Which of the

Of which replaces the subject —genitive noun or pronoun— in the modifying clause, which is placed after the inanimate noun that it modifies. The car was beautiful. The lines of the car are sleek. Of which replaces replaces the object —genitive noun or pronoun— in the modifying clause, which is then placed after the inanimate noun it modifies.

You saw the lines of the car. Add commas if the clause adds extra information that is not essential to identifying who the person is. A genitive modifying clause can modify the subject noun of the main clause. It is placed directly after the noun it modifies.

A genitive modifying clause can modify the object noun of the main clause. A clause that identifies the noun before it tells you which one is not set off with commas. The car the sides of which are blue is very pretty. The interior the color of which is beige is compact. A clause that adds extra, nonidentifying information is set off with comma s.

The object pronoun cannot be omitted. My car, the sides of which are blue, is very pretty. The Pure Coupe, the color of which is beige , is compact. An identifying clause adds information or narrows limits the noun to a specific one, group or lot.

The clause helps by telling us which one. No commas are used. It is also called restrictive, essential , or necessary clause. See That vs. Which Some or All. A nonidentifying clause adds extra information about a noun already identified by other means, for example, by name, by shared knowledge or context.

The clause, a comment, is set off with commas before and, if necessary, after the clause. It is also called nonrestrictive, nonessential, or unnecessary clause. See Commas — comments. The book, which's title is From Within, was written in the s. The book, the title of which is From Within, was written in the s. The book, whose title is From Within, was written in the s.

The misinformation that passes for gospel wisdom about English usage is sometimes astounding. A correspondent in wanted us to help him choose between two sentences containing of which ; he had used of which to refer to the word house , he said, and had not used whose because it is "not formal".

Merriam-Webster I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up they soul… — Shakespeare, Hamlet. M-W continues citing passages from Milton, Alexander Pope, William Wadsworth, and a number of highly esteemed modern-day writers. Since English is not blessed with a genitive form for that or which, whose —originally the genitive of what and who —has been used to supply the missing forms since sometime in the 14th century.

M-W The force that has always worked against acceptance of whose used of inanimate things is its inevitable association with who. The force that always worked in its favor was suggested by Murray Lindley Murray, ; it provides not only a shorter but a smoother and more graceful transition than the alternative "the…of which. Whose usually modifies people, but it may also be used to modify things.

I worked at a company whose employees wanted to form a union. Azar Whose A. Meaning "of which. This use of whose, formerly decried by some 19th-century grammarians and their predecessors, is often an inescapable way of avoiding clumsiness.

Garner gives several examples. The other possessive for which —namely, of which —is typically cumbersome. Language-Index Change, Stage 5 fully accepted " whose referring to things" Garner Whose can refer back to people or things. It was a meeting whose purpose I did not understand. The contrast between personal who and non-personal which is neutralised in the genitive, where whose is the only form. It occurs with both personal and non-personal antecedents.

Discourse choice between whose and of which. In fact, whose can be further used to mark genitive relationships with completely inanimate, sometimes abstract heard nouns:. Let us, in the name of common sense, prohibit the prohibition of whose inanimate; good writing is surely difficult enough without the forbidding of things that have historical grammar, and present intelligibility, and obvious convenience, on their side, and lack only—starch.

When people buy cars, they want cars whose images reflect their character. They want fun, sexy cars which their styles fit city or country driving. They want car's trunks large enough to haul "stuff", whether or not they plan to do much of that kind of activity. They want cars with lots of electronic gadgets, whose buttons and knobs will control music, climate, navigation and more.

They want sporty convertible cars, its tops retract so that they can feel the wind in their hair. In short, they want cars whose images express "person of action". Yet the same people often express completely different wants when asked directly. They are likely to say that they want cars which their reliability ratings are high. They may also say that they want cars whose the safety has been tested.

And they will say that they want fuel-efficient cars, which their gas mileage is very good. It is no wonder that car manufacturers have such difficulty presenting new cars each year to consumers, the desires of which differ when expressed privately or publicly. Yesterday, a neighbor accidentally hit our car. He is the son of the family who his yard is behind us.

The neighbor his son hit our car came over to apologize. The second sentence the one using which , ends in a nonrestrictive clause , which provides nonessential information—information that can be removed without altering the main message of the sentence.

Usually, nonrestrictive clauses are marked off by commas or em dashes. Think of a nonrestrictive clause as an aside—additional information mentioned along the way. This grammatical distinction between that and which is largely used in formal American English.

In informal speech, it is very common to use that and which interchangeably. And sometimes the difference in what they convey is very subtle or practically nonexistent. Still, when used in clauses like the ones in our examples, which is usually preceded by a comma, but that is not. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between which and that.

Should which or that be used in the following sentence? So I've worked out a plan by- which you can examine the invention and test its profits without risking one penny.

His declaration means that he believes in "That- which -is-above-Things. By the way, I wonder if I ought to tell him about the silver which -not. We just cant afford to have our goods floating around every- which -way right in the start. Nglish: Translation of which for Spanish Speakers.

Britannica English: Translation of which for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Essential Meaning of which. Full Definition of which Entry 1 of 3. Definition of which Entry 2 of 3. Robinson the Samnite tribes, which settled south and southeast of Rome — Ernst Pulgram — used freely in reference to persons as recently as the 17th century our Father which art in heaven — Matthew King James Version , and still occasionally so used but usually with some implication of emphasis on the function or role of the person rather than on the person as such chiefly they wanted husbands, which they got easily — Lynn White — used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, in reference to an idea expressed by a word or group of words that is not necessarily a noun or noun phrase he resigned that post, after which he engaged in ranching — Current Biography.

Definition of which Entry 3 of 3. The remains had initially been misidentified as those of an "enormous, possibly human-eating eagle," which … yikes. Keep scrolling for more.

That vs. Which : Usage Guide Pronoun Although some handbooks say otherwise, that and which are both regularly used to introduce restrictive clauses in edited prose. State Road 2, LaPorte, which can accommodate vendors. First Known Use of which Adjective before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Pronoun before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Conjunction , in the meaning defined above. Learn More About which.

Time Traveler for which The first known use of which was before the 12th century See more words from the same century.