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Pructus Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Who VS that
Mrs. carnaby was helped out of the trap... then the children were lifted out by the mother; and then the nurse, an awkward, plain girl, that nobody helped, tumbled out by herself.
*****
Hi, dear Members and Gurus!!
In the above sentence, if the underlined "that" is changed to "whom" or "who", can there be any meaning difference?
For example, if "that" is used, it means that the girl was not helped in the trap, generally...
And if "who" or "whom" is used, it describes some specific events that happened in the action of trying to get out of the trap, i.e. nobody tried to push her out of the trap even when she was begging for help, etc....
Do native speakers notice the meaning difference between "who" and "that" in the sentence above?
*****
Hi, dear Members and Gurus!!
In the above sentence, if the underlined "that" is changed to "whom" or "who", can there be any meaning difference?
For example, if "that" is used, it means that the girl was not helped in the trap, generally...
And if "who" or "whom" is used, it describes some specific events that happened in the action of trying to get out of the trap, i.e. nobody tried to push her out of the trap even when she was begging for help, etc....
Do native speakers notice the meaning difference between "who" and "that" in the sentence above?
Top answer
No, there is no difference in meaning. Generally I feel that it is more elegant to use "who/whom" when referring to people, but not everyone agrees, and "that" is common and widely accepted. "whom" is technically correct there, but it can sound pedantic or old-fashioned.
- No, there is no difference in meaning.
- Generally I feel that it is more elegant to use "who/whom" when referring to people, but not everyone agrees, and "that" is common and widely accepted.
- "whom" is technically correct there, but it can sound pedantic or old-fashioned.
- It is a dilemma for writers.
- )
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4 Answers
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No, there is no difference in meaning. Generally I feel that it is more elegant to use "who/whom" when referring to people, but not everyone agrees, and "that" is common and widely accepted.
"whom" is technically correct there, but it can sound pedantic or old-fashioned. It is a dilemma for writers. (In speech, "whom" is almost obsolete, except possibly after prepositions, where it seems
"whom" is technically correct there, but it can sound pedantic or old-fashioned. It is a dilemma for writers. (In speech, "whom" is almost obsolete, except possibly after prepositions, where it seems
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a girl whom nobody helped (the grammatically correct version, rather formal)
a girl who/that nobody helped (often heard in casual speech)
a girl nobody helped (sounds best to me)
I see no difference in meaning.
a girl who/that nobody helped (often heard in casual speech)
a girl nobody helped (sounds best to me)
I see no difference in meaning.
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