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Unit 94 · Relative clauses

Relative clauses 3: whose/whom/where

Study

A

Study this example situation:

When we were driving home, we saw some people standing by the road. Their car had broken down, so we stopped to help them.

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We helped some people whose car had broken down. (= their car had broken down)

We use whose mostly for people:

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A widow is a woman whose husband is dead. (her husband is dead)

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I met someone whose brother I went to school with. (I went to school with his/her brother)

Compare who and whose:

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I met a man who knows you. (he knows you)

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I met a man whose sister knows you. (his sister knows you)

Do not confuse whose and who's. The pronunciation is the same, but who's = who is or who has:

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I have a friend who's learning Arabic. (who's = who is)

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I have a friend who's just started learning Arabic. (who's = who has)

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I have a friend whose sister is learning Arabic.

B

Whom is possible instead of who when it is the object of the verb (see Unit 93B):

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George is a person whom I admire very much. (I admire him)

You can also use a preposition + whom (to whom / from whom / with whom etc.):

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It's important to have friends with whom you can relax. (you can relax with them)

Whom is a formal word and we do not often use it in spoken English. We usually prefer to say:

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a person I admire a lot or a person who/that I admire a lot

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friends you can relax with or friends who/that you can relax with

C

We use where in a relative clause to talk about a place:

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I recently went back to the town where I grew up. (I grew up there)

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The restaurant where we had lunch was near the airport.

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I would like to live in a place where there is plenty of sunshine.

D

We say 'the day we got married', 'the year I was born', 'the last time they met' etc. :

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I can't meet you on Friday. That's the day I'm going away.

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The last time I saw her, she looked great.

You can also use that:

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The last time that I saw her, she looked great.

We say 'the reason I'm calling you', 'the reason she didn't get the job' etc.

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The reason I'm calling you is to ask your advice.

You can also use that:

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The reason that I'm calling you … or The reason why I'm calling you …

→ Relative clauses 1–2 ➜ Units 92–93 · Relative clauses 4–5 ➜ Units 95–96 · whom ➜ Unit 96

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked
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94.1

You met these people at a party: The next day you tell a friend about these people. Complete the sentences using who or whose.

  1. 1A party guest whose mother writes detective stories
    I met somebody mother writes detective stories.example
  2. 2A man at a party with his English-teacher wife
    I met a man wife is an English teacher.
  3. 3A woman who owns a restaurant standing in it
    I met a woman owns a restaurant.
  4. 4Party guest whose ambition is climbing Mount Everest
    I met somebody ambition is to climb Mount Everest.
  5. 5A newly married couple at a party
    I met a couple have just got married.
  6. 6Party guest whose parents used to work in a circus
    I met somebody parents used to work in a circus.
94.2

For each situation write a sentence with whom (more formal) and without whom (less formal).

  1. 1
    You met a friend. You hadn't seen him for years.
    more formal I met a friend I hadn't seen for years less formal I met a friend I hadn't seen for yearsexample
  2. 2
    You needed a lawyer. A friend of yours recommended one.
    more formal I went to see a lawyer less formal I went to see a lawyer
  3. 3
    You called your bank with a problem. You spoke to somebody, but he wasn't very helpful.
    more formal The person wasn't very helpful. less formal The person wasn't very helpful.
  4. 4
    Tom was in love with a woman, but she wasn't in love with Tom.
    more formal The woman wasn't in love with him. less formal The woman wasn't in love with him.
94.3

Complete the sentences using who/whom/whose/where.

  1. 1
    We helped some people car had broken down.example
  2. 2
    A cemetery is a place people are buried.
  3. 3
    A pacifist is a person believes that all wars are wrong.
  4. 4
    An orphan is a child parents are dead.
  5. 5
    What's the name of the hotel your parents are staying?
  6. 6
    This school is only for children first language is not English.
  7. 7
    The person from I bought my car is a friend of my father's.
  8. 8
    I live in a friendly village everybody knows everybody else.
94.4

Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.

  1. 1
    I can't meet you on Friday. That's the day .example
  2. 2
    The reason was that the salary was too low.
  3. 3
    I'll never forget the time .
  4. 4
    was the year .
  5. 5
    The reason is that neither of them can drive.
  6. 6
    The last time I was .
  7. 7
    Do you remember the day ?