Whose
We use whose in relative clauses instead of his/her/their:
we saw some people - [their] car had broken down
We saw some people [whose] car had broken down.
We use whose mostly for people:
* A widow is a woman whose husband is dead. (her husband is dead)
* What's the name of the man whose car you borrowed? (you borrowed his car)
* A few days ago I met someone whose brother I went to school with. J went to school with his/her brother)
Compare who and whose:
* I met a man who knows you. (be knows you)
* I met a man whose sister knows you. (his sister knows you)
Whom
Whom is possible instead of who when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause:
* The woman whom I wanted to see was away on holiday. (I wanted to see her)
You can also use whom with a preposition (to whom/from whom/with whom etc.):
* The woman with whom he fell in love left him after a few weeks. (he fell in love with her)
But we do not often use whom. In spoken English we usually prefer who or that, or nothing . So we usually say:
* The man I saw. or The man who/that I saw.
* The woman he fell in love with. or The woman who/that he fell in love with.
Where
You can use where in a relative clause to talk about a place:
the hotel--we stayed [there]--wasn't very clean
The hotel [there] we stayed wasn't very clean.
* I recently went back to the town where I was born. (or ... the town I was born in. or ... the town that I was born in.)
* I would like to live in a country where there is plenty of sunshine.
We say:
the day/the year/the time (etc.) something happens or the day/the year/the time (etc.) that something happens
* Do you still remember the day (that) we first met?
* The last time (that) I saw her, she looked very well.
* I haven't seen them since the year (that) they got married.
We say:
the reason something happens or the reason that/why something happens
* The reason I'm phoning you is to invite you to a party. (or The reason that I'm phoning .../The reason why I'm phoning ...)
EXERCISES
93.1 You met these people at a party:
My mother writes detective stories.
My wife is an English teacher.
I won a restaurant.
My ambition is to limb Everest.
We've just I got married.
My parents used to work in a circus.
Later you tell a friend about the people you met. Complete the sentences using who ... or whose ...
1. I met somebody _whose mother writes detective stories.
2. I met a man ---.
3. I met a woman ---.
4. I met somebody ---.
5. I met a couple ---.
6. I met somebody ---.
93.2 Complete the sentences. Use the sentences in the box to make relative clauses with where.
I can buy some postcards there
Ann bought a dress there
John is staying there
I was born there
we can have a really good meal there
we had the car repaired there
1. I recently went back to the town _where I was born._
2. Do you know a restaurant ---?
3. Is there a shop near here ---?
4. I can't remember the name of the garage ---.
5. Do you know the name of the hotel ---?
6. Ann bought a dress which didn't fit her, so she took it back to the shop ---.
93.3 Complete each sentence using who/whom/whose/where.
1. What's the name of the man _who_ car you borrowed?
2. A cemetery is a place --- people are buried.
3. A pacifist is a person --- believes that all wars are wrong.
4. An orphan is a child --- parents are dead.
5. The place --- we spent our holidays was really beautiful.
6. This school is only for children --- first language is not English.
7. 1 don't know the name of the woman to --- I spoke on the phone.
93.4 Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.
1. I'll always remember the day _I first met you._
2. I'll never forget the time ---.
3. The reason --- was that I didn't know your address.
4. Unfortunately I wasn't at home the evening ---.
5. The reason --- is that they don't need one.
6. 1989 was the year ---.
93.1
2 whose wife is an English teacher.
3 who owns a restaurant.
4 whose ambition is to climb Everest.
5 who have just got married.
6 whose parents used to work in a circus.
93.2
2 where we can have a really good meal
3 where I can buy some postcards
4 where we had the car repaired
5 where John is staying
6 where she (had) bought it
93.3
2 where 3 who
4 whose 5 where
6 whose 7 whom
93.4 Example answers:
2 we got stuck in a lift
3 I didn't write to you
4 you phoned
5 they haven't got a car
6 Mary got married
