REMARKS ON THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
Who.
111. By reading carefully the sentences in Sec. 107, the following facts will be noticed about the relative who:—
(1) It usually refers to persons: thus, in the first sentence, Sec. 107, a man...who; in the second, that man...whose; in the third, son, whom; and so on.
(2) It has three case forms,—who, whose, whom.
(3) The forms do not change for person or number of the antecedent. In sentence 4, who is first person; in 5, whose is second person; the others are all third person. In 1, 2, and 3, the relatives are singular; in 4, 5, and 6, they are plural.
Who referring to animals.
112. Though in most cases who refers to persons there are instances found where it refers to animals. It has been seen (Sec. 24) that animals are referred to by personal pronouns when their characteristics or habits are such as to render them important or interesting to man. Probably on the same principle the personal relative who is used not infrequently in literature, referring to animals.
Witness the following examples:—
And you, warm little housekeeper [the cricket], who class With those who think the candles come too soon.—Leigh Hunt.
The robins...have succeeded in driving off the bluejays who used to build in our pines.—Lowell.
The little gorilla, whose wound I had dressed, flung its arms around my neck.—Thackeray.
A lake frequented by every fowl whom Nature has taught to dip the wing in water.—Dr. Johnson.
While we had such plenty of domestic insects who infinitely excelled the former, because they understood how to weave as well as to spin.—Swift.
My horse, who, under his former rider had hunted the buffalo, seemed as much excited as myself.—Irving.
Other examples might be quoted from Burke, Kingsley, Smollett, Scott, Cooper, Gibbon, and others.
Which.
113. The sentences in Sec. 108 show that—
(1) Which refers to animals, things, or ideas, not persons.
(2) It is not inflected for gender or number.
(3) It is nearly always third person, rarely second (an example of its use as second person is given in sentence 32, p. 96).
(4) It has two case forms,—which for the nominative and objective, whose for the possessive.
Examples of whose, possessive case of which.
114. Grammarians sometimes object to the statement that whose is the possessive of which, saying that the phrase of which should always be used instead; yet a search in literature shows that the possessive form whose is quite common in prose as well as in poetry: for example,—
I swept the horizon, and saw at one glance the glorious elevations, on whose tops the sun kindled all the melodies and harmonies of light.—Beecher.
Men may be ready to fight to the death, and to persecute without pity, for a religion whose creed they do not understand, and whose precepts they habitually disobey.—Macaulay
Beneath these sluggish waves lay the once proud cities of the plain, whose grave was dug by the thunder of the heavens.—Scott.
Many great and opulent cities whose population now exceeds that of Virginia during the Revolution, and whose names are spoken in the remotest corner of the civilized world.—Mcmaster.
Through the heavy door whose bronze network closes the place of his rest, let us enter the church itself.—Ruskin.
This moribund '61, whose career of life is just coming to its terminus.—Thackeray.
So in Matthew Arnold, Kingsley, Burke, and numerous others.
Which and its antecedents.
115. The last two sentences in Sec. 108 show that which may have other antecedents than nouns and pronouns. In 5 (a) there is a participial adjective used as the antecedent; in 5 (b) there is a complete clause employed as antecedent. This often occurs.
Sometimes, too, the antecedent follows which; thus,—
And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son.
—Shakespeare.
Primarily, which is very notable and curious, I observe that men of business rarely know the meaning of the word "rich."—Ruskin.
I demurred to this honorary title upon two grounds,—first, as being one toward which I had no natural aptitudes or predisposing advantages; secondly (which made her stare), as carrying with it no real or enviable distinction.—De Quincey.
That.
116. In the sentences of Sec. 109, we notice that—
(1) That refers to persons, animals, and things.
(2) It has only one case form, no possessive.
(3) It is the same form for first, second, and third persons.
(4) It has the same form for singular and plural.
It sometimes borrows the possessive whose, as in sentence 6, Sec. 109, but this is not sanctioned as good usage.
What.
117. The sentences of Sec. 110 show that—
(1) What always refers to things; is always neuter.
(2) It is used almost entirely in the singular.
(3) Its antecedent is hardly ever expressed. When expressed, it usually follows, and is emphatic; as, for example,—
What I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.—Bible
What fates impose, that men must needs abide.—Shakespeare.
What a man does, that he has.—Emerson.
Compare this:—
Alas! is it not too true, what we said?—Carlyle.