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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Spring Term 2011
Lecture 8. Pronouns II
1 Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, that, which, what):
o
Occur in a relative clause and refer back to an antecedent (except what and
-ever forms such as whoever). Relative clauses can be:

Nonrestrictive – add information about the antecedent (e.g. The soldiers,
who were tired, lay down = all of the soldiers were tired, and all of the
soldiers lay down). Nonrestrictive clauses are often surrounded by
commas in writing and by pauses in speech.

Restrictive – limit the scope of the antecedent (e.g. The soldiers /who/that/
were tired lay down = not all soldiers were tired, and only those who were
tired lay down).
o
Who and whom occur in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses, but only
with animate antecedents (and sometimes with collective nouns) (e.g. The
people/family who had been evicted stayed at a motel).

In formal language, who is used as the subject of the relative clause (e.g.
The people who saw you at the cinema were friendly); whom is used as the
object (e.g. The people whom you saw at the cinema were friendly) and as
prepositional complement (e.g. The people to whom you spoke at the cinema
were friendly).

In informal language, who is also used as the object of the relative clause
(e.g. The people who you saw at the cinema were friendly) and as
prepositional complement when the pronoun does not follow the
preposition (e.g. The people who you spoke to at the cinema were friendly).
NOTE. In some versions of UGE, there is an error on p. 309: in the
relative clause to whom I was closest, whom is a prepositional
complement of the preposition to, but is claimed to be an object in
old versions of the book.
o
Which occurs in both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses (but is rare in
restrictive clauses esp. in AmE), but only with inanimate antecedents (e.g. The
party, which was pretty boring, was over by midnight).

Can be subject, object, or prepositional complement.

Can refer back to a (part of a) clause (e.g. They are often late, which
surprises me). In this function, which corresponds to Swedish vilket (e.g.
De är ofta försenade, vilket förvånar mig). This type of which takes a
singular verb.
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Spring Term 2011

o
o
o
NOTE. Since the rules for when interrogative which and relative which can
be used are not identical, it is necessary to be able to separate
interrogative from relative contexts.
That is used with both animate and inanimate antecedents, but occurs only in
restrictive relative clauses (see soldiers examples above).

Can be subject, object, or prepositional complement, but cannot follow
the preposition as prepositional complement (e.g. That is the film that I
am talking about, but That is the film about which I am talking).

In informal Standard English, the zero relative (Ø) is an alternative to
that except as the subject of the relative clause.

NOTE. allt vad = all that, not all what.
Whose is a genitive relative pronoun that can be used with both animate and
inanimate antecedents (e.g. That is the house whose roof has collapsed). Of which is
sometimes preferred with inanimate antecedents in formal language (e.g.
… the house /of which/ the roof /of which/ has …).
What has no antecedent (e.g. What surprised me was his lack of commitment) and
corresponds to Swedish vad som or det som; what can often be replaced by the
rare construction that which in English.

NOTE. Whoever/whichever/whatever can also be used without an
antecedent in a generic sense ‘… (som) än’ (e.g. Whatever I do, I just
cannot learn how to putt).
Table 2. The occurrence of who, whom, which, that, and the zero relative (Ø) in relative
clauses (which referring back to all or part of a clause excluded)
Function
Restrictive relative clause
Non-restrictive relative clause
Animate
Inanimate
Animate
Inanimate
antecedent
antecedent
antecedent
antecedent
Subject
who, that
that, whichb
who
which
b
Object
whom, who, that, Ø that, which , Ø whom, who
which
a
a
a
b
a
Prepositional whom, who , that ,
that , which ,
whom, who
which
a
a
complement Ø
Ø
Who, that, and the zero relative occur as prepositional complements only when they do not follow
the preposition.
b Which is very rare in restrictive relative clauses in AmE except as a prepositional complement
immediately after the preposition, where that and the zero relative cannot be used (see above).
a
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Spring Term 2011
2 Quantifying Pronouns
Some, any, no, their compounds, and either/neither:
o
Some and any:

Some is used about things that are assumed to exist; any is used about
things that need not be assumed to exist. Some thus often occurs in
positive statements (e.g. I have some pencils) while any often occurs in
questions and negative statements (e.g. Do you have any pencils?).
But this rule is not absolute; for instance, some occurs in questions
when a positive answer is expected (e.g. Would you like some tea?).

Some and any are not usually used with singular countable nouns (e.g.
Do you have any pencils? with the plural noun pencils and She could not
give me any advice with the uncountable noun advice, but Is there a good
bookshop in this town? with the singular countable noun bookshop).
However, two special functions where some or any is used with
singular countable nouns are any with the meaning
‘vilken/vilket/vem/vad som helst’ (e.g. Any bookshop will do) and
some to express enthusiasm and appreciation (e.g. This is some
bookshop!).
o
No:

Not + a/any and no are often interchangeable (e.g. There aren’t any matches
in the box vs. There are no matches in the box).

