A conjunctive pronoun may be used in many of the noun constructions named in Exercise 179. The following suggestions will help you to determine in each case the exact noun use.

(1) Put the antecedent, or some form of it, in place of the pronoun. This, as you have seen, will make a complete sentence of the clause.

(2) If this sentence is inverted, find the subject and put that first, letting the other words follow in what seems their natural order.

(3) Analyze this new sentence, and see how the word substituted for the conjunctive pronoun is used. The conjunctive pronoun must have the same noun construction.

Illustration: The tramp to whom you gave the money is an imposter.

(1) The clause is, to whom you gave the money. Putting the antecedent in place of whom, we have the sentence, To the tramp you gave the money.

(2) Putting the subject first, we have, You gave the money to the tramp.

(3) Analyzing, we find that the noun tramp is the principal term of the prepositional phrase to the tramp, which is an adverbial adjunct of the verb gave. Therefore whom is used as the principal term of the adverbial phrase to whom, which is an adjunct of the verb gave.

Exercise 180

Show from these sentences that the conjunctive pronoun can be used in five different noun constructions.

1. He whom you despise may be worthy of praise.

2. I lent my knife to the girl whose seat is next to mine.

3. He deserves much praise for becoming the worthy man that he is.

4. 1 will invite the gentleman of whom you speak so well.

5. The author, who is an Englishman, does not understand our government.

6. The girl to whom I gave the flowers did not thank me.