What is whose in English? What's the difference between who, which and that? Relative pronouns in restrictive clauses

Interrogative-Relative Pronouns in English.

Interrogative relative pronouns include who- Who, whose- whose, what- what, which, which- which. Adjacent to this group is the relative pronoun that– what, which.

Pronoun Who

Pronoun who refers to persons and is used without a subsequent noun or pronoun. When consumed who as an interrogative pronoun in the function of a subject, the predicate, as a rule, has a singular form:
Who helps are you in your work? - Who helps you in your work?
Exceptions are those cases when the questioner knows that the answer to his question will be a plural noun:
Who were playing chess at thesecondtable? - Whoplayed chess at the second table?

If who as an interrogative pronoun, it is the nominal part of the predicate, the linking verb agrees in person with the subject:
Who are they? - Who are they?
Whois thisgirl? -Who is this girl?

Who has the form of the oblique case whom, which is used as a question word in the complement function, especially in formal style. In an informal style, these functions are performed by who in the general case. Compare:

When consumed who as a relative pronoun “who”, “which” in the function of the subject in a subordinate clause, the predicate can be in both singular and plural:
The girl who was Barely 20 hadalready worked 5 years. - Young woman, which Just turned 20, already worked for 5 years.
Theyheardthemovementsofthose w ho were on the bank.- They heard movements those who was on the shore.

Who can be used as a relative pronoun in emphatic expression itis (was) ...who to highlight a subject denoting a person:
It was I who told the police. - It's me told the police.

Pronoun usage whom as a relative pronoun is relatively rare:
This is Mr Perkins whom you metat the sales conference.
- This is Mr. Perkins, with which you met at a sales conference.
The people with whom he worked he is regarded as eccentric.
- People, with which he worked, they considered him eccentric.

In an informal style whom or is replaced by that, or omitted altogether:
There's the man ( that) we met in thepublastnight.
- That man over there whom we saw it in the pub yesterday.

Pronouns What, Which And That

What And which– unchangeable pronouns that can be used both with nouns and personal pronouns, and independently.
When used without a noun or pronoun, what And which can only refer to inanimate objects:
Which would you like – steak orplace? - What Will you have steak or flounder?
What would you like to drink? - What will you drink?

At the same time which implies limited, and what– wider choice.
What may apply to persons if their profession or occupation is ascertained. For example:
What are you? - By whom are you working?
What's your brother? - Who your brother?

what in the function of the subject it is used in the singular:
What has happened? - What's happened?
Verb-predicate with a pronoun what in the function of the nominal part of the predicate agrees in person and number with the subject:
What is your opinion on this question?- What's it like yours opinion on this issue?
What are his daughters like? - Which he has daughters?
(Question whatis/are...like? corresponds to the Russian “what”, “what”).

Pronoun what in the function of addition in combination with prepositions it corresponds to the Russian “what” in indirect cases with and without prepositions. Preposition relating to what as an interrogative or relative pronoun, usually takes place after the verb:
What is he going to talk about? - About what is he going to talk?

Combined with a noun which And what can refer to both inanimate and animate nouns. The semantic difference between which And what and the same:

Pronoun what as a relative does not coincide in meaning with the Russian “what”. Relative pronoun what either attaches an indirect question (subordinate explanatory clause), or corresponds to the complex Russian conjunction “such as”, “that that”.
He asked me what I intended to do? - He asked me What I intend to do.
Heaskedmewhat colorI'd like.- He asked me Which the color I would prefer.
The life in the country is notwhat it used to be.- Life in the village is not like this, How was earlier.
Igaveherjustwhat sheneeded.- I gave it to her just what she needs it.
Do you want to hear what hesaid?- Do you want to hear That, What He said?

In the latter case what has a general meaning - “all that” If such a meaning is somehow specified, instead what used that:
Do you want to hear the words that he said?- You want to hear those words kotory He said?

