Warm-up

Have a go — no notes, and don't worry about small mistakes.

You already know the basic form. Complete this sentence:

"The colleague sits next to me is from Toronto."

SPEAK

Have a go out loud: describe someone in your family in one sentence using who, that or which. Any sentence is fine.

Listen in on this conversation

Ana: How's the new flat working out?

Sam: Actually really well — it's got a little balcony whose view stretches right across the valley, which I definitely wasn't expecting for the price.

Ana: No way. How did you even find it?

Sam: My cousin, through whom I hear about basically everything these days, spotted the listing before it even went online.

Look again at what Sam says. Three grammar choices stand out: "whose view" (for a balcony, not a person), "which I definitely wasn't expecting" (commenting on the whole idea, not one word), and "through whom" (the preposition moved in front of the pronoun). Try to say why each one works before you check.

Check your idea CLICK

All three are typical of fluent, natural English at this level. "Whose" isn't just for people — it works for things too. "Which" can sum up a whole situation, not just refer to one noun. And moving a preposition in front of "whom" or "which" is the mark of a more careful, considered sentence. Today you'll get comfortable using all three — plus two more related tricks.

Today: five ways to add precise, natural detail with relative clauses — prepositions with which/whom, of which/of whom, whose for things, commenting with which, and clauses trimmed right down — so you can sound sharper and more natural, in speech and in writing.

Prepositions with Which and Whom

Adding an aside about someone or something, formally — and the everyday alternative.

Spot the pattern

Three asides, added mid-sentence:

"The lawyer, for whom this case is deeply personal, has worked on it for free."
"This is a debate about which reasonable people disagree."
"Their office, in which no natural light ever reaches the back desks, is due for a refurbishment."

Before you check: where does the preposition go, and which pronoun follows it for people, which for things?

Check the pattern CLICK

The preposition sits directly before the pronoun: whom for people, which for things. This is the formal, careful version — the kind you'd write, or say when choosing your words with care.

..., preposition + whom + clause... (people)
..., preposition + which + clause... (things)

Formal vs everyday

Formal:
"My tutor, with whom I still keep in touch, taught me everything about writing."

→

Everyday:
"My tutor, who I still keep in touch with, taught me everything about writing."

Same meaning. In everyday speech, the preposition drops to the end and "whom" relaxes to "who". The fronted version is the one people reach for in writing, interviews, or anywhere they want to sound precise.

Your turn

Complete each sentence with a preposition + which/whom. One gap, two or three words.

1. You spent every summer as a child with your aunt.

"My aunt, I spent every summer as a child, still lives in that same village."

2. You never knew much about history as a subject.

"History was never a subject I knew very much, if I'm honest."

3. You still have huge respect for your old boss.

"My old boss, I still have huge respect, taught me almost everything I know about the job."

SPEAK

Think of someone you work or study with. Say one sentence about them using a fronted preposition — "with whom", "for whom", "to whom" — then say the same sentence the everyday way, preposition at the end.

Part of a Group: "Of Which" and "Of Whom"

Referring back to some, not all, of a group you've just mentioned — and "whose" for things.

Spot the pattern

"The charity has around three hundred volunteers, a handful of whom have been involved since it started."
"She showed me her postcard collection, most of which came from places she's never actually visited."
"They bought a warehouse whose windows had been bricked up for decades."

What comes before "of whom" and "of which" in the first two? And what does "whose" do in the third, given a warehouse isn't a person?

Check the pattern CLICK

A quantity word (a handful, most, three, several, none...) + of whom (people) or of which (things) refers back to part of a group already mentioned. And whose shows possession for things exactly as it does for people — "a warehouse whose windows" works just like "a woman whose car".

quantity + of whom (people) / of which (things)
noun + whose + noun (people AND things)

Two ways to say the same thing

Everyday:
"A cottage whose roof leaks every winter."

→

Formal:
"A cottage, the roof of which leaks every winter,"

"Whose" is by far the more natural choice for everyday use. "The roof of which" exists and is grammatically correct, but it sounds noticeably formal — you'll meet it more in writing than in conversation.

Your turn

1. Fifteen former students were invited back for the reunion. Only six actually turned up.

"Fifteen former students were invited back for the reunion, turned up on the night."

2. The museum owns nearly two thousand photographs. Most of them have never been shown to the public.

"The museum owns nearly two thousand photographs, have never been shown to the public."

3. The cottage's walls were nearly a metre thick.

"We stayed in a tiny cottage walls were nearly a metre thick."

SPEAK

Describe a group you belong to — your family, a team, a class. Say one sentence using "... of whom" or "... of which" about part of that group.

Comments and Cut-Down Clauses

Commenting on a whole situation with "which" — and trimming a clause down to its essentials.

