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Lucas21c Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

'that' vs 'who(m)/which'

Could you tell me which one is right between A and B in each following pair? Thank you.

1A. Tagore is the greatest poet who India has ever produced.
1B. Tagore is the greatest poet that India has ever produced.

2A. Who who that has common sense can believe such a thing?
2B. Who that has common sense can believe such a thing?

3A. Which is the book which you want to read?
3B. Which is the book that you want to read?

4A. She spent all the money which she had.
4B. She spent all the money that she had.
  

Top answer

1A should have "whom", not "who". 2A is wrong. Who who that is an impossible combination in English.

— CalifJim

  • 1A should have "whom", not "who".
  • 2A is wrong.
  • Who who that is an impossible combination in English.
  • Otherwise, they are all correct.
  • Personally, I would use the B versions (with that ) in every case.
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7 Answers
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1A should have "whom", not "who".
2A is wrong. Who who that is an impossible combination in English.

Otherwise, they are all correct.

Personally, I would use the B versions (with that) in every case.

CJ
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Thank you for your help, CalifJim. By the way, as far as I know, we can use 'who' instead of 'whom' unless the 'who' is placed behind a preposition. For example, in this sentence, "This is the girl about whom we talked yesterday," we can't replace 'about whom' with 'about who'. In terms of English grammar, I think that sentence is right as it is though it may sound too formal. Also, if 1A i
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@CalifJim @lucas21c "This is the girl about whom we talked yesterday."
Can I rephrase this sentence as "This is the girl who we talked about yesterday."?
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I think both of "This is the girl who we talked about yesterday" and This is the girl whom we talked about yesterday" are fine.
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lucas21cThis is the girl whom we talked about yesterday"
This kind of sentence formation is not common in English I believe.
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vkr6078Can I rephrase this sentence as "This is the girl who we talked about yesterday."?
Yes. You can also use 'that', or use nothing at all.
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vkr6078 lucas21cThis is the girl whom we talked about yesterday"This kind of sentence formation is not common in English I believe.
It is not. Those who prefer the more formal style use 'about whom'. Others use 'who ... about'.
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