Relative pronoun that refers to words thewords and corresponds to the Russian “which”. If we need the relative pronoun to refer to the entire sentence, instead of what or that used which:
Sally went out with George, which Made Paul very angry.- Sally left with George, What made Paul very angry.

Which as a relative pronoun, "which" can also refer to one of the members of the main clause denoting an inanimate object. In such cases, a comma before which not put:
Theyreturnedtotheircanoewhich they had left in the stream.- They returned to their canoe, kotoswarm left on the river.

Relative pronoun that often used instead who(about people) and which(about objects) in subordinate clauses sentences in cases where the subordinate clause contains information that is absolutely necessary for understanding who or what is being discussed in the main clause. Compare:
Thewomanthat/ who usuallycuts my hair has moved toanother hairdresser's.
- Woman, which She usually cuts my hair, she moved to work at another hairdresser.
Dorothy,who cutsmyhairhasmovedtoanotherhair-dresser's.
- Dorothy, Who She usually cuts my hair, she moved to work at another hairdresser.

If we omit the subordinate clause in the second sentence, it will not lose its meaning: it will remain quite clear who we are talking about - Dorothy. The very first sentence without an attributive clause loses its meaning. In such sentences it is used that:
Where'sthegirlthat sellsthe- Where is that girl? which sells bi-
tickets? = ... who sells… years?
I've lost the bananas that I've- I lost my bananas which bought
bought this morning. this morning.

That especially often used after superlative degrees of comparison and words all, every(thing), some(thing), any(thing), no(thing), none, little, few, much, only:
It's the best film that ever's been made on this subject. - This best movie, which has ever been filmed on this topic.
Is this all that's left?- This All, What left?
Haveyougotanything that belongs to me?
- Do you have anything that belongs to me?
The only thing that matters is to find our way home.
- The only thing, What What matters is finding the way home.

If that is the object of the predicate clause, it is often omitted, especially in spoken English:
Heisamanpeoplelikeatfirstsight.- He's one of those Who I like it at first sight.

Pronoun Whose
Invariable pronoun whose– whose usually used in relation to persons. In a sentence whose usually serves as a modifier and comes immediately before the noun it refers to. The noun in this case is used without an article:
Whose books arethese? - Whose This books?

Whose as a relative pronoun it means “whose”, “whose”:
This is Henry whose wife works for my brother.- This is Henry, whose wife/ wife whom works for my brother.

Sometimes whose can be used as a relative pronoun in relation to inanimate nouns:
Itwasameeting whose importance I didn’t realize at the time.- That was meeting, importance which I didn't understand at the time.
However, it is preferable to use a prepositional construction with which:
It was a meeting the importance of which I didn’t realize at the time.

When learning English, you cannot ignore the important topic of relative pronouns. Their use in the context of subordinate clauses has a number of interesting nuances that will be useful for you to know.

What are relative pronouns?

In English there are the following relative pronouns: who, that, which, whom, whose and whoever/whomever. Basically, relative pronouns are needed to introduce subordinate clauses.

Typically, this type of subordinate clause refers to the word, phrase, or sense of the main clause that serves as the antecedent (the noun or its equivalent to which the subsequent pronoun refers).

In the following examples, the relative pronouns whom and that affect the subject, which is the antecedent:

The neighbor, whom I saw this morning, crashed his car. — Neighbour, whom I saw this morning, I crashed my car.

The cake that Jane cooked was nice and tasty. — Cake, which Jane baked it, it was beautiful and delicious.

The use of one or another relative pronoun directly depends on the type of subordinate clause. There are two types of subordinate clauses: restrictive (clarifying the meaning) and distributive (supplementing new information). In both cases, the relative pronoun can be a subject, an object, or a possessive pronoun (whose).

Relative pronouns in restrictive clauses

Relative pronouns introducing a restrictive clause are not separated by a comma from the main clause. In this case, the subordinate clause conveys important information about the antecedent in the main clause.

