In which, to whom

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • relative clauses with prepositions

Prepositions in relative clauses and of whom / of which: the program, through which children get a free book every month, started in 1995. The student reads about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, finds the preposition each clause needs, joins sentences in a formal style, and pitches a free program for their own town.

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in whichto whomon whom

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: the Book LadyReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the relative wordsGrammar exercise
  6. 6Prepositions with which and whomGrammar rule
  7. 7Which preposition?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Join the sentencesGrammar exercise
  9. 9of whom or of which?Grammar exercise
  10. 10Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12A pitch to the city councilSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: a speech at the libraryGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: which sentence is correct?Grammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the sentencesGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a program in my townDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Were there many books in your home when you were a small child?
  2. What was the first book you remember reading on your own?
  3. Do you know any famous singers or actors who give a lot of money to good causes?

Grammar rule

Prepositions with which and whom

preposition + which (things) or whom (people)

Formal: writing, speeches, the newsEveryday
the hostel in which we sleptthe hostel (that) we slept in · the hostel where we slept
the nurse to whom I gave the formsthe nurse (who) I gave the forms to

Which preposition?

The one that goes with the verb, adjective or noun in the clause: rely on → the friends on whom I rely · proud of → the photo of which she is proudest · pay for → the repairs for which we paid · a tunnel that trains go through → the tunnel through which the trains pass.

A number or quantity word + of whom / of which

some, many, most, all, none, both, neither, half, two, the first, the last… + of whom (people) or of which (things), after a comma: She speaks four languages, two of which she learned as a child. We invited thirty people, most of whom came.

Watch out

  • After a preposition, whom or which, never who or that: the nurse to who…, the hostel in that…
  • Use the preposition once: the hostel in which we slept in.
  • After a comma, of whom / of which, not of them: thirty people, most of them came → most of whom came (or a new sentence: Most of them came.)
  • A phrasal verb keeps its small word at the end: the plan (that) we gave up, not the plan up which we gave.
  • In conversation, the preposition usually goes at the end, and which, who or that is often dropped. The formal order sounds right in writing, speeches and the news.

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