He is no longer the diligent boy ___ he used to be.
- Thread starter hirashin
- Start date
Takichan
Registered
- 9 Aug 2017
- 13
- 4
yes but I lived in Japan for two years so I like to think that I am Japanese
diligentcircle
Sempai
- 21 Jun 2017
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- 97
I would pick C, but also accept A. I'm not sure about B since most people here don't actually use "whom" in any context (we just use "who").
- 27 Apr 2014
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- 243
"Who" and "that" would be fine.
Not sure about "whom." The fact is that it can only be used as an object:
○ This is the girl whom I will visit.
× This is the man whom will take care of you. (○ who will take care of you)
The question is then whether a copula can take the accusative case. After some research, it turns out that even though this often happens in practice ("He used to be him"), strictly speaking only the nominative is allowed ("He used to be he"). As such, "whom" should probably be avoided in this case. There's another reason too: "whom" sounds a little stilted and its use is on the decline in favor of "who", as JuliMaruchan pointed out.
"Which" is used for things, not people, and is therefore most definitely not valid here.
That said, the most natural-sounding option is to use the zero relative pronoun - that is, to put nothing in the blank at all (as johnnyG already suggested).
Not sure about "whom." The fact is that it can only be used as an object:
○ This is the girl whom I will visit.
× This is the man whom will take care of you. (○ who will take care of you)
The question is then whether a copula can take the accusative case. After some research, it turns out that even though this often happens in practice ("He used to be him"), strictly speaking only the nominative is allowed ("He used to be he"). As such, "whom" should probably be avoided in this case. There's another reason too: "whom" sounds a little stilted and its use is on the decline in favor of "who", as JuliMaruchan pointed out.
"Which" is used for things, not people, and is therefore most definitely not valid here.
That said, the most natural-sounding option is to use the zero relative pronoun - that is, to put nothing in the blank at all (as johnnyG already suggested).
Takichan
Registered
- 9 Aug 2017
- 13
- 4
No I wish that I was Japanese. Everybody is so nice, and it is a very beautiful country.
- 8 Apr 2004
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- Thread starter
- #11
Oh, do you think so? I'm glad t hear that. Where did you go while you were in Japan? What was the most impressive thing about Japan or its people?