This information plays a key role in correctly understanding the meaning of the main sentence, so it cannot be omitted. Simply put, without a restrictive clause, the main sentence simply loses its meaning.

I was nicely surprised to meet guys who also arrived to support their favorite team. — I was pleasantly surprised to meet the guys, which They also came to support their favorite team.

It will be the party that everyone will remember. - It's going to be a party which will be remembered by everyone.

Relative pronouns as objects that define a person or thing can be omitted. However, formal English requires the use of a relative pronoun.

If the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, which should be used instead of that, for example: in which, about which, for which. Let's look at examples:

Official English:Dr. Smith was the person to whom I expressed my deep esteem and whose reputation was known to everyone. — Dr. Smith was a man to whom I expressed my deepest respect and whose reputation was known to everyone.

Unofficial English:Dr. Smith was the person I expressed my deep esteem to and whose reputation was known to everyone.

Official English: There was a wonderful landscape at the exhibition that Jane adored. — There was a wonderful landscape at the exhibition, which Jane delighted.

Unofficial English: There was a wonderful landscape at the exhibition Jane adored.

Official English: Tom achieved the cave about which he had heard so many tales. — Tom reached the cave, about which heard so many legends.

Unofficial English: Tom achieved the cave he had heard so many tales about.

The relative pronoun whom is used quite rarely and is usually replaced by who, and in colloquial speech it is completely omitted:

Official version: The man to whom you said hello in the morning is my uncle. - Human, with whom you said hello in the morning - my uncle.

Conversational option: The man you said hello to in the morning is my uncle. (The man who you said hello to in the morning is my uncle.)

However, if the relative pronoun whom comes after a preposition and is its object, it cannot be omitted:

The man for whom she was waiting so many years finally appeared. - Finally, a man appeared, whom she waited for so many years.

Relative pronouns as possessive pronouns

In English, only whose is a possessive relative pronoun. Its antecedent can be both persons and objects.

The boy whose toy engine broke yesterday was presented a new beautiful toy truck. — Boy, whose The car broke down yesterday, I got a new first-class toy truck.

The bag whose owner got off the bus was delivered to the nearest lost-property office. — Bag, owner which got off the bus and was taken to the nearest lost and found.

Relative pronouns in extended clauses

Despite the similarity in use, relative pronouns introducing distributive clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma. Usually which is a sign of a distributive clause.

As a rule, distributive clauses do not provide valuable information about the antecedent in the main clause. This information is not key to the correct understanding of the idea of ​​the main sentence and can be omitted without losing its meaning.

In other words, a distributive clause is a digression that provides additional information. Let's find out in what qualities relative pronouns can be used in distributive clauses.

Relative pronouns as subjects

• The summit, which lasted for three days, resulted in signing a set of important agreements. — The result of the summit, which lasted three days, a package of important agreements was signed.

• The movie, which he admired, was going to be shown in the cinema. - Movie, which I was delighted with it and were going to show it in the cinema.

Using That or Who/Which

The relative pronoun that is used only in subordinate clauses. It can also be replaced by who (in relation to persons) or which (in relation to objects). The word that is often used in spoken English, but who and which are more common in written English. For example:

• Spoken English that wrote a lot of wonderful poems and songs in the Scots language and standard English. — Robert Burns - Scottish poet, which wrote many wonderful poems and songs in the Scottish dialect and literary English.
• Written, formal English: Robert Burns is a Scottish poet who wrote a lot of wonderful poems and songs in the Scots language and standard English.

Special rules for using relative pronouns

Who or That

Informal English allows the use of both who and that when describing people. But if we are talking about the characteristics or abilities of a person/group of people, then it is better to use the relative pronoun that (although the use of who is also allowed):

• She is the kind of woman that always looks charming. - She's one of those women which always look adorable.

If in the official style we are talking about a specific person, it is preferable to use who:

• The man who won the prize was a cook. - Man, which won a prize, was a cook.

That or Which

There are several situations in English where it is more appropriate to use that than which. After the pronouns many, few, all, little, much, every(thing) and any(thing) you should use that:

• There are many ways that may help him resolve this complex issue. “There are many ways in which he can solve this complex issue.

A noun qualified by a superlative adjective also requires the relative pronoun that:

• This is the most beautiful car that he has ever seen. “This is the most beautiful car he has ever seen.”

Relative pronouns

So, what kind of pronouns are called relative? These are the pronouns that introduce definitive subordinate clauses and into Russian are usually translated by words which, -th, -oe, -s. They always refer to a specific, defined word (usually a noun, object pronoun) in the main clause. This group includes, among others, who, which, whose, whose, and that.

PronounWHO

Let's look at each of these pronouns in more detail.

The peculiarity of the pronoun who (which, whose) is that it is used only in relation to persons and performs the function of the subject in a subordinate clause:

E.g.I see a boywho is drawing.

I see boy which draws.(Fig. 3)

The girlwho gave me the book has gone.

Girl,which gave me the book and left.

There was somebodywho wanted you.

There was someone hereWho I was looking for you.

I know (don't know)who did it.

I know (I don't know)Who did it.

Rice. 1. Illustration for example ()

PronounWHOSE

The pronoun whose (which, whose, whose) is very similar in appearance to who. This pronoun is used in relation to persons.

E. g. That’ sthe man whose carhasbeenstolen.

That's the man, the car whom stolen.

Do you know the man whose house we saw yesterday?

Do you know the person, house whom did we see yesterday?

Do you know whose book it is?

You know, whose is this a book?

I wonder whose house that is.

Interesting, whose this is home. (Fig. 4)

Rice. 2. Illustration for example ()

PronounWHICH

Now we will look at the pronoun which (which, which, what). Unlike the previous pronouns, which is used in relation to inanimate objects and animals. In addition, it is considered bookish and in a conversational style is usually replaced by the pronoun that.

E.g.He ordered coffee which(that) was promptly brought.

He ordered coffee, which They brought it right away.(Fig. 5)

I'm looking for jeans, which(that) are less expensive.

I'm looking for jeans which would be cheaper (less expensive).

Rice. 3. Illustration for example ()

I don't know which book to choose.

I don't know, which one choose a book.

Tell me which way we'll do it.

Tell me, what way (manner) we will do this.

Sometimes in colloquial speech which (that) may be omitted.

The pen which(that) you took is mine.

Pen, which you took it - mine.

He returned the book ( which, that) he had borrowed.

He returned the book which took.

This is the picture ( which, that) I bought yesterday.

This is a picture which I bought it yesterday.

PronounTHAT

And finally, we are left with the pronoun that (which, whose). As a definition, a pronoun that often replaces pronouns whoAndwhich in ordinary colloquial speech. Can be used in relation to persons, but is more often used in relation to inanimate objects:

E.g. They could not find anybody that(who) knew the town.

They couldn't find anyone Who I wish I knew the city.

Did you see the letter that had come today?

Have you seen the letter which did it come today?(Fig. 6)

The news that(which) he brought upset us all.

News, which he brought it, upset us all.

Rice. 4. Illustration for example ()

In colloquial speech pronouns that(as well as which), introducing attributive clauses, are usually omitted altogether:

E.g. It is the end of the letter (that, which) she sent me.

This is the end of the letter which she sent it to me.

The woman (that) I love most of all is my mother.

Woman, which I love most of all - my mother.

Addition in English

As in Russian, in English there are direct (always without a preposition) and indirect (without a preposition and with a preposition - prepositional) objects.

Transitive verbs (which express an action that passes to a person or object) require after themselves a direct object denoting a person or object and answering the question what? or who?

For example, He gave a book.

He gave the book. (Fig. 5)

Rice. 5. Illustration for example ()

The direct object itself is used without a preposition, but many verbs form stable combinations with prepositions that express a single concept ( for example: look for - search, listen to - listen, take off - shoot, pick up - lift, etc.). In this case, the preposition (adverb) forms a single whole with the verb, and the direct object that follows it is (as expected) without a preposition.

For exampleI'm looking for the book.

I'm looking for a book.

As for indirect additions, they provide various additional information that answers different questions: to whom?, with whom?, for whom?, about what? etc.

A non-prepositional indirect object occurs in a sentence when some of the transitive verbs, in addition to the direct object, also have a second - indirect object, answering the question to whom? and denoting the person to whom the action is addressed. An indirect object placed before a direct object is used without a preposition.

For example,Hegave the boy abook.

He gave the boy a book.(Fig. 6)

Rice. 6. Illustration for example ()

A prepositional indirect object is an indirect object that comes after a direct object. It is used with a preposition and answers various questions: about whom?, about what?, with whom?, with what?, for whom? etc.

For example, He gave a book for my father.

He gave the book to my father.

ENDorFINISH

The words end and finish have fairly similar meanings, but there are a number of differences. Let's look at them.

When we are talking about approaching the completion of some action, the construction finish + addition (“to complete something”) is used.

E.g. You should try to finish all the work before 6 p.m.

You should try complete all work until 6 p.m.

I have already finishedreading that book.

I have already finishedreading that book.

If we use the construction “end + addition”, we get the meaning “to stop, stop something.” The meaning will be similar to the verb “to stop”:

E.g. We must end this war!

We must stop this war!

They decided to end their relationships.

They decided end your relationship. (Fig. 7)

Rice. 7. Illustration for example ()

When talking about the “physical/material” end of something (rather than a temporary end), it is better to use “end”:

E.g. This street ends a mile away from here.

This street ends one mile from here.

In all other cases, as a rule, there is either no difference between these words or it is not significant. For example:

Whattimedoyour classes end / finish ?

At what time your classes are ending?

After nouns qualified by superlative adjectives, ordinal numbers, and all, only only the pronoun is used that(not which):

E.g. This is the second book that I read last summer.

This is the second book I read last summer.(Fig. 8)

I"ve read all the books that you gave me.

I've read all the books which you gave it to me.

This is the best dictionary that I have ever seen.

This is the best dictionary which I've ever seen.

The only thing that I can do is to take his advice.

The only thing, What What I can do is listen to his advice.

Rice. 8. Illustration for example ()

Limericks

English limericks are poems that are one of the components of English humor and culture.

A limerick is a short, funny poem consisting of five lines. In addition, a distinctive feature of the limerick is its special, uniform poetic form. Usually begins with the words “There was a...”.

Here are some interesting limericks.

There was an Old Man of Peru,

Who dreamed he was eating his shoe.

He wakes up in the night

In a terrible fright

And found it was perfectly true!

One day I saw an eccentric

In a dream that he eats his shoe

He instantly woke up

And I was convinced

That this is really true.

There was an Old Man, who when little,

Fell casually into a kettle;

But growing too stout

He could never get out

So he passed all his life in that kettle.

One clumsy kid

Fell into the pot, you tomboy.

He wanted to get out quickly

But I got so fat

That the little guy remained there.

Self-test tasks

And now let’s do some exercises to understand the use of who, which, whose and that better.

Now let's do some exercises to better understand the use of the pronouns who, which, whose, that.

Look at the sentences and fill the gaps with the necessary relative pronoun - who, whose, which.

