Celebrity English

A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns are classified into 6 types: personal pronouns; demonstrative pronouns; indefinite pronouns; relative pronouns; interrogative pronouns; and reflexive and intensive pronouns.

Relative pronouns create relationships by connecting phrases and clauses to other phrases and clauses.

These are the relative pronouns:

The relative pronouns “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “whoever,” “whomever,” and sometimes “which” and “whichever,” are used to refer to people.

The relative pronouns “whose,” “that,” “which,” and “whichever” are used to refer to animals and things.

• This is the book that Reese Witherspoon read last week.

The relative pronoun “that” refers to the noun “book,” which represents a thing.

• J.K. Rowling is the woman who wrote the book.

The relative pronoun “who” refers to the noun “woman,” which represents a person.

The relative pronouns “who” and “whoever” are subjective and can only function as the subject in a clause or sentence.

The relative pronouns “whom” and “whomever” are objective and can only function as the object in a clause, sentence, or prepositional phrase.

These basic concepts will help you determine the proper case of a relative pronoun:

• The process is easier when you use the masculine personal pronouns “he” and “him,” even if the antecedent is female.
• The objective case of both the relative pronoun “whom” and the personal pronoun “him” end in the letter “m.”
• The subjective case of both the relative pronoun “who” and the personal pronoun “he” do not end in the letter “m.”

• J.K. Rowling is the woman who wrote the book.

The relative pronoun “who” is the subject of the clause “who wrote the book.” Replace the subjective relative pronoun with the subjective personal pronoun “he” to determine which pronoun to use: “he wrote the book.”

• J.K. Rowling is the woman to whom Reese Witherspoon wrote a letter.

The relative pronoun “whom” is the subject of the clause “whom Reese Witherspoon wrote a letter.” Replace the objective relative pronoun with the objective personal pronoun “him” to determine which pronoun to use: “Reese Witherspoon wrote him a letter.”

Note: The statements concerning Reese Witherspoon and J.K. Rowling are unfounded.