WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-0 MCQs on Omission of Relative Pronouns, Omission of Antecedent,
10 MCQs on Omission of Relative Pronouns, Omission of Antecedent, Agreement of the Relative Pronoun and Its Antecedent
1. "The book ___ she recommended to me last week has turned out to be extremely informative." — Which of the following correctly explains the omission of the relative pronoun?
- A) The relative pronoun cannot be omitted as it is the subject of the relative clause
- B) The relative pronoun "which" or "that" can be omitted as it functions as the object of the verb "recommended" in the relative clause
- C) The relative pronoun "who" must be retained as it refers to a person
- D) The relative pronoun can be omitted only when it refers to a place or time
Answer: B) The relative pronoun "which" or "that" can be omitted as it functions as the object of the verb "recommended" in the relative clause (When the relative pronoun functions as the object of the verb in a defining relative clause it may be omitted — "the book that she recommended" correctly becomes "the book she recommended" — however when the relative pronoun functions as the subject of the relative clause it cannot be omitted.)
2. "She is not the same person ___ she used to be before all those life-changing experiences." — Which relative pronoun has been omitted and why can it be omitted?
- A) "Whose" has been omitted — it can be omitted as it is a possessive pronoun
- B) "Who" has been omitted — it cannot be omitted as it is the subject of the relative clause
- C) "That" has been omitted — it can be omitted as it functions as the complement in the relative clause
- D) "Which" has been omitted — it can be omitted as it refers to a thing
Answer: C) "That" has been omitted — it can be omitted as it functions as the complement in the relative clause (The relative pronoun "that" functioning as a subject complement in a defining relative clause may be omitted — "she is not the same person that she used to be" correctly becomes "she is not the same person she used to be" — complement clauses introduced by "that" frequently omit the relative pronoun in both spoken and written English.)
3. "This is one of the most inspiring books ___ has ever been written on the subject of leadership." — Which of the following correctly identifies the error if "that" is replaced by "which" in this sentence?
- A) "Which" is incorrect because it cannot refer to books
- B) "Which" is incorrect because "that" must be used after superlatives in defining relative clauses
- C) "Which" is correct and can replace "that" without any grammatical error
- D) "Which" is incorrect because it should be replaced by "who"
Answer: B) "Which" is incorrect because "that" must be used after superlatives in defining relative clauses ("That" is preferred over "which" in defining relative clauses especially after superlatives such as "one of the most inspiring" — after superlatives ordinals and words like "all" "only" "any" and "the same" the relative pronoun "that" is strongly preferred over "which" in formal written English.)
4. "Identify the sentence in which the antecedent of the relative pronoun has been correctly omitted."
- A) What she said at the meeting was completely untrue and misleading.
- B) Who she met at the conference was a famous scientist and researcher.
- C) Which she bought at the market was fresh and affordable.
- D) Whom he spoke to was a senior government official.
Answer: A) What she said at the meeting was completely untrue and misleading. ("What" in this sentence is a relative pronoun that incorporates its own antecedent — "what she said" is equivalent to "that which she said" — the antecedent "that which" or "the thing that" is absorbed into "what" making it a fused or contact relative pronoun that combines both the antecedent and the relative pronoun.)
5. "It was she ___ informed the principal about the serious incident." — Which relative pronoun correctly fills the blank and why?
- A) "Whom" — because it functions as the object of the verb "informed"
- B) "Whose" — because it shows possession in the relative clause
- C) "Which" — because it refers to the thing that was reported
- D) "Who" — because it functions as the subject of the verb "informed" in the relative clause
Answer: D) "Who" — because it functions as the subject of the verb "informed" in the relative clause ("Who" is correct because the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb "informed" in the relative clause — "who" is the nominative or subject form of the relative pronoun referring to persons — "whom" would be incorrect here as it is the objective form and requires the pronoun to be the object of a verb or preposition.)
6. "She is the only one of the students who *___ * always submitted assignments well before the deadline." — Choose the correct verb form to agree with the relative pronoun and its antecedent.
- A) have
- B) were
- C) has
- D) are
Answer: C) has (When "the only one of" precedes a plural noun the relative pronoun "who" refers to "the only one" which is singular — the verb in the relative clause must therefore agree with the singular antecedent "the only one" — the correct form is the singular "has submitted" — this contrasts with "one of those who" where the verb is plural.)
7. "He is one of those dedicated workers who *___ * never hesitate to go the extra mile for the organisation." — Choose the correct verb form.
- A) has
- B) never hesitates
- C) never hesitate
- D) is
Answer: C) never hesitate (In the structure "one of those + plural noun + who" the relative pronoun "who" refers to the plural noun "dedicated workers" not to "one" — the verb in the relative clause must therefore agree with the plural antecedent "workers" — the correct form is the plural "never hesitate" — this is a key distinction from "the only one of" where the verb is singular.)
8. "The team members, all of *___ * had worked tirelessly, were finally rewarded for their exceptional efforts." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.
- A) who
- B) that
- C) which
- D) whom
Answer: D) whom ("Whom" is the correct relative pronoun here because it follows the preposition "of" — when a relative pronoun referring to a person follows a preposition the objective form "whom" must be used — "of whom" correctly introduces the non-defining relative clause describing all the team members who had worked tirelessly.)
9. "The committee, the members of *___ * are all highly qualified professionals, will review the proposal." — Choose the correct relative pronoun.
- A) who
- B) whom
- C) that
- D) which
Answer: D) which ("Which" is the correct relative pronoun here because it refers to "the committee" which is a collective noun treated as a thing — in the structure "the members of which" the relative pronoun "which" refers back to the entire committee as an institution — when referring to organisations groups or things "which" is used after prepositions in formal non-defining relative clauses.)
10. "Which of the following sentences correctly illustrates the agreement of the relative pronoun with its antecedent?"
- A) She is the woman which won the prestigious award at the international ceremony.
- B) This is the dog who barked loudly throughout the entire night and disturbed the neighbours.
- C) He is the scientist whose groundbreaking research has transformed the field of medicine.
- D) They visited the monument which history is closely linked to the independence movement.
Answer: C) He is the scientist whose groundbreaking research has transformed the field of medicine. (This sentence correctly uses "whose" as the possessive relative pronoun agreeing with its antecedent "the scientist" who is a person — "whose" correctly shows that the groundbreaking research belongs to the scientist — option A incorrectly uses "which" for a person option B incorrectly uses "who" for an animal and option D incorrectly uses "which" instead of "whose.")
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