Spot the pattern: commenting with "which"

"The flight got delayed by six hours, which meant we missed the connection completely."
"He never once said thank you, which I found pretty rude, to be honest."
"Half the staff called in sick on the same day, which nobody could quite explain."

In each sentence, what single noun does "which" refer to?

Check the pattern CLICK

None. "Which" here doesn't point back to one noun at all — it points back to the whole idea that came before the comma (the delay, the missing thank-you, the staff all calling in sick). It's a comment on the entire situation.

[whole idea], which + comment

Spot the pattern: cutting the clause down

"The man standing by the door is my brother-in-law."
"Documents submitted after the deadline won't be accepted."
"Anyone caught smoking inside will be asked to leave."

What's missing from these compared with "the man who is standing" or "documents which were submitted"?

Check the pattern CLICK

The relative pronoun and "be" are simply dropped. Use the -ing form for an active meaning ("who is standing"), and the past participle for a passive one ("which were submitted", "who was caught"). The meaning stays exactly the same — the sentence just gets shorter.

noun + -ing... (active: "who is/was doing")
noun + past participle... (passive: "which is/was done")

Your turn

1. The trains were cancelled all afternoon without warning. This left hundreds of people stranded at the station.

"The trains were cancelled all afternoon without warning, left hundreds of people stranded at the station."

2. The couple who are renting the flat next door just had a baby. (Cut the clause down.)

"The couple the flat next door just had a baby."

3. The photos which were taken during the trip are all a bit blurry. (Cut the clause down.)

"The photos during the trip are all a bit blurry."

SPEAK

Say one sentence about something annoying or great that happened recently, ending in a comment with "... which ...". Then describe two people using a cut-down clause — "the man wearing...", "the woman standing...".

Your Turn to Talk

Bring several of today's structures together in one description.

The situation

Think of a person, place or organisation you know well — a relative, a neighbour, a company you've worked for, a club you belong to.

Talk about them out loud for one minute. Try to include:

Something you'd describe with "whose..." (a thing they own, a place, a quality)
A group they belong to, using "... of whom" or "... of which"
A comment on the whole situation with "..., which..."

01:00

Now put it in writing

Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) about the same person, place or organisation. Try to use whose, of which/of whom, a fronted preposition + which/whom, and a comment with ", which...". The checker will tell you which ones it finds.

Mix It Up

Real life doesn't tell you which structure to use. Here everything is mixed — you decide.

Fix the mistakes

Each sentence has one grammar mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.

1. "That's the man to who I lent my car."

2. "We hired ten graduates, three whom had internship experience."

3. "It's an old bridge who's stones came from a Roman quarry."

4. "The letter writing by my grandmother is now in a museum."

Which structure fits?

5. "The band cancelled the show at the last minute, ___ left thousands of fans furious."

6. "She's the colleague ___ I've always got on best."

7. "The team includes six engineers, ___ have worked here for over a decade."

SPEAK

One-minute challenge: describe your workplace or place of study. Mention someone with "... to whom ..." or "... with whom ...", part of a group with "... of whom/of which", and one thing "whose" describes.

What Do You Remember?

First, from earlier lessons

1. A relative adverb you already know — complete it: "The restaurant we ate last night has just opened a second branch."

2. Say it out loud: what's the difference between a defining and a non-defining relative clause? Give one example of each.

Compare with a possible answer CLICK

One possible answer: a defining clause identifies which person or thing you mean, and has no commas — "The man who called yesterday is my landlord" (without it, you wouldn't know which man). A non-defining clause adds extra, non-essential information, set off with commas — "My landlord, who called yesterday, is very easy-going" (we already know who he is).

Now, today's grammar — fresh sentences, no looking back

3. The firm's reputation has suffered badly this year.

"It's a firm reputation has suffered badly this year."

4. The report contains forty recommendations. Only twelve have been acted on so far.

"The report contains forty recommendations, have already been acted on."

5. You owe your whole career to a particular professor.

"The professor I owe my whole career started out as a school teacher."

Think back

Which practice helped you most today — fixing the mistakes, choosing the right structure, or the speaking tasks? Say why you think that one worked for you.

Can you now...?

At the start we said: five ways to add precise detail with relative clauses. Tick what's true:

I can front a preposition with which/whom — "the colleague to whom I report".
I can refer to part of a group with of which/of whom — "ten of whom, most of which".
I can use whose for things as well as people — "a house whose roof leaks".
I can comment on a whole situation with ", which..." — "she was late, which annoyed everyone".
I can trim a clause down to a participle — "the report published last week".

    Anything you didn't tick — go back to that tab and try the exercises once more. They'll still check your answers.
  