8.101 Using 'whose'

If you want to talk about something relating to the person, thing, or group you are talking about, you use a relative clause beginning with 'whose' and a noun group.

For example, instead of saying 'I am writing a letter to Nigel. His father is ill', you can say 'I am writing a letter to Nigel, whose father is ill'.

'Whose' can be used in defining or non-defining clauses.

• ...workers whose bargaining power is weak.
• ...anyone whose credit card is stolen.
• She asked friends whose opinion she respected.
• ...a country whose population was growing.
• According to Cook, whose book is published on Thursday, most disasters are avoidable.

The noun after 'whose' can be the subject or object of the verb in the clause, or it can be the object of a preposition. If it is the object of a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning or end of the clause.

• ...the governments in whose territories they operate.
• ...some strange fragment of thought whose origin I have no idea of.

8.102

In written English, 'of which' and 'of whom' are sometimes used instead of 'whose'. You put these expressions after a noun group beginning with 'the'.

For example, instead of writing 'a town whose inhabitants speak French', you can write 'a town the inhabitants of which speak French'.

• ...circumstances the continuance of which was prejudicial to the safety of the public.
• I travelled in a lorry the back of which the owner had loaded with yams.