Сonjunction pronouns in English

Сonjunction pronouns

Conjunctive pronouns are a type of pronoun used in English to refer to a specific person, thing, or group that has already been mentioned. They are used in place of nouns to provide more information or to add clarity to a sentence. The four most common conjunctive pronouns are who, what, whose, and which. Conjunctive pronouns (who, what, whose, which) not only point back to some person or thing mentioned before but also have conjunctive Power, introducing subordinate clauses (subject clauses, object clauses, Predicative clauses).

• What June had taken for personal interest was only the imper­sonal excitement of every Forsyte… (SUBJECT CLAUSE)
• What you want, in fact, is a first-rate man for a fourth-rate fee, and that’s exactly what you’ve got! (PREDICATIVE CLAUSE)
• I don’t want to hear what you’ve come for. (OBJECT CLAUSE)

Rules for using conjunctive pronouns

Conjunctive pronouns are pronouns which are used to connect two independent clauses together. The rules for using conjunctive pronouns in English are as follows:

• Who/whom: Use who/whom when referring to people.
• Whose: Use whose when referring to possession or ownership.
• Which: Use which when referring to non-living things or to give additional information.
• That: Use that when referring to either people or things.
• What: Use what when asking a question.

Functions of conjunctive pronouns

In the clause they introduce they perform different functions, those of subject, predicative, attribute, object.

• What had made her yield he could never make out; and from Mrs. Heron, a woman of some diplomatic talent, he learnt noth­ing (SUBJECT)
• Erik realized with a sinking sensation that Haviland didn’t know who he was (PREDICATIVE)
• I’ve spent a lot of time in the chart-room now, and I’m on the edge of knowing my way about, what charts I want to refer to, what coasts I want to explore (ATTRIBUTE)
• What Savina could no longer do for him, he did himself, and brutally brushed aside all other interests except her (OBJECT)

Examples of conjunctive pronouns

Who is used to refer to people and is often used to ask questions. It is usually followed by a verb:

• Who visited me?
• Who is the tallest person in the room?,
• Who is the winner?

What is used to refer to things, animals, and ideas. It can also be used to ask questions:

• What is the best way to learn English?
• What kind of cat do you have?
• What are you eating?

Whose is used to ask questions about possession and ownership:

• Whose car is parked in front of the house?
• Whose book is this?

Which is used to ask questions about choices or options. It often comes at the end of a sentence:

• Which school do you go to?
• Which movie do you want to see?
• Which car do you want?

WHO | WHOM | WHOSE | WHO’S – Important English Grammar Lesson!