North Harris College Writing Center
Page 16
8. Relative Pronoun as Subject
When a relative pronoun (
who,
which, or
that) is used
as the subject of a clause, the number and
person of the verb are determined by the antecedent of the pronoun,
the word to which the
pronoun refers.
This is the professor who is to be hired. [The antecedent of
who is the singular noun
professor; therefore,
who is singular.]
These are the employees who are to be working tomorrow. [The antecedent of
who is the
plural noun
employees.]
Should I, who
am not a student at the school, be allowed to take the class? [
Who refers to
I;
I is first person, singular number.]
She is one of those tough professors who are always expecting the best from students.
[The antecedent of
who is
professors.]
If sentences such as the last one give you trouble, try beginning the sentence with the "of"
phrase, and you will readily see that the antecedent of who is persons and not one.
Of those tough professors who are always expecting the best from students, she is one.
Dostları ilə paylaş: