Both of whom
There is a sentence that I have done wrong in my test
Jack has two elder brothers,..... are famous actors.
I choose “both of them” but the right answer is “both of whom”
Can you please explain to me this structure ? Many thanks
Top answer
"Jack has two elder brothers, both of them are famous actors" is a comma splice: two independent clauses joined by a comma. This is an error in English. : Jack has two elder brothers, and both of them are famous actors.
- "Jack has two elder brothers, both of them are famous actors" is a comma splice: two independent clauses joined by a comma.
- This is an error in English.
- : Jack has two elder brothers, and both of them are famous actors.
- "both of whom are famous actors", on the other hand, is not an independent clause.
- The word "whom" makes the appropriate grammatical connection to the first part, meaning that it can be joined to it using just a comma.
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"Jack has two elder brothers, both of them are famous actors" is a comma splice: two independent clauses joined by a comma. This is an error in English. You need either stronger punctuation or a joining word (conjunction), e.g.:
Jack has two elder brothers, and both of them are famous actors.
"both of whom are famous actors", on the other hand, is not an independent clause.
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