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Relative 'which' referring to people

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Aperisic  +  248221 Mon, 24 Jul 06 01:10 AM

I do not see any situation that must have 'which', but these sound promising. I don't know if that is what you were looking for.

1.

Alex: "There are two people sitting there. One is the man you need."

Bob: "Which one?"

Alex: "The blue fellow which is across the exit." [which or that]

2.

Alex: "Your daughter married which of them? One that you liked best?" [only which]
Aperisic
Joined on Fri, Jul 21 2006
Full Member 409
Cool Breeze  +  248319 Mon, 24 Jul 06 08:46 AM
 Aperisic wrote:

I do not see any situation that must have 'which', but these sound promising. I don't know if that is what you were looking for.

1.

Alex: "There are two people sitting there. One is the man you need."

Bob: "Which one?" Correct English, but not a relative pronoun. Which is an interrogative here.

Alex: "The blue fellow which is across the exit." [which or that] Incorrect. Which was used to refer to people in the Middle Ages. The King James Version of The Bible (1611) has: Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. (Of course not many think God is a person. Archie Bunker was positive he wasn't a Pole, though.) Smile [:)]

2.

Alex: "Your daughter married which of them? One that you liked best?" [only which] Not a relative pronoun.


Nona The Brit posted an excellent reply but unfortunately decided to delete it. Apart from what she suggested and I have already offered, I don't think there are other solutions to this 'problem'. But I'll keep on waiting.

Cheers
CB
Cool Breeze
Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006
Senior Member 3,978
"I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991
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Tonyy  +  267882 Sat, 16 Sep 06 12:38 PM

 Alan.es wrote:
His father says that it is his eldest son which looks most like him.

If I were to write this sentence, I would write it as who looks. Please tell me what is the difference between which and who here!
Tonyy
Joined on Fri, Sep 15 2006
New Member 01
Cool Breeze  +  267894 Sat, 16 Sep 06 01:08 PM
 Tonyy wrote:

 Alan.es wrote:
His father says that it is his eldest son which looks most like him.

If I were to write this sentence, I would write it as who looks. Please tell me what is the difference between which and who here!


The difference is the fact that which is wrong in modern English. When used as a relative pronoun, it can't refer to people. In your sentence that would be very good, especially since eldest is a superlative.

Cheers
CB
Cool Breeze
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