Almost all of which

Question

I took a TOEFL mock test online, but I got this (one) question wrong.
There are over millions of people in the world, ___________ had been affected by disasters.

A. whom almost of
B. which all of them
C. almost all of which (Answer)
D. almost some of whom (Your Answer)

I know that 'almost' is used with 'all of' and not 'some of' , but why do we have to use 'which' with millions of people, and not 'whom'? I couldn't figure this one out. Please help me understand this.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, Juliar—and welcome to English Forums.

Juliar Fadillahwhy do we have to use 'which' with millions of people, and not 'whom'?

You don't have to, but you may. These are good answers: almost all of which, almost all of whom. Just like 'that', 'which' can refer to people, but I certainly like 'whom' better. Note also that 'over millions' is wrong and 'had been' is probably also wrong, though certain contexts could make it acceptable.

Juliar Fadillah · Answer

Mister MicawberNote also that 'over millions' is wrong and 'had been' is probably also wrong, though certain contexts could make it acceptable.

Thank you so much, Mister Micawber.
Why do you think 'over millions' and 'had been' used in the sentence are incorrect? So, in your opinion, what the sentence should be like.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Mister MicawberJust like 'that', 'which' can refer to people,

It sounds unnatural to me.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Juliar. Paul Tranter here. I am not a member of this forum, so I might be shown as anonymous.

If that question is exactly as it appeared in the TOEFL paper, it fails the validity test. In fact, the entire premise of the question is flawed. This would lead me to question, most seriously, the credentials and bona-fides of the entire test and its author/s.

1. There are over millions....
In this instance, 'over' must be followed by a valid quantifier, and 'millions' does not qualify.
e.g. There are over/more than 100 million people in the world...
or,
There are millions of people in the world...

2. The use of, "...in the world..." is illogical when you add the relative clause, "____ had been affected by disasters."
In this form, the statement would read something like -
There are over millions of people in the world, almost all of which had been affected by disasters.
Despite its serious grammatical flaws, the true meaning of this sentence is that almost all of the people, the entire population of the world, have been affected by disasters. This, clearly, is nonsense.

3. The use of the passive/past perfect, "...had been affected..." is contextually incorrect.
The present simple, "There are..." with the past perfect, "...had been affected...," fails the subject/verb agreement test.
The present perfect is the best option.
"....have been affected..."

4. Answer choices A, B and D, all fail as valid answers on the basis of grammar, syntax, logic.
This leaves C as the only answer that can possibly be correct, assuming the correction of all the abovementioned errors.

I agree with you, that "almost all of whom" is the most appropriate answer.

Here are some corrected reconstructions of the sentence.

(a) There are many millions of people in the world who have been affected by disasters.

(b) There are millions of people living in the world's worst danger zones, many of whom have been affected by disasters.
(c) There are more than 2 million people living on the outskirts of New York, almost all of whom have been affected by disasters.

Your question is manna from heaven for any ESL/EFL teacher, as it contains sufficient material for an entire lesson.

Juliar Fadillah · Answer

AnonymousIf that question is exactly as it appeared in the TOEFL paper, it fails the validity test. In fact, the entire premise of the question is flawed. This would lead me to question, most seriously, the credentials and bona-fides of the entire test and its author/s.

Hi Paul! Glad you could join me here and thank you so much for dropping a thorough explanation. After reading your comment, I definitely wouldn't recommend anyone to take TOEFL exam on that website.

Paul Tranter · Answer

It was my absolute pleasure to reply.

Juliar Fadillah · Answer

Next time I have a troubling, puzzling, twisting grammar problem, I will call out your name, Paul. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousHi Juliar. Paul Tranter here. I am not a member of this forum, so I might be shown as anonymous.

I see you have joined us now. Welcome to the forum, Paul

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