1. Do you know ___ cup of tea it is? → whose

2. She is looking at the aquarium ___ we bought last week. → which

3. I don’t know the girl ___ is speaking with my brother. → who

4. Where is the pie ___ our mother made yesterday? → which

5. Do you know ___ dog is in our garden? → whose

6. We know ___ broke your vase. → who

7. I don’t see the boy ___ won the competition. → who

8. Have you found the dog ___ bit you? → which

9. I wonder ___ car it is. → whose

10. The apple ___ I bought is worm-eaten. → which

References

1. Afanasyeva O. V. Series “New English course for Russian schools.” 5th grade. - M: Bustard, 2008.
2. Fomina I. N., Fomina L. V. English in algorithms. - Dnepropetrovsk, 2007.
3. Dubrovin M.I. Illustrated guide to English grammar. - M: “Nachala-Press”, 1992.
4. Pakhotin A. Everything about modal verbs and the subjunctive mood in English. - M: Karev Publisher, 2005.

1. Educational Internet resources - English language ().
   
2. Rapidsteps.com ().
3. CorrectEnglish.ru ().

Homework

Insert the pronouns who, whose or which.

1. He didn’t know ___ sheet of paper it was. 2. We are talking about the book ___ we bought yesterday. 3. I don’t know the man ___ is looking at me. 4. Where is the pizza ___ she cooked yesterday? 5. Do you know ___ cat it is? 6. I know ___ broke your smartphone. 7. We are discussing the boy ___ won the competition. 8. Do you see the elephant ___ has a big red bow? 9. He wonders ___ house it is. 10. The apple-pie ___ I bought is in the refrigerator.

Divide the pronouns who, which, whose, that into two columns depending on whether they are used with animate and inanimate objects. Come up with one example to support your choice.

One of the most difficult topics in class is consideredquestions with who in English. But in fact, everything is quite simple, since in these questions you don’t even need to use auxiliary verbs. And the word order remains exactly the same as in a regular declarative sentence. Questions withwhoare quite common in English, so it is important to learn how to formulate them correctly.

Questions with who in English. Construction scheme

Regarding word order in questions with who in English, then it is universal. Pay attention to the following diagram:

Who + main verb (often in the 3rd person singular) + other parts of the sentence

Why don't these questions use an auxiliary verb? For the reason that the question is addressed to a person or thing, instead of which in our question we use who. Let's look at examples:

1. A: Who wrote that novel? – Who wrote that novel?

B: Anna did. - Anna.

2. A: Who is speaking? - Who is speaking?

Q: Tom is. - Volume.

It should be noted that such questions occur not only with the word who. Can be applied which, what, whose and even how many. How to figure it out then? You can simply try replacing the question word or phrase with who. If the meaning of the sentence does not change, you need to use the rules for questions with who in English.

For example:

A: How many people came to the meeting? – How many people came to the meeting?

Q: Six people came to the meeting. – Six people came to the meeting.

Questions with who in English. Examples

Below are other examples questions with who(which, what, whose…) in English.

question	translation
Who looked at me when I was singing?	Who looked at me when I sang?
Who plays piano as well as Alex?	Who plays the piano as good as Alex?
Whose son came to the party yesterday?	Whose son came to the party yesterday?
How many people speak Japanese in your office?	How many people speak Japanese in your office?
Who talked to Anna when I was away?	Who spoke to Anna when I was away?
Which manger looks more serious?	Which manager looks more serious?
What specialist has more information?	Which specialist has more information?
Which team lost the game?	Which team lost?

There is another interesting question that always sounds without an auxiliary verb. This What happened? (What's happened?)

Why are questions starting with who so important?

Is it worth focusing on this topic? Why are they so important questions starting with who? Let's try to figure it out using the following suggestions.

Translate into English: “This is the house that Jack built.”
What word would you use to translate “which”? Which? Or that? Or maybe who?!

It’s easy to get confused in these words if you’re not used to them. Dealing with them is even easier. 🙂 Our article will help.

Who, which, that- these are pronouns. When they connect two parts of a complex sentence, all three words are translated into Russian with the word “which”.

– Here are some cells which have been affected. (Here are some cells that were damaged.)

– This is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously. (This is a person who takes his responsibilities seriously).

– They're the people that want to buy our house. (These are people who want to buy our house).

This is the difficulty for us - we may not see the difference. So let's start with the contrast between who and which.

