Who or That

Share on Facebook

Liveinjapan

#345758 Sat, 31 Mar 07 05:18 PM

Hi, everyone. Someone said that when using a relative pronoun after the word 'the only person', they prefer to use 'that' as a relative pronoun rather than 'who'. Is that correct? For example:

He is the only man that we need.
He is the only man that can do it.

I think the word 'who' or 'whom'(in the 1st sentece) still should be used, if you want to speak above sentences formally. Above sentences sound casual, don't they?

Thanks.

LiJ

Liveinjapan

Joined on Sun, Feb 4 2007

Osaka, Japan

Contributing Member (1,603)

Please feel free to correct any words I wrote.LiJ

Nouns, Pronouns, Whom, Relative pronouns

This is a live chat room, hosted on the chat page. You can also click here to see the chat in fullscreen.

Cool Breeze

#345832 Sat, 31 Mar 07 10:37 PM

Hi LiJ

You are right. There are lots of grammarians who prefer that after only, and not just only but also in some other cases:

Only: He was the only person that arrived.
Last: It was the last bus that came.
Next: We took the next train that came along.
Ordinal: It was the first bus that came.
Something, anything, nothing, anything: He told me something that I didn't believe.

In actual usage which and who are often used in the above cases. That must be used in the following sentences (or left out in certain cases):

I didn't believe all that he said.
There isn't much that I can do for you.
There was little that I could do for him.

Cheers
CB

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (2,858)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

Conchita57

#345844 Sat, 31 Mar 07 11:02 PM

In a very formal situation, the relative pronoun 'whom' could be used. In real life conversation, though, 'who' and that' are more usual, the latter being preferred. It is also possible, and even more common, to omit the relative pronoun altogether: He is the only man we need.

Conchita57

Joined on Sat, Mar 10 2007

Madrid, Iberian Peninsula

Full Member (315)

In the beginning was the word.

Nouns, Pronouns, Whom, Conversations, Relative pronouns

Cool Breeze

#345934 Sun, 01 Apr 07 07:12 AM

Conchita57 wrote:
In a very formal situation, the relative pronoun 'whom' could be used. In real life conversation, though, 'who' and that' are more usual, the latter being preferred. It is also possible, and even more common, to omit the relative pronoun altogether: He is the only man we need.

Hi Conchita

So in a very formal situation you would say:

He is the only man whom can do it.

(I'm referring to the original poster's sentence.) I wouldn't. Nor would I omit that in this sentence:

He is the only man that knows it and can help us.

Cheers
CB

Cool Breeze

Nouns, Pronouns, Whom, Conversations, Relative pronouns

Liveinjapan

#345959 Sun, 01 Apr 07 10:56 AM

Smile [:)] Thank you very much. You both really helped me. I hope how to use these relative pronouns will be one of my strenngths.

LiJ

Liveinjapan

Nouns, Pronouns, Relative pronouns

Conchita57

#345985 Sun, 01 Apr 07 12:36 PM

Cool Breeze wrote:

Hi Conchita

So in a very formal situation you would say:

He is the only man whom can do it.

(I'm referring to the original poster's sentence.) I wouldn't. Nor would I omit that in this sentence:

He is the only man that knows it and can help us.

Cheers
CB

The original sentences were:

He is the only man that we need.
He is the only man that can do it.

'Whom' is an object pronoun and could be used in the first sentence, not in the second. For the same reason, it wouldn't fit in your example.

As to the pronoun 'that', it can only be omitted when it is the object of a verb, as in the first sentence.

In my previous post I should have pointed out the differences between subject and object pronouns. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Conchita57

Nouns, Verbs, Pronouns, Whom

Cool Breeze

#346009 Sun, 01 Apr 07 01:55 PM

Conchita57 wrote:

As to the pronoun 'that', it can only be omitted when it is the object of a verb, as in the first sentence. (Not the whole truth!)

In my previous post I should have pointed out the differences between subject and object pronouns. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You're welcome!

The relative pronoun can be omitted in three cases in a restrictive relative clause:

1. the relative pronoun is an object: He is the man [that] I saw.
2. a preposition is at the end of the relative clause: He is the man [that] I came with.
3. the relative pronoun relates to a form of to be: He isn't yet the man [that] he will be.
and
4. some writers with a good sense of style may omit the relative pronoun even when it is the subject: There is somebody at the door [who] wants to see you.

This last usage is not recommended to beginners!

Cheers
CB