http://www.englishforums.com/English/LinguisticsDiscussionForum/Forum35.htmGet into the nitty-gritty of the language.enXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#267894Sat, 23 May 2009 14:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:267894Cool Breeze0http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#267894http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-267894.xmlTonyy 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 CBhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#267882Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:267882Tonyy1http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#267882http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-267882.xmlAlan.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!http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#248319Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:248319Cool Breeze2http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#248319http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-248319.xmlAperisic 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." 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.) 2 . Alex : "Your daughter married which of them? One that you liked best?" Not a relative...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#248221Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:248221Aperisic3http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/2/cphwv/Post.htm#248221http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-248221.xmlI 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." 2 . Alex : "Your daughter married which of them? One that you liked best?"http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247571Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:247571Cool Breeze4http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247571http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-247571.xmlAlan.es wrote: Maybe it is a pro-adjective rather than pronoun but just wondering if these are examples or not. Which player was selected for the national team? It was the no. 10 which was selected as a reserve. Which one in the family looks most like his father? His father says that it is his eldest son which looks most like him. Which may refer to people when it is an interrogative pronoun, in other words it is used in questions. However, to use it as a relative pronoun the way you have done is ungrammatical. That is normally used in structures like the following: It was Bob that broke the window. By the way, in Old English there was only one relative pronoun, that , and it was uninflected. That caused problems...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247373Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:247373Alan.es5http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247373http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-247373.xmlMaybe it is a pro-adjective rather than pronoun but just wondering if these are examples or not. Which player was selected for the national team? It was the no. 10 which was selected as a reserve. Which one in the family looks most like his father? His father says that it is his eldest son which looks most like him.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247297Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:247297Cool Breeze6http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247297http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-247297.xmlCalifJim wrote: Wouldn't this be a case of a pro-adjective rather than of a pro-noun? For a pronoun, how about, He wanted to talk to the boys, the which he felt had done him wrong. Is that grammatical? CJ Hi CJ It seems that the British aren't the only English-speaking people who have a sense of humor. You have my permission to call it a pro-adjective if you wish. I am positive you know the truth about the which without my saying it. Although English is flexible, you can't tie it in a knot. Cheers CBhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247288Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:247288CalifJim7http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#247288http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-247288.xmlWouldn't this be a case of a pro-adjective rather than of a pro-noun? For a pronoun, how about, He wanted to talk to the boys, the which he felt had done him wrong. Is that grammatical? CJhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#246013Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:246013Cool Breeze8http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#246013http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-246013.xmlCool Breeze wrote: Who , whom , whose and that are usually used as relative pronouns referring to people in modern English: The man who/that came looked very old. However, there is at least one instance in which the pronoun has to be which . I wonder if anyone can come up with the grammatical situation where which is used as a relative to refer to a person or persons. Cheers CB If the antecedent is repeated after the relative pronoun, which must be used: He wanted to talk to the boys , which boys he felt had done him wrong. I am not at all sure there are cases where one has to repeat the antecedent and it probably isn't very good style in many people's opinion. Be it good or bad English, I came across this example in a grammar...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243195Sat, 23 May 2009 14:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:243195nona the brit9http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243195http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-243195.xmlThere is nothing wrong with your computer CB, I just decided that my example didn't work after all and deleted it.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243190Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:243190Cool Breeze10http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243190http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-243190.xmlHi Nona The Brit & Clive Thanks for your replies. First of all I must say that something has gone wrong with my computer software: my e-mail client tells shows me your new posts but when I click the URL, I am taken to a screen telling me that the site I requested does not exist! OK, so I open EF the normal way and Nona The Brit's post, the one I tried to access first, has mysteriously disappeared completely. But to the point now. Please note that I wrote: "... the pronoun has to be which ." In other words, that and who are wrong. NTB's sentence could easily be modified a little to enable a comma and would thus meet the requirements. Congratulations. However, that's not what I had in mind. A group need not consist of people, although...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243100Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:243100Clive11http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htm#243100http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-243100.xmlHi, Who , whom , whose and that are usually used as relative pronouns referring to people in modern English: The man who/that came looked very old. However, there is at least one instance in which the pronoun has to be which. I wonder if anyone can come up with the grammatical situation where which is used as a relative to refer to a person or persons. Hmmm. I guess you wouldn't accept archaic English, eg King James Bible, Book of Luke - He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock How about It is man which is the most dangerous animal of all ? No? Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htmMon, 23 Feb 2009 15:41:58 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:242900Cool Breeze12http://www.englishforums.com/English/RelativeReferringPeople/cphwv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-242900.xmlWho , whom , whose and that are usually used as relative pronouns referring to people in modern English: The man who/that came looked very old. However, there is at least one instance in which the pronoun has to be which . I wonder if anyone can come up with the grammatical situation where which is used as a relative to refer to a person or persons. Cheers CB