Grammar · Clauses, Connectors & Sentence Style
Relative Clauses Advanced (Whose, Whom, Preposition + Which)
Whose for possession, whom for a person who receives the action, and a preposition before which or whom in careful writing. Learn them with the 2019 film Downton Abbey.
Grammar › Clauses, Connectors & Sentence Style › Relative Clauses Advanced (Whose, Whom, Preposition + Which)
The rule in one sentenceUse whose to show that something belongs to a person or thing, and whom for a person who is the object of the clause, especially after a preposition such as to whom or with whom.
About the film
Downton Abbey (2019) continues the famous television series on the big screen. It is 1927, and the Crawley family, whose great house stands in the Yorkshire countryside, receives amazing news: King George V and Queen Mary will visit. The servants, for whom this is the most important day of their working lives, begin to prepare.
What does it do?
Relative clauses add information about a noun. You already know who, which and that. At this level, two more words help you write more precisely and more formally. Whose replaces his, her, its or their, so it links a person or thing to something that belongs to them.
Whom replaces him, her or them. You use it when the person does not do the action but receives it. In modern speech, many people simply say who, but after a preposition, and in formal writing, whom is still the correct choice. A film set in an elegant country house, where everyone speaks carefully, is the perfect place to hear it.
In the first two tiles, whose + a noun shows possession: the Crawleys’ house, Mrs Patmore’s kitchen. In the last two, whom is the object: everyone wants to impress him, and Lady Mary turns to him. Notice that the preposition to moves in front of whom in the fourth tile.
The butler returns. Lady Mary trusts him completely. His experience is priceless.
The butler, whom Lady Mary trusts completely and whose experience is priceless, returns.
Three short sentences become one elegant sentence. Whom replaces him, and whose replaces his.
Visual guide
Teacher Teddy’s illustrated guide to this rule is being drawn — the full swipe-through infographic will appear here soon.
How to make it
whose — possession
Lady Mary, whose task is to run the house, takes charge of the plans.
Robert, whose house it is, does not want anything to go wrong.
The negative goes in the main verb, not in the whose part.Whose idea was it to bring Carson back?
In a direct question, whose asks about the owner.whom — the person as object
The King and Queen, whom the servants have never met, send their own staff ahead.
The royal chef, with whom Mrs Patmore does not get on, takes over the kitchen.
The preposition with moves in front of whom.To whom should the staff speak about the royal dinner?
Very formal questions can start with a preposition + whom.When to use each one
whose — what belongs to whom
whom — formal and after prepositions
Words that help
These combinations appear again and again in formal English. Learn them as fixed chunks.
whose → common chunks
whom → common chunks
Common mistakes
❌ The Crawleys, who’s house is famous, prepare for the visit.
✅ The Crawleys, whose house is famous, prepare for the visit.
Who’s means who is. For possession, write whose.
❌ The King, to who the servants bow, arrives at Downton.
✅ The King, to whom the servants bow, arrives at Downton.
After a preposition, always use whom, never who.
❌ The servants, whom are very excited, polish the silver.
✅ The servants, who are very excited, polish the silver.
The servants do the action here, so they are the subject: use who.
❌ This is the room in that the King will sleep.
✅ This is the room in which the King will sleep.
That can never follow a preposition. Use which for things.
One more thing
This part reaches the top of the level, so come back to it once whose and whom feel natural.
The preposition can go at the front or at the end, and the register changes. Putting it in front of whom or which sounds formal, like a letter from the palace. Leaving it at the end sounds relaxed, and then people use who or drop the pronoun completely.
✅ Carson is the man to whom Mary turns. (formal)
✅ Carson is the man Mary turns to. (everyday)
Practice: choose the correct form
Eight questions to test yourself. Decide whether the word shows possession, an object, or a subject.
1. The Crawleys, ___ house is in Yorkshire, receive a royal letter.
Possession needs whose, with no apostrophe.
2. The King, to ___ the family bows, arrives with the Queen.
After a preposition, use whom.
3. Mrs Patmore, ___ kitchen is taken over, is not happy.
The kitchen belongs to her, so use whose.
4. The servants, ___ are very excited, clean every room.
The servants are the subject of are, so use who.
5. This is the bedroom in ___ the King will sleep.
After a preposition, use which for things.
6. Carson, ___ Lady Mary asks for help, agrees to return.
Mary asks him: he is the object, so use whom.
7. The royal servants, all of ___ arrive early, take over the house.
In a relative clause, all of whom joins the two ideas.
8. Carson is the man Mary turns ___.
In everyday English, the preposition goes at the end and the pronoun disappears.
Your turn
Choose one ending. Then listen to your sentence.
Every sentence here is correct and natural. The first frame uses whose + noun, and the second uses a preposition before whom. Pick the endings that are true for you.
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