Plain English Part 46

+An interrogative p.r.o.noun is a p.r.o.noun used to ask a question.+

RELATIVE p.r.o.nOUNS

+232.+ There is one other cla.s.s of p.r.o.nouns which plays a great part in our speech and is a wonderful help to us. For example, suppose I want to tell you several things about this book. I say: _I am reading this book.

It interests me greatly._ Now it would be a great advantage to me if I could put these two sentences together, and we have for this use a p.r.o.noun which makes it possible for us to combine these sentences, and so I say:

The book which I am reading interests me greatly.

Thus I am able to unite two short sentences into a long sentence, which conveys my meaning better than the two short sentences and gives a smoother bit of reading. We have four p.r.o.nouns which we use in this way, _who_, _which_, _that_ and _what_ and they are called relative p.r.o.nouns because they refer or relate to some noun in the sentence and they also serve to connect two statements.

+233.+ +A relative p.r.o.noun is a p.r.o.noun that relates to an antecedent and at the same time connects two statements.+

A relative p.r.o.noun always relates to its antecedent and at the same time connects the statement that it introduces with the one that contains the antecedent to which it relates, as in the sentence above, _The book which I am reading, interests me greatly._ _Which_ is the relative p.r.o.noun; first, because it relates to the antecedent, _book_; and second, because it connects the statement, _I am reading_, with the rest of the sentence. Notice these sentences also:

The man who thinks will not enlist in the army.

We will destroy the system that enslaves us.

_Who_ and _that_ are the relative p.r.o.nouns in these two sentences and their antecedents are _man_ and _system_, and they connect the statements, _who thinks_ and _that enslaves us_, with the rest of the sentence.

+234.+ +Who is used to relate to persons.+

+Which is used to relate only to animals and things.+

+That may relate to either persons, animals or things.+

+What relates to things.+

Note that _which_, as an interrogative, may refer to persons as well as to animals and things; but as a relative, _which_ never refers to persons.

+235+. Note that we use the same p.r.o.nouns _who_, _which_ and _what_ as both relative and interrogative p.r.o.nouns. You will not be confused in this matter if you will remember that they are called interrogative p.r.o.nouns only when they are used to ask questions. When they are used as interrogative p.r.o.nouns they never have an antecedent. _Who_ and _which_ and _what_ are always relative p.r.o.nouns when used in an a.s.sertive sentence and referring to an antecedent.

_That_ and _what_ have the same form for both the subject and object forms. They have no possessive form. _Who_ has a different form for the subject form and the possessive form and the object form. _Which_ has the same form for subject and object forms, and a different form for the possessive form. Note the following:

_Subject form_ _Possessive form_ _Object form_

who whose whom which whose which

I know the man _who_ called him.

I know the man _whose_ voice I hear.

I know the man _whom_ they called.

In these three sentences we have the p.r.o.noun _who_ used in its three forms, subject, possessive and object form. We should be very careful not to confuse the subject and the object forms of the p.r.o.noun _who_.

This is the book _which_ tells the truth.

This is the book _whose_ author is in prison.

This is the book _which_ I wanted.

In these three sentences we have the p.r.o.noun _which_ used in its three forms, _subject_ form, _possessive_ form and _object_ form. In the first sentence the p.r.o.noun is the subject of the verb _tells_; in the second sentence, it is used in the possessive form with the noun _author_; in the third sentence, it is used as the object of the verb _wanted_.

+236.+ _What_ differs from the other relative p.r.o.nouns in that its antecedent is never expressed, for it is implied in the word itself.

_What_ is always equivalent to _that which_, or _the thing which_. For example, the sentence, _Do not tell what I have told you_, is equivalent to saying, _Do not tell that which I have told you_, or _the thing which I have told you_.

+237+. Never use _what_ in a sentence as a _relative_ p.r.o.noun unless you can replace it and make good sense by using _that which_, or _the thing which_ in place of _what_.

