Explain the role of 'who' and 'whom' in defining relative clauses.

Relative Clauses Questions Long



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Explain the role of 'who' and 'whom' in defining relative clauses.

In defining relative clauses, 'who' and 'whom' play the role of introducing or referring to a person or people. These pronouns are used to provide additional information about the noun or pronoun that comes before them in the sentence.

'Who' is used as a subject pronoun in relative clauses, referring to the person or people who are the subject of the clause. For example:

- The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
In this sentence, 'who' introduces the relative clause "who lives next door" and refers to the woman. It provides additional information about the woman, specifying that she is the one who lives next door.

'Whom' is used as an object pronoun in relative clauses, referring to the person or people who are the object of the clause. For example:

- The man whom I met yesterday is my new boss.
In this sentence, 'whom' introduces the relative clause "whom I met yesterday" and refers to the man. It provides additional information about the man, specifying that he is the one who was met yesterday.

It is important to note that 'whom' is more formal and less commonly used in modern English. In many cases, 'who' is used instead of 'whom' as both a subject and an object pronoun in relative clauses. However, in formal writing or when following strict grammatical rules, 'whom' is used as the object pronoun.

In summary, 'who' and 'whom' are used in defining relative clauses to introduce or refer to a person or people. 'Who' is used as a subject pronoun, while 'whom' is used as an object pronoun. They provide additional information about the noun or pronoun that comes before them in the sentence.