Relative Pronouns (2)

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns (who/whoever/which/that) relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns (The student who studies hardest usually does the best.). The word who connects or relates the subject, student, to the verb within the dependent clause (studies). Choosing correctly between which and that and between who and whom leads to what are probably the most Frequently Asked Questions about English grammar. For help with which/that, refer to the Notorious Confusables article on those words (including the hyperlink to Michael Quinion's article on this usage and the links to relevant quizzes). Generally, we use "which" to introduce clauses that are parenthetical in nature (i.e., that can be removed from the sentence without changing the essential meaning of the sentence). For that reason, a "which clause" is often set off with a comma or a pair of commas. "That clauses," on the other hand, are usually deemed indispensable for the meaning of a sentence and are not set off with commas. The pronoun which refers to things; who (and its forms) refers to people; that usually refers to things, but it can also refer to people in a general kind of way. For help with who/whom refer to the section on Consistency. We also recommend that you take the quizzes on the use of who and whom at the end of that section.
The expanded form of the relative pronouns — whoever, whomever, whatever — are known as indefinite relative pronouns. A couple of sample sentences should suffice to demonstrate why they are called "indefinite":
· The coach will select whomever he pleases.
· He seemed to say whatever came to mind.
· Whoever crosses this line first will win the race.
What is often an indefinite relative pronoun:
· She will tell you what you need to know.

Relative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns

The family of demonstratives (this/that/these/those/such) can behave either as pronouns or as determiners.

As pronouns, they identify or point to nouns.
· That is incredible! (referring to something you just saw)
· I will never forget this. (referring to a recent experience)
· Such is my belief. (referring to an explanation just made)
As determiners, the demonstratives adjectivally modify a noun that follows. A sense of relative distance (in time and space) can be conveyed through the choice of these pronouns/determiners:
· These [pancakes sitting here now on my plate] are delicious.
· Those [pancakes that I had yesterday morning] were even better.
· This [book in my hand] is well written;
· that [book that I'm pointing to, over there, on the table] is trash.
A sense of emotional distance or even disdain can be conveyed with the demonstrative pronouns:
· You're going to wear these?
· This is the best you can do?
Pronouns used in this way would receive special stress in a spoken sentence.
When used as subjects, the demonstratives, in either singular or plural form, can be used to refer to objects as well as persons.
· This is my father.
· That is my book.
In other roles, however, the reference of demonstratives is non-personal. In other words, when referring to students, say, we could write "Those were loitering near the entrance during the fire drill" (as long as it is perfectly clear in context what "those" refers to). But we would not write "The principal suspended those for two days"; instead, we would have to use "those" as a determiner and write "The principal suspended those students for two days."

Personal Pronouns, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns