ENGLISH B.

IV TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

RELATIVE PRONOUNS AS OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS

This document add information to point 7. In the Relatives Clauses_Notes document already available
on eGela. Such section read the following:

We often use modifiers, such as all of and many of, some, any, none, both, several, enough, few
before ‘which’, ‘whose’ or ‘whom’ in a non-defining relative clause to refer to the subject or
object of the clause:
‘The supermarket removed from the shelves all of its jars of tomato puree, several of which
were found to contain fragments of glass.’
‘The college entered over a hundred students for the exam, all of whom passed.
‘We interviewed fourteen applicants for the post, none of whom we thought suitable.

This structure is also possible with other expressions of quantity, with superlatives, with first,
second, etc., and with last: ‘a number of whom’, ‘the majority of whom’, ‘three of which’, ‘the
last of which’…

1. Therefore, a relative pronoun may be in an ‘of’ phrase which is preceded by the word it refers
to. This construction is especially common after pronouns of indefinite quantity and after
superlatives used as nouns.

‘The new students, some of whom came from other countries, were required to take a special
orientation program.’
‘This nightclub has put on many shows, the most spectacular of which is the present one.’

1.1. This construction may also be used with other types of nouns.
‘They decided to see the movie Bijou, the title of which intrigued them.’

1.2. In such clauses, ‘whose’ may be an alternative for ‘of which’:

‘One of his books, the tile of which/whose title escapes me at the moment, tells all about the ‘lost
continent’.

EXERCISE

In each group of sentences, change the second sentence into an adjective clause and insert it in the blank
in the first sentence. Use commas for the adjective clause.

Example:
‘The toys, ...................... were returned to the manufacturer.’
‘Most of them had been damaged in transit.’
‘The toys, most of which had been damaged in transit, were returned to the manufacturer.’

1. The members of the band, the majority of whom were amateurs, came from all parts of the city.
The majority of them were amateurs.

2. She hurried home to feed her cats, one of which had just had kittens.
One of them had just had kittens.

3. The president appointed a special committee, the chairman of which was to report to him
periodically.
The chairman of the committee was to report to him periodically.

4. Their apartment, whose windows faced the river, was one of the most expensive in the building.
The windows of their apartment faced the river.

5. This old book, whose author is unknown, has had a great influence on me.
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ENGLISH B.IV TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

The author of the book is unknown.

6. The children, the tallest whom could not reach the shelf where the cookies were, went to look for
something to stand on.
The tallest of them could not reach the shelf where the cookies were.

7. The shopkeepers in the neighbourhood, several of whom had already been robbed, asked for
more police protection.
Several of them had already been robbed.

8. The residents, whose homes had been damaged by the flood, were given help by the Red Cross.
All of their homes had been damaged by the flood.

9. He was put out of business by his many competitors, the most unscrupulous of whom had cut
prices below cost.
The most unscrupulous of them had cut prices below cost.

2. Besides, relative pronouns can also function as objects of prepositions.

The doctor to whom she sent her friend is a well-known specialist.’

‘The doctor who(m) she sent her friend to is a well-known specialist.’
Informal: ‘The doctor Ø she sent her friend to is a well-known specialist.’

‘The tree under which he is standing is a very old one.’

‘The tree which/that he is standing under is a very old one.’
Informal: ‘The tree he is standing under is a very old one.’

EXERCISE
Change the first sentence in each group of sentences into an adjective clause (= relative clause) and
insert it into the second sentence. Use both the formal and the informal forms of the adjective clause. Be
careful of the punctuation of the clause.

Examples:
a. ‘The company ............................................... employs many people.’ She works for the company.
‘The company for which she works employs many people.’
‘The company (which/that) she works for employs many people.’

b. ‘Prof. Emery .............. has written a very controversial book.’ Everybody is talking about him these days.
‘Prof. Emery, about whom everyone is talking these days, has written a very controversial book.’
‘Prof. Emery, who(m) everyone is talking about these days, has written a very controversial book.

1. The Taylors live in the house.

The house in which Taylors lives/ which Taylors lives in is very old.

2. The Fire Department has been fighting against it for several hours.
The fire , which the Fire Department has been fighting against for several hours/ against which
the Fire Department has been fighting for several hours, is now under control.

3. I have just borrowed some money from it.

The bank from whom I have just borrowed some money/ whom I have just borrowed some
money from is very reliable.

4. I can always depend on him for help.

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ENGLISH B.IV TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

My father-in-law on whom I can always depend/ whom I can always depend on is lending me
some money for a new house.

5. I listen to it whenever I play my records.

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata which I listen to whenever I play my records/ to which I listen
whenever I play my records is a great piece of music.

6. He has no control over this situation.

He has gotten himself into a dangerous situation over which he has no control/ which he has no
control over.

7. We are just going into this building.

The Empire State Building which we are just going into/ into which we are just going is one of
the tallest buildings in the world.

8. We will soon be flying over them.

The Rocky Mountains over which we will soon be flying/ which we will soon be flying over are
very beautiful.

9. His son was playing with the toy.

He picked up the toy which his son was playing with/ with which his son was playing/ his son was
playing with.

10. Every country fights against these enemies.

The enemies which every country fights against/ against which every country fights are poverty
and injustice.

11. Our store is located on that street.

The street on which our store is located/ which our store is located on is a very busy one.

Non-defining: coma
Defining: no coma

[Taken from Frank, 1986 Modern English. Prentice Hall Regents, New York.]