Writing Better English for ESL Learners

4. By omitting the relative pronoun when it is a direct objector the object
   of a preposition. This is called an ellipticalrelative pronoun. (You
   encountered this in one of the earlier examples: “Where’s the car you
   bought?”)

Study the following examples:

1. That’s the man whostole my briefcase. (subject of the clause)
   That’s the man whomwe met in Boston. (direct object)
   That’s the man whoseson is a professional soccer player. (possessive:
   his son)


2. Who’s the student thatwrote this paper? (person)
   I found the ball thatwas kicked over the fence. (thing)


3. I found the ball, whichwas kicked over the fence. (thing)


4. That’s the man we met in Boston. (elliptical: whomis omitted)
   This is the boy I bought the toy for. (elliptical: whomis omitted and the
   preposition foris placed at the end of the sentence)

Note: in casual language whomis nearly always replaced by who.
You need to be careful when using prepositions with relative pronouns.
Their position in a sentence can vary. Look at the following examples, and study
how the preposition can be placed.

They bought the house. An old man died in the house.

They bought the house in which an old man died.

They bought the house which an old man died in.

They bought the house that an old man died in.

They bought the house an old man died in.

I visited the man. I got a gift from the man.

I visited the man, from whom I got a gift.

I visited the man who(m) I got a gift from.

I visited the man that I got a gift from.

I visited the man I got a gift from.

Preparing to Write 53