Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses
The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the non-defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.
Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.
In non-defining relative clauses, we can't omit the relative pronoun and we can't use that.
| Subject | Object | Possessive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | who | whom who |
whose ... |
| Non-person | which | which | ... of which |
Epictetus, who is one of the most well-known Stoic philosophers, was born a slave.
Mr Kowalski, whom/who you all know, will take over the Marketing Department from next month.
Van Gogh, whose paintings are popular today, was not appreciated during his life.
Madrid, which is the capital of Spain, lies on the river Manzanares.
Then they played "My Favourite Things", which I recognised immediately from "The Sound of Music".
The cupboard was full of glasses and cups, many of which were broken.
