Unit 94. Relative clauses 3: whose / whom / where

Unit 94; Part A

Whose

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)
    •    I met someone whose brother I went to school with. (I went to school with his / her brother)

Compare who and whose:
    •    I met a man who knows you. (he knows you)
    •    I met a man whose sister knows you. (his sister knows you)

Unit 94; Part B

Whom
Whom is possible instead of who when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause (like the sentences in Unit 93B):
• The woman whom I wanted to see was away. (I wanted to see her)

You can also use whom with a preposition (to whom / from whom / with whom etc.):
• The people with whom I work are very nice. (I work with them)

But we do not often use whom in spoken English. We usually prefer who or that, or nothing (see Unit 93). So we usually say:
• The woman I wanted to see ... or The woman who/that I wanted to see ...
• The people I work with ... or The people who/that I work with ...

Unit 94; Part C

Where

• I recently went back to the town where I grew up.
(or ... the town I grew up in or ... the town that I grew up in)
• I would like to live in a place where there is plenty of sunshine.

Unit 94; Part D

   •    Do you remember the day (that) we went to the zoo?
   •    The last time (that) I saw her, she looked fine.
   •    I haven't seen them since the year (that) they got married.

Unit 94; Part E

• The reason I'm phoning you is to ask your advice.
(or The reason that I'm phoning / The reason why I'm phoning)

Exercises

1 Complete the sentences using who or whose.

You met these people at a party:

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The next day you tell a friend about these people. 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 ______________________________________

2 Read the situations and complete the sentences using where.

Read the situations and complete the sentences using where.

1    You grew up in a small town. You went back there recently. You tell someone this.
     I recently went back to the small town    where I grew up
2    You want to buy some postcards. You ask a friend where you can do this.
     Is there a shop near here ___________________?
3    You work in a factory. The factory is going to close down next month. You tell a friend:
     The factory ___________________ is going to close down next month.
4    Sue is staying at a hotel. You want to know the name of the hotel. You ask a friend:
     Do you know the name of the hotel ___________________?
5    You play football in a park on Sundays. You show a friend the park. You say:
     This is the park ___________________ on Sundays.

3 Complete each sentence using who/whom/whose/where.

Complete each sentence using who/whom/whose/where.

1    What's the name of the man     whose 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    What was the name of the person to ____________ you spoke on the phone?
6    The place ____________ we spent our holidays was really beautiful.
7    This school is only for children ____________ first language is not English.
8    The woman with ____________ he fell in love left him after a month.

4 Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.

Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. They are like the examples in Sections D and E.


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    _________________ was the year _________________.

Unit 93 Unit 94 Unit 95