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Question on who, whom vs which

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Question on who, whom vs which

by Anton8103 » Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:31 pm
Can who or whom be used to modify animals or only to modify people?

I found this as a correct answer in a Kaplan Quiz

Unlike most tadpoles, which ingest an aqueous suspension of organic particles, the pipid tadpole of the African genus Hymenochirus consumes prey via predatory suction.
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by hardik.jadeja » Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:27 pm
As far as I know, "who" and "whom" can only be used to refer to human beings.

The corresponding interrogative pronouns for non-living things are "what" and "which", and the relative pronouns are "that" and "which".

In addition, the possessive version of the "non-living" pronouns is the same as that of "who": "whose"
E.g., "I will have to fix the car whose engine I ruined"

Hope that helps..
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:48 pm
The poster above is correct. On the GMAT:

"who" and "whom" should be used only to refer to people

"that" and "which" should used only to refer to things other than people

"whose" can be used to refer to anything

Please be aware that these rules aren't always followed in the real world (sigh). The classic song The Man That Got Away has a great lyric, but its title wouldn't pass muster on the GMAT; you'd have to say The Man WHO Got Away.
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