The use of relative pronouns in attributive relative clauses.

As has already been stated, attributive relative clauses are introduced by the following relative pronouns: who, which, that, as. In using these pronouns the following rules should be observed:

l. If the antecedent is a noun denoting a living being, who or whose are mostly used.

Kate turned to the general, who was near her, his face expres­sionless, yet alert. (Lawrence) A widow is a woman whose husband is dead.

Whom is possible instead of who when it has the function of the object in the relative clause.

The man whom Iwanted to see was away on holiday.

But in spoken English who or that are preferred to whom.

The man who/that I wanted to see was away on holiday.

2.If the antecedent is a noun denoting an inanimate object, which is mostly used.

In this room, which was never used, a light was burning. (Dick­ens)

The castle, which stood on the highest platform of the clustered hills, was built of rough-hewn limestone. (Eliot)

3.The pronoun that may be used both when the antecedent is a noun denoting a living being and when it is a noun denoting an inanimate object. But it should be noted that the use of this pronoun in attributive clauses is limited; it is chiefly used in the following cases:

(a) if the antecedent is the pronoun all, everything or nothing.

All that she dreams comes true. (Dickens)

In a word, everything that goes to make life precious, that boy had. (Twain)

(b) if the antecedent is modified by an adjective in the superlative degree, by the adjective only, or by the indefinite pronoun any.

The door opened, and there entered to us, quietly, the most re­markable-looking man that I had ever seen. (Collins)

The Moonstone was the only object that interested him in the smallest degree. (Collins) Any evil that people say of him is false. (Eliot)

N о t e. In these cases (a, b) the attributive clause may be connected with the principal clause asyndetically.

Time is all I want. (Dreiser)

Everything I could do to free myself came into my mind... (Eliot)

It was the worst Sunday he had spent in his life. (Dreiser)

I think she is the only really happy woman I have ever met with (Collins)

 

 

4. If the antecedent is a noun modified by the demonstrative pro­noun such the relative pronoun as is used.

For on the evening appointed for the Vauxhall party... there came on such a thunderstorm as only happens on Vauxhall nights, and as obliged the young people, perforce, to remain at home. (Thackeray)