The Who-Which Rule, or Be careful not to mix it up!

That's the whole difference. 🙂 Also which used when the subordinate clause does not refer to a specific word, but to the entire sentence:

We're starting to sell electric cars, which is great. (We're starting to sell electric cars, which is great).

But this, of course, is not the end of the article. What about that?
In informal speech that can replace as who, so which. But again, everything is not so simple.

That and which: usage

In some sentences you can use both pronouns:

– The movie that/which I saw last weekend was great. (The movie I saw last weekend was great)

– The table that/which I bought from ikea was cheap. (The table I bought from Ikea was cheap).

This also applies to our example with Jack:

– This is the house that Jack built (originally that, but you can use which).

Now compare:

–Harry Potter , which I finished last week , was an excellent book. (Harry Potter, which I finished reading last week, is a wonderful book).

–Toronto , which is heavily populated , is a multicultural city. (Toronto, which is densely populated, is a multicultural city).

Please note: in these examples we can no longer use that and separate the subordinate clause with commas. What's the difference?

The first 2 examples are called Defining relative clauses. In these sentences we could not “throw out” the part appended which/that without losing the meaning:

The movie that/which I saw last weekend was great. (Which movie? Please clarify!)

The table which/that i bought from ikea was cheap. (Which table exactly? I want a cheap table too!)

The second sentences are called Non-defining relative clauses. If we throw out the subordinate clause with which, the sentence will still make sense:

Toronto, which is heavily populated, is a multicultural city.

Harry Potter, which I finished last week, was an excellent book.

In such sentences you cannot use that and you need commas. You can look at the same rule (at the same time practice listening).

Using that and who

In informal speech you can use that instead of who, although the examiners will not appreciate it. To illustrate colloquial speech, let's take song examples:

Aerosmith: "I'm the one that jaded you."

Katy Perry: “I don’t have to say you were the one that got away."

But here again the story with Non-defining relative clauses repeats itself.

Compare these sentences with examples from songs:

– Alice ,who has worked in Brussels ever since leaving Edinburgh , will be starting a teaching course in the autumn. (Alice, who has been working in Brussels since leaving Edinburgh, will begin her course in the autumn).

– Clare ,who I work with , is doing the London marathon this year. (Claire, who I work with, is organizing the London Marathon this year).

Same rule: if we can throw out part of a sentence - it only carries additional information, without it the sentence will not lose meaning - then we do not use that and separate the subordinate clause with commas.

Who / whose, whom – rule

Whom is the objective case for who. It is translated as our “which, to whom, by whom, about which.” That is, everything except the nominative case – “which”.

Whom is used when the subordinate clause does NOT refer to the subject (=who performs the action):

– That's the guy whom she is married. (This is the guy she married)

Whom refers to the word guy (guy), but the subject in the subordinate clause is she (she). It was she who got married and performed the action. Even more examples.

Whom – book version, in oral speech it is usually replaced by who or that, or just goes down.

– He was talking to a man (whom, who, that) I have never seen before. (He was talking to a man I had never seen before.)

This is how they react to those who try to use whom :)

Whose– translated as our “whose, whose, whose.”

– She’s now playing a woman whose son was killed in the First World War. (She currently plays a woman whose son was killed in World War I).

When can I lower it?

As we said above, whom can be omitted. The same applies to which, that And who. When can this be done? It will be difficult to explain, but I will try.

Do you see the difference? If not, then let's figure it out. Let's take only subordinate clauses and consider them separately:

…which Carina sent me (which Karina posted to me).
…which was promptly brought (which was brought straightaway).

– In the first case, the subject (=actor) – Carina. Which- addition. In that case which can be omitted.

– In the second case, the subject is the pronoun itself which(that is what was brought). The subject is too important. You can't put it down.

And when the subject is who, it not only cannot be omitted, but also replaced with that:

This is the man who wants to see you. (This is a man who wants meet you).

And in general, be careful when replacing who on