Relative pronoun "of whom"

Question

I was wondering if there was a case in which "of whom" could be used where the prepositional phrase is taken off the end of the sentence and placed before whom.

For example something like:
This is John of whom Kim is taking care.

This sentence could be written as:
This is John whom Kim is taking care of.
which sounds more correct, but is the first example grammatically correct?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Not in your example because "take care of" is a phrasal verb, and cannot be split.

Look over there! That is the person of whom I was speaking. This one is OK but it is very stilted.

the most natural version of your sentence is this one:
This is John who Kim is taking care of.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI was wondering if there was a case in which "of whom" could be used where the prepositional phrase is taken off the end of the sentence and placed before whom.

There are lots of cases like this, but the version with 'of whom' usually sounds very formal - too formal for ordinary conversation.

Today George talked for quite some time to a woman of whom he has become very fond lately.
I saw a group of students at the restaurant, of whom I only knew two.
Chuck married a woman of whom his father disapproved.

CJ

Cool Breeze · Answer

I agree with CJ as to the formality of of whom. Apart from that, I see nothing ungrammatical in

AnonymousThis is John of whom Kim is taking care.

if a comma is added: This is John, of whom Kim is taking care. The relative clause is, after all, nonrestrictive/non-defining.

CB

AlpheccaStars · Answer

The comma does nothing for me.
It may be technically grammatical, but, as a native speaker, it sounds awful.

Relative pronoun "of whom"

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