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Of Which / With
Adding descriptive information for possessive nouns
Possessive Relative Pronouns
| PERSONAL / ANIMATE |
Whose replaces a possessive personal noun in a modifying clause (relative clause). |
| FORMAL |
 
The designer whose car had sleek lines was Italian.
|
|
| OTHER MODIFIERS |
The designer, an Italian, was pleased with his car. (appositive) |
The designer with the sleek car was Italian. (prep. phrase) |
| INANIMATE |
The X of which replaces a possessive inanimate noun in a modifying clause (relative clause). |
| FORMAL |
The car the lines of which are sleek is beautiful.
|
The car whose lines are sleek is beautiful. (slightly less formal) |
| OTHER MODIFIERS |
The car, the Model S, is beautiful. ( appositive) |
The car with the sleek lines is beautiful. (prep. phrase) |
animate (adj.) – in the context of grammar, this refers to people
designer (n.) – person who draws the plans and design (how something looks) for something
inanimate (adj.) – not alive, things
sleek (adj.) – has a smooth attractive shape; sleek lines, sleek hair
Forming the X of which
Replacing the Subject or Object Possessive Noun
The X of Which — Subject or Object of the Modifying Clause
| SUBJECT OF CLAUSE |
Of which replaces the subject —possessive noun or pronoun— in the modifying clause, which is placed after the inanimate noun that it modifies. |
The car was beautiful. The lines of the car are sleek. |
| |
SUBJECT of MOD CLS |
|
The car |
the lines of the car are sleek
 |
was beautiful. |
|
the lines of which |
|
The car |
the lines of which are sleek |
was beautiful. |
| 0BJECT OF CLAUSE |
Of which replaces replaces the object —possessive noun or pronoun— in the modifying clause, which is then placed after the inanimate noun it modifies. |
The car was beautiful. You saw the lines of the car. |
| |
OBJECT of MOD CLS |
|
The car |
you saw the lines of the car
 |
was beautiful. |
|
the lines of which |
|
The car |
the lines of which you saw |
was beautiful. |
Add commas if the clause adds extra information that is not essential to identifying who the person is. (a non-identifying, non-restrictive clause) See Some or All and That vs Which
Relative words, CaGEL 12 §3.2.1-2
Of Which-Clause
Clause Position
Modifying the Subject of the Main Clause
| MODIFIES SUBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE |
A possessive modifying clause can modify the subject noun of the main clause. It is placed directly after the noun it modifies. |
| SUBJECT |
SUBJECT of MOD CLS |
|
The car
 |
the price of which is high |
is new. |
The seats |
the leather of which is soft |
are new. |
| MODIFIES OBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE |
A possessive modifying clause can modify the object noun of the main clause. It is placed directly after the noun it modifies. |
| |
OBJECT |
OBJECT of MOD CLS |
Here is |
the car
|
the price of which is high. |
Here are |
the seats |
the leather of which is soft. |
complement – a word, phrase or clause which is necessary in a sentence to complete its meaning
verb + complement – elements required to complete the meaning of the clause
¹Corinthian – from Corinth (an advertising term that was used for Chrysler luxury.)
Who/Whom-Clause
Punctuation
An identifying vs. Nonidentifying Clause
| IDENTIFYING CLAUSE |
 A clause that identifies the noun before it (tells you which one) is not set off with commas.
|
The car the sides of which are blue is very pretty. |
The interior the color of which is beige is compact. |
| NONIDENTIFYING CLAUSE |
 A clause that adds extra, nonidentifying information is set off with comma(s). The object pronoun cannot be omitted.
|
My car, the sides of which are blue, is very pretty. |
The Pure Coupe, the color of which is beige, is compact. |
beige (n.) – off-white color; pale brown
compact (adj.) – small, but arranged so that everything fits neatly into the space available
An identifying clause adds information or narrows (limits) the noun to a specific one, group or lot. The clause helps by telling us which one. No commas are used. It is also called restrictive, essential , or necessary clause. See That vs. Which Some or All.
A nonidentifying clause adds extra information about a noun already identified by other means, for example, by name, by shared knowledge or context. The clause, a comment, is set off with commas (before and, if necessary, after the clause). It is also called nonrestrictive, nonessential, or unnecessary clause. See Commas – comments.
¹An object relative pronoun cannot be omitted from (left out of) a nonidentifying clause.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
| ERROR |
SOLUTION |
The book which's title is From from Within was written in the 1990s. |
|
He drives a car that I can't remember the brand of. (informal)
|
He drives a car the brand of which I can't remember.
He drives a car whose brand I can't remember. |
Practice 1
A Used Car
Use Of Which Phrasing
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 1-10" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
Practice 2
Cars
Use With Phrasing
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 11-20" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
Practice 3
Car Accident
Read for errors
Yesterday, a neighbor accidently hit our car. He is the son of the family who his yard is behind us. The neighbor his son hit our car came over to apologize.
We went out to look at the cars. The car¹ the fender had a tiny scratch was his. The car the door of which was dented was ours.
The side window's glass that had shattered was on the passenger side. The door was locked closed and unusable.
The side rear view mirror was on the ground. The mount's wires which were hanging out, was still attached to the car.
The young man was supposed to turn left on the street its end is blocked. He changed his mind and crashed into our car instead.
The neighbor promised to pay for the repairs which the cost of has not been determined. We'll get some estimates for the repairs.
He would rather pay cash for the repairs. His insurance which its rates would rise, is only used as a back-up.
We were glad that no one was hurt. Our neighbor's son, the confidence of which was slightly "bruised", will pay more attention next time.
apologize (v.) – be sorry; regretful
bruised (adj.) – hurt, damaged
estimate (n.) – a calculation, educated guess, an approximate amount
fender (n.) – the side part of a car that covers the wheels; Br-Eng – wing
mount (n.) – the part that attaches and supports the mirror
tiny (adj.) – small
¹optionally add a comma to create a pause between the two nouns even though the clause is identifying
Edit for errors — use whose or of which.
- Edit the sentence(s) in the text box.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 21-30" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
