Relative clauses with prepositions
The person I spoke to, or the person to whom I spoke: where the preposition goes, whom and which after it, and whereby.
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When the verb in a relative clause has a preposition (speak to, work for, stay at), the preposition can go in two places. In everyday English it goes at the end of the clause. In formal English it can go at the front, before whom or which.
Style | Example |
|---|---|
everyday | the person (who) I spoke to |
everyday | the hotel (that) we stayed at |
formal | the person to whom I spoke |
formal | the hotel at which we stayed |
The preposition at the end: everyday English
You met this at B1. The relative word can be who, which or that, and it is usually left out.
- That's the man I was telling you about.
- The company she works for is based in Leeds.
- Is this the charger you were looking for?
- The people we had dinner with were really friendly.
The preposition at the front: formal English
In formal writing and speech, the preposition can move to the front of the clause. Then only whom (for people) and which (for things) are possible.
- The colleague with whom I share an office is on holiday.
- This is the report to which I referred in my email.
- The conditions under which they worked were terrible.
- Incorrect: The person to who I spoke was very helpful.
- Correct: The person to whom I spoke was very helpful.Directly after a preposition, the form for people is whom.
- Incorrect: The company for that I work has offices in five countries.
- Correct: The company for which I work has offices in five countries. / The company I work for ...That can't follow a preposition. Use which, or put the preposition at the end.
Only one preposition
The preposition goes in one place, not both.
- Incorrect: The flat in which I grew up in was very small.
- Correct: The flat in which I grew up was very small. / The flat I grew up in ...The preposition is already at the front, so don't repeat it at the end.
Phrasal verbs keep their words together
With a phrasal verb of two or three words (put up with, run out of, come up with), the words usually stay together at the end. Moving them to the front sounds wrong or very strange.
- That's the kind of noise I won't put up with.
- These are the things we've run out of.
- Incorrect: That's the kind of noise up with which I won't put.
- Correct: That's the kind of noise I won't put up with.Up and with belong to the verb put, so they stay after it.
Whose, of which and where
The same choice exists with whose and with phrases of quantity.
- The writer whose books I've been reading lives near here.
- The writer about whose life the film was made lives near here. (formal)
- They interviewed fifty people, most of whom were students.
Where and when often replace a preposition + which. The three versions of the town are all correct; the first is the most common in speech. The same works with when:
- the town I grew up in
- the town where I grew up
- the town in which I grew up (formal)
- the day when we met / the day on which we met (formal)
Whereby: formal
Whereby means "by which" or "according to which". It is formal and is mostly used about systems, agreements and arrangements.
- The bank has a scheme whereby customers can pay in monthly instalments.
- They made an agreement whereby each side would reduce its prices.
In everyday English you would say: The bank has a scheme where customers can pay monthly.
Questions work the same way
Questions follow the same pattern: Who did you speak to? (everyday) and To whom did you speak? (formal). The same choice, the same rule about whom.