CWith a preposition: whom or that

In formal English the preposition is placed before the relative pronoun, which must then be put into the form

whom:

the man to whom I spoke

In informal speech, however, it is more usual to move the preposition to the end of the clause, whom then is often replaced by that, but it is still more common to omit the relative altogether:

the man who/whom I spoke to or

the man that I spoke to or the man I spoke to Similarly:

The man from whom I bought it told me to oil it or

The man who/that I bought it from... or

The man I bought it from...

The friend with whom I was travelling spoke French or

The friend who/that I was travelling with... or

The friend I was travelling with...

D Possessive

whose is the only possible form:

People whose rents have been raised can appeal. The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him.

Defining relative clauses: things 75 a Subject Either which or that, which is the more formal:

This is the picture which/that caused such a sensation. The stairs which/that lead to the cellar are rather slippery. (See also B below.)

B Object of a verb

which or that, or no relative at all:

The car which/that I hired broke down or The car I hired... which is hardly ever used after all, everything, little, much, none,

no and compounds of no, or after superlatives. Instead we use that, or omit the relative altogether, if it is the object of a verb:

All the apples that fall are eaten by the pigs. This is the best hotel (that) I know.

C Object of a preposition

The formal construction is preposition + which, but it is more usual to move the preposition to the end of the clause, using which or that or omitting the relative altogether:

The ladder on which I was standing began to slip or The ladder which/that I was standing on began to slip or

The ladder I was standing on began to slip.

D Possessive

whose + a clause is possible but with + a phrase is more usual:

a house whose walls were made of glass a house with glass walls

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