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Christanford Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

On 'who'

There are people who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.

I should know better than to question Jane Austen, but I wondered if such a use of 'who' is common in modern language. 'Who', I've been taught, should serve as a pronoun. Wouldn't that make the first 'them' unnecessary?

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

Hi, I think that in the original text, there was a comma after 'people'. I wouldn't say it's common today, but it's certainly not archaic. It's a rather formulaic construction.

— Clive

  • Hi, I think that in the original text, there was a comma after 'people'.
  • I wouldn't say it's common today, but it's certainly not archaic.
  • It's a rather formulaic construction.
  • Clive
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7 Answers
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Hi,

I think that in the original text, there was a comma after 'people'.

I wouldn't say it's common today, but it's certainly not archaic. It's a rather formulaic construction.

Clive
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Thanks, Clive.
I apologise for misquoting it.

But with a 'who' there, shouldn't we leave out the first 'them'? Perhaps something like 'There are people, for whom the more you do, the less they will do for themselves'?
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ChristanfordThere are people who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.
Is this in Austen's own voice or does she put it in the mouth of one of her characters? Just curious.

CJ
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Hi,
It isn't a line said by any character. It's in the first paragraph of chapter 11, volume 1, of Emma.
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I see your point, and I too am interested to hear the answer. Maybe it is slightly idiomatic--a rare exception...
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ChristanfordHi,
It isn't a line said by any character. It's in the first paragraph of chapter 11, volume 1, of Emma.

Thank you. In that case we can't say that Austen was trying to depict one of her characters as the type of person who used awkward grammatical constructions.
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