Of which--relative clause

Question

There will be three people playing, of which one is me.

There will be three people playing, of which I am one.

There will be three people playing, one of which I am.

There will be three people playing, one of which is me.

Is c incorrect? Any further comments about these?

Thanks

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

"There will be three people playing, one of which is me." -- This is the version I would use most often.

"There will be three people playing, of which I am one." -- Good English, but feels more studied and less conversational.

"There will be three people playing, of which one is me." -- Possible I suppose, but doesn't come very naturally to me.

"There will be three people playing, one of which I am" -- Sounds wrong.

English 1b3 · Answer

Mr WordyThere will be three people playing, one of which I am" -- Sounds wrong.

Do you also claim this is wrong then, because I see no difference in structure?

There will be three stores, one of which I sold.

Mr Wordy · Answer

English 1b3
Do you also claim this is wrong then, because I see no difference in structure?

There will be three stores, one of which I sold.

It seems an odd thing to want to say. I guess it could be OK, but I can't visualise the circumstance. Can I offer another example instead?

"There were three envelopes, one of which I opened."

This seems fine to me.

Cool Breeze · Answer

English 1b3There will be three people playing, of which one is me.

There will be three people playing, of which I am one.

There will be three people playing, one of which I am.

There will be three people playing, one of which is me.

Is c incorrect? Any further comments about these?

Which used as a relative pronoun used to refer to people about 400 years ago but in modern English who is used. All your sentences are wrong.

There will be three people playing, one of whom is me.

It might be a good idea not to use a relative clause at all because playing is between the antecedent and the relative pronoun. You could say: There will be three people playing and I'll be one of them.

CB

English 1b3 · Answer

Hi, CB

Cool Breeze
Which used as a relative pronoun used to refer to people about 400 years ago but in modern English who is used. All your sentences are wrong.

I'm aware 'whom' is the more 'correct' term, but I wanted to keep it casual--I thought 'which' was used in such cases.

Cool BreezeIt might be a good idea not to use a relative clause at all because playing is between the antecedent and the relative pronoun. You could say: There will be three people playing and I'll be one of them.

I understand the antecedent isn't directly adjacent to the relative clause, but I was under the impression this was ok, simply because there is no confusion as to what is the antecedent of the relative clause. Your paraphrase would be probably be better nonetheless. Thanks.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

I agree with CB completely. I am more with the whom usage than "which".
Also to make the idea at its simplest, I would just say " There will be 3 poeple playing....inclusing me".

Of which--relative clause

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