Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses
The columns in the tables below indicate the role of the pronounA part of speech that refers to or stands instead of a noun. E.g.: Who do you think I am? ("you", "I") in the non-defininig relative clauseA group of related words containing a subject and a verb.. In the rows you can find if the pronoun refers to a person or not. Note that whom is more formalNot belonging to colloquial or everyday speech; official. E.g.: I demand that Mr Smith call the person on whom the committee has decided. than who.
| subjectThe person or thing that performs the action of a verb or that is described by a verb. E.g.: Andy has never been to Brunei. ("Andy") | objectA person or thing that is affected by the action of a verb or involved in the result of an action. | possessive | place | timeA concept which is related to our perception of reality; that part of existence which is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| person | who | whom who |
whose ... | - | - |
| non-person | which | which | ... of which whose (for pets or personified objects only) |
where | when |
Mr Jones, who lives next door, is rather surly.
I have just seen Tom, whom/who you met on Thursday.
Defoe, whose novels are popular today, was an agent provocateur.
The liver, which is about 30 cm long, helps in the digestion of food.
Last year I travelled to Amsterdam, which most people consider as the city of freedom.
The ostrich, whose meat contains less cholesterol, is getting more and more popular.
There were a lot of glasses on the table, some of which were broken.
In Hungary, where people eat greasy food, the ostrich will never become a national dish.
On Sunday evening, when I came back to Szeged, the town was empty.
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