In questions and negative statements with comparatives, Swedish inte
typically corresponds to no or not + any, not just to not (e.g. Vi kom inte
längre vs. We got no further or We did not get any further).
o
Compounds:

Someone, somebody, something, somewhere, somehow; anyone, anybody,
anything, anywhere, anyhow; none, no one, nobody, nothing, nowhere. Note
the spelling of no one as two words and the special form none.

Only none is used before of (e.g. None of the books /is/are/ any good). Either
a singular or a plural verb can be used after [none of + plural noun].
Swedish någon av often corresponds to one of (e.g. One of you must
have our tickets [not *Someone of …]).

Anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody take singular
verbs!
o
Either and neither: used about two people, things, etc. instead of any and none
(e.g. Neither of the twins knows the way [usually singular verb]).
Both vs. the two: both = stressed båda; the two = de två or unstressed båda.
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Spring Term 2011
Every, each, and every-compounds:
o
Take singular verbs (e.g. Each of them has been checked; Everybody I know is
here).
o
Swedish independent alla does not normally correspond to [all + plural verb]
(e.g. Alla vet att Paris ligger i Frankrike vs. Everyone knows that Paris is in France).
Exceptions include One size fits all.
o
Every, everyone, and everybody are not used before of, but every one ‘var och en’,
‘varenda en’ can be (e.g. I will eat every one of them).
Large and small quantities:
o
In Swedish, the same word can sometimes be used with both uncountable and
plural nouns (e.g. Vi har inte fått mycket regn/äpplen i år). This is sometimes
impossible in English (e.g. much rain/many apples) – see p. 324 in UGE.
o
Little, a little, few, and a few:

Little and few are negative (e.g. There is little time left ‘Det är inte mycket
tid kvar’).

A little and a few are positive (e.g. There is a little time left ‘Det är ännu lite
tid kvar’).

Little and a little are used with uncountable nouns; few and a few are used
with plural nouns.
o
Much is chiefly used in questions and negative statements except in formal
language. A /good/great/ deal (of) and the informal options plenty (of), a lot (of),
and lots (of) can be used instead in positive statements (e.g. There is not much
truth in what she is saying vs. There is a great deal of truth in what she is saying).
o
Swedish de flesta typically corresponds to English most, with no article before
most:

Generic reference (e.g. Most Swedes are against the death penalty).

Specific reference (e.g. Most of the Swedes in the room were against the
death penalty).
o
Less is used with uncountable nouns and with many units of measurement
(e.g. We have less time than we thought; We have less than five minutes). In
Standard English, fewer is used with other plural nouns (e.g. There are fewer
people here now).
o
In Standard English, amount is used with uncountable nouns (e.g. a large
amount of grass) and number with plural nouns (e.g. a large number of cars).

NOTE. a + number of + plural verb (e.g. There were a large number of cars
on the road); the + number of + singular verb (e.g. The number of hurricanes
is alarmingly high).
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Spring Term 2011
3 Some Other Pronouns
One replaces a singular countable noun:
o
After an adjective (e.g. I want a green pen, not a red one).
o
After some pronouns (e.g. I want this pen, not that one).
o
After ordinal numerals (e.g. Another car crash? This is the third one this week!).
o
NOTE. See above for one of; see Lecture 7 for one corresponding to Swedish man.
Each other and one another (note spelling!) are reciprocal pronouns (‘varandra’).
o
Note genitive forms (‘varandras’): each other’s, one another’s.
Reference to gender-neutral noun phrases:
o
He, him, etc. (e.g. Everyone has to carry his own bag) are often considered sexist.
o
S/he, him or her, etc. (e.g. Everyone has to carry his or her own bag) are often
awkward.

NOTE: his or her own bag, not *his or hers own bag.
o
Plural pronouns (e.g. Everyone has to carry their own bag) are gaining ground,
but are sometimes seen as informal.
o
Sometimes a paraphrase is suitable (e.g. All of them have to carry their own bags).
4 Exclamatory Pronouns
What and – more rarely – such (e.g. /What/Such/ a lovely day!).
o
NOTE 1. The indefinite article follows exclamatory what and such before a
singular countable noun (e.g. What a lovely day!).
o
NOTE 2. The indefinite article is not used in exclamations involving
uncountable nouns (e.g. Ett sådant fint väder vi har! vs. What lovely weather we’re
having!).
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