A winning team who achieved record sales last year

[Glizdka]

This is a modified extract from Market Leader Intermediate, page 107.

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"We are a leading European beauty company which is looking for a highly motivated candidate who understands the trends n the cosmetics market. The successful candidate will lead a winning team who/which achieved record sales last year."

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I'm wondering whether who or which is more appropriate as a relative pronoun referring to a team, especially in the context of a recruitment ad for a leader at an international corporation. Which of the two would you prefer?

 

[5jj]

I'd probably go for which.

 

[Tarheel]

I would use "that". But that's not one of the choices, is it?

 

[jutfrank]

This is a modified extract from Market Leader Intermediate, page 107.

Why modified? Aren't you going to tell us which word is the one that's actually used?

 

[Glizdka]

Oh, the original text is much longer and has parts I thought unnecessary for the purpose of this thread. I've combined different parts from it, just so as to provide enough context. I'm only interested in whether who could be used to refer to a team.

The answer key says it should be either which or that.

 

[jutfrank]

The answer key says it should be either which or that.

Ah, I see. And you're thinking that 'who' is possible because it refers to the people who make up the team? Yes, I agree.

 

[Glizdka]

I wasn't sure, thank you!

I had a feeling it could be the case because English likes to treat some nouns like people even though they, according to my logic, shouldn't be seen as people.

I've often heard native speakers say things like "The team were very successful", even though my logic tells me was would be a better choice. That's why I suspected who could be a valid choice for referring to a team.

Is it common among native speakers to use who with such nouns?

 

[jutfrank]

Is it common among native speakers to use who with such nouns?

Yes, very common.