A
Propositions + whom/which
You can use a preposition before whom (for people) and which (for things). So you can say:
to whom / with whom / about which / without which, etc.:
- Mr.Carter, to whom I spoke at the meeting, is very interested in our plan.
- Fortunately we had a map, without which we would have gotten lost.
In spoken English, we usually keep the preposition after teh verb in the relative clause.
When we do this, we normally use who (not whom) for people:
– This is my friend from Canada, who I was telling you about.
– Yesterday we visited the City Museum, which I’d never been to before.
B
All of / most of, etc. + whom / which
Study these examples:
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Mary has three brothers. All of them are married. (2 sentences)
-> Mary has three brothers, all of whom are married. (1 sentences)
“them” – “whom”
They asked me a lot of questions. I couldn’t answer most of them. (2sentences)
-> They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer. (1 sentence)
“them” – “which”
-—————————–
In the same way you can say:
none of / neither of / any of / either of
some of / many of / much of / (a) few of
both / of half of / each of / one of / two of (etc.)
- whom(people)
- which(thing)
-
Tom tried on three jackets, none of which fit him.
- Two men, neither of whom I had ever seen before, came into the office.
- They have three cars, two of which they rarely use.
- Sue has a lot of friends, many of whom she went to school with.
You can also say the cause of which / the name of which, etc.:
– The building was destroyed in a fire, the cause of which was never established.
– We stayed at the beautiful hotel, the name of which I can’t remember now.
C
WHich (not what)
Study this example:
-—————————–
“Joe got the job”. “This” surprised everybody. (2 sentences)
“Joe got the job” – “This”
-—————————–
“Joe got the job”. ‘ “which” surprised everybody.’ (1 sentence)
“Joe got the job” – “which”
‘ ‘ – relative clause
-—————————–
In this example, which = the fact that he got the job. You must use which (not what) in sentences like these:
– Sarah couldn’t meet us, which was a shame. (not what was a shame)
– The weather was good, which we hadn’t expected. (not what we hadn’t expected)
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