clause of reason) and still

have a grammatically correct sentence:

The really important point is that his father was angry.

 

[dawnngcm]

Thanks teacher fivejedjon and TheParser.

I got your point, the commas are important. The sentence meaning is expressed more clearly than without them. But,

Is the sentence still with the same meaning and grammatically correct if the commas haven’t put?

 

[5jj]

There is no visible punctuation in speech; it is grammatically correct as a spoken utterance.

 

[dawnngcm]

There is no visible punctuation in speech; it is grammatically correct as a spoken utterance.

If I get what you are trying to tell me, the sentence without commas is accepted but not preferred in writing. Am I right?

 

[5jj]

I do not consider it acceptable in writing.

 

[dawnngcm]

I do not consider it acceptable in writing.

Thank you very much, teacher fivejedjon!