An English Grammar by J. W. (James Witt) Sewell;W. M. (William Malone) Baskervill
page 103 of 559 (18%)
page 103 of 559 (18%)
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[Sidenote: _Further treatment of_ who, which _and_ what.] 103. _Who_, _which_, and _what_ are also relative pronouns; _which_ and _what_ are sometimes adjectives; _what_ may be an adverb in some expressions. They will be spoken of again in the proper places, especially in the treatment of indirect questions (Sec. 127). RELATIVE PRONOUNS. [Sidenote: _Function of the relative pronoun_.] 104. Relative pronouns differ from both personal and interrogative pronouns in referring to an antecedent, and also in having a conjunctive use. The advantage in using them is to unite short statements into longer sentences, and so to make smoother discourse. Thus we may say, "The last of all the Bards was he. These bards sang of Border chivalry." Or, it may be shortened into,-- "The last of all the Bards was he, _Who_ sung of Border chivalry." In the latter sentence, _who_ evidently refers to _Bards_, which is called the antecedent of the relative. |
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