For example, do not say, _I know that what he would say_. This is incorrect. You should say, _I know that which he would say_, or _I know what he would say_, using _what_ in place of _that which_. Here is a sentence that occurred in an English examination recently, which ill.u.s.trates most aptly this point. _A subject is that what something is said about._ Here _what_ is used incorrectly. _A subject is that about which something is said_, would have been the correct form.

Watch for this in your speech for it is a most common error and to the educated ear is harsh and marks the speaker as uneducated. All of these mistakes which we make so commonly will require a considerable amount of effort to overcome, but the result is worth the effort, for even those about us who will not take the pains or give the required time and effort to acquiring an education for themselves, will give greater heed to the speech of those who do speak correctly, and will readily acknowledge the leaders.h.i.+p of those who have given the time and effort to self-development.

+238.+ The antecedent of _who_ is sometimes omitted and understood; for example, _Who follows the cause must endure hards.h.i.+p_, _He_, is understood and omitted. _He who follows the cause must endure hards.h.i.+p._

+239.+ The relative p.r.o.noun itself is often omitted. For example:

These are the men (whom) you must help.

The words (that) you use and the deeds (that) you do, are your judges.

+240.+ The relative p.r.o.nouns have compound forms also, such as _whoever_, _whosoever_, _whichever_, _whichsoever_, _whatever_ and _whatsoever_, which are used in the same manner as the simple forms.

COMMON ERRORS

+241.+ Here are a number of common errors which only constant practice and watchfulness can overcome. Study these over and watch your conversation closely. Force yourself to speak correctly for a time, and soon correct speech will become a habit.

+1.+ +Do not use both a noun and a p.r.o.noun as the subject of a sentence+; as, _John, he waited for me._ _Mary, she refused to go._ Leave out the p.r.o.nouns _he_ and _she_ in these sentences. They are unnecessary and incorrect.

+2.+ +Never use+ _hern_, _ourn_, _hisn_ or _yourn_ for _hers_, _ours_, _his_ and _yours_; as, _The book is hisn._ _Ourn stopped on the first._ _Did you get yourn?_ Say: _This book is his._ _Ours stopped on the first._ _Did you get yours?_

+3.+ +Never say+ _hisself_ for _himself_. There is no such word as _hisself_. Do not say, _He hurt hisself_. Say, _He hurt himself_.

+4.+ +Do not say+ _them_ for _those_; as, _Did you bring them songs?_ _Them things are not right._ Say, _Did you bring those songs?_ _Those things are not right._

+5.+ +Do not use an apostrophe in writing the possessive forms of p.r.o.nouns+, as _her's_, _our's_, _it's_. Leave out the apostrophe and write _hers_, _ours_, _its_.

+6.+ +Do not use _who_ to relate to animals or things+; as, _The dog who bit me was killed_. Say, _The dog that bit me was killed_.

+7.+ +Do not use _myself_ as the subject+. It can be used only as an emphatic or reflexive p.r.o.noun. It is correct to say, _I found the book myself_, and _I hurt myself_. But do not say, _They asked my friend and myself_, or _Myself and my wife will go_. Say, _They asked my friend and me_. _My wife and I will go._

+8.+ +Avoid the use of p.r.o.nouns when the reference to the antecedent is not clear.+ Better repeat the nouns or re-write the sentence. For example:

He said to his friend that if he did not feel better soon he thought he had better go home.

Now you can interpret this in at least four different ways. No one but the speaker can ever know to whom the p.r.o.nouns _he_ refer, whether to the speaker or to his friend. Or in the sentence,

A tried to see B in the crowd, but could not because he was so short.

Who was short, _A_ or _B_? _John's father died before he was born._ Did John's father die before John was born or did John's father die before John's father, himself, was born? Be careful in the use of p.r.o.nouns in this way.

+9.+ +Remember that _I_, _we_, _he_, _she_, _they_ and _who_ are always used as subject forms and also as the complement of all forms of the verb _be_.+