We will now take up relative pronouns as our sixth and last reference word strategy to clarify and enliven written or spoken prose without needless repetition. Recall that a relative pronoun links a dependent clause or phrase to an antecedent noun, doing so as an intermediate subject or object of the dependent clause.
It’s not surprising that this is the role played by the relative pronouns “which,” “who,” “that,” and “whose” and the compounds “whoever,” “whomever,” and “whichever.” As
subordinating conjunctions or
subordinators, these relative pronouns enable subordinate clauses or phrases to smoothly latch on to the main clause to form complex sentences.
A relative pronoun as subject of a dependent clause. The relative pronoun
“which” works this way: “Voters have to decide
which of the candidates can serve the national interest best.” Note that as subordinate conjunction,
“which” functions as the subject of the dependent clause “which of the candidates can serve the national interest best” and as the object of the verb “decide” in the main clause.
Some of us who find it uncomfortable to use “which” instead of “who” to refer to the personal noun “candidates” can alternatively recast the sentence by using
“who” as reference word: “Voters have to decide
who among the candidates can serve the national interest best.”
A relative pronoun as object of a dependent clause. Now let’s see how the relative pronoun
“that” works as object of the dependent clause: “The speaker
that [or
whom] we invited to the seminar is a well-regarded civic leader.” Here, the relative pronoun “that” relates back to the noun “speaker”; it’s also the object of the verb “invited.” Note that the dependent clause “that we invited to the seminar” makes a grammatically valid qualifying intrusion into the independent clause, “The speaker […] is a well-regarded civic leader.”
The subordinators
“that” and
“who” are the only choices of relative pronoun when the dependent clause is essential information to the independent clause. However, when the dependent clause can be taken out without altering the meaning of the independent clause, the subordinator
“which” should be used in the case of inanimate things, with the subordinate clause set apart by commas from the independent clause: “That historic decision,
which I have every reason to believe was made under duress, changed the course of history.”
The relative pronoun
“who” can be used whether the dependent clause is essential or not: “The spy
who loved me came in from the cold.” “This traitorous spy,
who made a mockery of all our security measures, must suffer for his perfidy.”
A relative pronoun as reference marker for possession. As most of us already know, the relative pronoun
“whose” serves as reference marker for defining relative clauses that denote possession or ownership: “That’s the woman
whose husband was arrested in the drug bust last night.” “Never completely trust a man
whose trustworthiness hasn’t been demonstrated.” Always, defining clauses like “whose husband was arrested in the drug bust last night” and “whose trustworthiness hasn’t been demonstrated” are essential to the independent clause and should never be set apart with commas.
A relative pronoun as reference marker for the subject of a clause or for the object of a verb. When the antecedent subject is a person or group, the relative pronouns
“whom” and
“whomever” can be used to relate defining relative clauses with it: “The presidential candidate will choose
whom [whomever] he likes to be part of his cabinet.” Here, “whom” or “whomever” is the direct object of the verb “chooses.”
On the other hand, when the subject of a clause is an inanimate thing, the relative pronoun
“whichever” is used instead to make the link: “I will accept
whichever proposal will best benefit our group.”
(Next week:
Using appositives for more engaging writing) April 14, 2022
This essay, 2084th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the April 14, 2022 Internet edition of The Manila Times
,©2022 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.Read this essay online in
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Using relative pronouns as reference word strategyVisit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and e-mail me at j8carillo@yahoo.com.
