Сабақтың мазмұны: INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS Here belong the pronouns forming special questions. They are used to make an inquiry about some object (who, what) or its properties (whose, what, which). Thus these words may be either pro-nouns or pro-adjectives.
Who is the only interrogative pronoun which has a case opposite, whom.
Who (or whom) did
Who is used for the subject of a verb, and whom for the object.
Who told you that story? (subject) This is the person, who brought the message, (subject) He is a person whom everyone likes, (object) What is the name of that person to whom you were speaking? (object)
However, there is a tendency in Modern English to substitute the nominative case (who) for the objective (whom).
Whom did you meet? (formal) — Who did you meet? (informal)
There is no difference in meaning but the second is more common in ordinary conversation; whom is used in formal written and spoken English.
In formal English the preposition is immediately followed by whom.
With whom did you go? For whom do you work?
In informal spoken English, however, it is much more usual to move the preposition to the end of the sentence and change whom into who. Who did you go with? Who do you work for?
Whose is used as the possessive of who.
«Whose books are these?" ("Whose are these?") "They are Ann's." "Whose car is this?" "It is mine."
What is mostly used for things.
What is this? What does he do for a living?
When what is used with prepositions, the preposition is normally placed at the end of the sentence.
What did you open it with? What did she put it into?
N o t e the use of what ... for, which means why?.
What did she do that for?
What can also be used for persons.
What is he? (= What is his profession?)
In all the above examples what is used as a noun-pronoun. Here are examples where it is used as an adjective-pronoun.
What time is it? What width is the river?
N o t e that questions about size can also be expressed by how with an adjective.
How wide is the river?
Which (pro-noun and pro-adjective) is used instead of who and what when there is a restriction of choice, i. e. when a limited number only is being considered. .
Who did this? (general inquiry) — Which of you did this? (a question addressed to a small group only); "Who do you want to see?" (general inquiry) "I want to see your sister." "I have two sisters, which do you want?" (limited choice)
"What will you have to drink?" (general inquiry) "There is tea or coffee: which will you have?'' (limited choice)
"Which university did he go to, Oxford or Cambridge?" (limited choice)
The interrogative compound pronouns whoever, whatever, whichever have an emphatic meaning and are used to express surprise or puzzle.
Whatever are you doing? Whoever would have thought it was? Whichever can it be?