Prepositions + whom/which
In 'extra information' clauses (see above Type 2) you can use a preposition before whom (for people) and which (for things). So you can say:
to whom/with whom/about which/for which etc.:
* Mr Carter, to whom I spoke on the phone last night, is very interested in our plan.
* Fortunately we had a map, without which we would have got lost.
In spoken English we often keep the preposition after the verb in the relative clause. When we do this, we normally use who (not 'whom') for people:
* This is Mr Carter, who I was telling you about.
* Yesterday we visited the City Museum, which I'd never been to before.
All of/most of etc. + whom/which
Study these examples:
Mary has three brothers. All of them are married. (2 sentences)
Mary has three brothers, all of whom are married. (1 sentence)
They asked me a lot of questions. I couldn't answer most of them.
They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn't answer.
In the same way you can say:
none of/neither of/any of/either of + whom (people)
none of/neither of/any of/either of which (things)
some of/many of/much of/(a) few of + which (things)
some of/many of/much of/(a) few of whom (people)
both of/half of/each of/one of/two of (etc.) + whom (people)
both of/half of/each of/one of/two of (etc.) + which (things)
* Tom tried on three jackets, none of which fitted him.
* Two men, neither of whom I had ever seen before, came into my office.
* They've got three cars, two of which they never use.
* Sue has a lot of friends, many of whom she was at school with.
Which (not 'what')
Study this example:
[Jim passed his driving test.] [This] surprised everybody. (2 sentences)
[Jim passed his driving test,] _[which] surprised everybody._(relative clause)
In this example, which = 'the fact that he passed his driving test'. You must use which (not 'what') in sentences like these:
* Sheila couldn't come to the party, which was a pity. (not '...what was a pity')
* The weather was very good, which we hadn't expected. (not '...what we hadn't
expected')
EXERCISES
95.1 Make two sentences from one using a relative clause. Use the sentence in brackets to make the relative clause.
1. Mr Carter is very interested in our plan. (I spoke to him on the phone last night.)
Mr Carter, to whom I spoke on the phone last night, is very interested in our plan._
2. This is a photograph of our friends. (We went on holiday with these friends.)
This is a photograph ---.
3. The wedding took place last Friday. (Only members of the family were invited to it.)
The wedding ---.
4. Sheila finally arrived. (We had been waiting for her.)
5. We climbed to the top of the tower. (We had a beautiful view from there.)
95.2 Write sentences with all of/most of etc. + whom/which.
1. Mary has three brothers. (All of her brothers are married.)
Mary has three brothers, all of whom are married.
2. We were given a lot of information. (Most of the information was useless.)
We were given ---.
3. There were a lot of people at the party. (I had met only a few of these people before.)
4. I have sent her two letters. (She has received neither of these letters.)
5. Ten people applied for the job. (None of these people were suitable.)
6. Kate has got two cars. (She hardly ever uses one of them.)
7. Norman won 50,000 pounds. (He gave half of this to his parents.)
8. Julia has two sisters. (Both of her sisters are teachers.)
95.3 join a sentence from Box A with a sentence from Box B to make a new sentence. Use which.
A:
1. Sheila couldn't come to party.
2. Jill isn't on the phone.
3. Nell has passed his examinations.
4. Our flight was delayed.
5. Ann offered to let me stay in her house.
6. The street I live in is very noisy at night.
7. Our car has broken down.
B:
1. This was very nice of her.
2. This means we can't go away tomorrow.
3. This makes it difficult to contact her.
4. This makes it difficult to steep.
5. This was a pity.
6. This is good news.
7. This meant we had to wait four hours at the airport.
1. Sheila couldn't come to the party, _which was a pity._
2. Jill isn't ---.
3. ---.
4. ---.
5. ---.
6. ---.
7. ---.
95.1
2 This is a photograph of our friends, with whom we went on holiday. or ... who we went on holiday with.
3 The wedding, to which only members of the family were invited, took place last Friday. or The wedding, which
only members of the family were invited to, took place ...
4 Sheila, for whom we had been waiting, finally arrived. or Sheila, who we had been waiting for, finally arrived.
5 We climbed to the top of the tower, from which we had a beautiful view. or ... which we had a beautiful view from.
95.2
2 We were given a lot of information, most of which was useless.
3 There were a lot of people at the party, only a few of whom I had met before.
4 I have sent her two letters, neither of which she has received.
5 Ten people applied for the job none of whom were suitable.
6 Kate has got two cars, one of which she hardly ever uses.
7 Norman won L50,000, half of which he gave to his parents.
8 Julia has two sisters, both of whom are teachers.
95.3
2 Jill isn't on the phone, which makes it difficult to contact her.
3 Neil has passed his examinations, which is good news.
4 Our flight was delayed, which meant we had to wait four hours at the airport.
5 Ann offered to let me stay in her house, which was very nice of her.
6 The street I live in is very noisy at night, which makes it difficult to sleep.
7 Our car has broken down, which means we can't go away tomorrow.
