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Difficulty: MediumConjunctions and Clause Structure

Read the sentence below and identify the correct relative pronoun needed to complete the clause structure:

'The Vice-Chancellor commended the senior researchers, three of _____ received international recognition for their published studies.'

Which of the following options correctly fills the blank?

  1. whomAnswer
  2. B
    who
  3. C
    whose
  4. D
    which

Answer

The word 'whom' correctly completes the sentence because it acts as the objective relative pronoun following the preposition 'of' when referring to human antecedents.
The correct choice is 'whom' because in formal clause structure, a relative pronoun governed by a preceding preposition ('of') referring to human beings ('researchers') must take the objective case form.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent and grammatical function within the relative clause.
The antecedent is 'senior researchers' (human), and the blank follows the preposition 'of'.
Prepositions require objective pronoun cases when introducing relative clauses.
2
Evaluate the case requirements of relative pronouns after prepositions.
The pronoun 'whom' is the objective case form for human antecedents, whereas 'who' is subjective, 'whose' is possessive, and 'which' applies to non-humans.
In quantificational structures like 'three of _____', the preposition governing the pronoun dictates the objective case 'whom'.

Key Concept

Relative Clause Connectors with Prepositions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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