Prepositions in Relative clauses

whose, when, where, why Use whose to refer to possession: Arthur, whose kingdom would have covered parts of southwest England and Wales, is portrayed as a noble leader. Use when to refer to a time: He lived in the 5th century, when Britain was a collection of much smaller kingdoms. Use where to refer to a place: There was the castle of Camelot where he lived. Use why to refer to a reason: It’s hard to explain why the legend of King Arthur is such an important part of British mythology.

Formality in relative clauses More formal use of relative clauses is common in written English such as academic texts, and in formal speaking such as presentations or lectures.

who or whom? When who is the object of the relative clause, it is possible to use whom instead of who. Arthur is a king whom many historians have studied. (= more formal) Arthur is a king who many historians have studied. (= less formal/everyday speech)

Prepositions in relative clauses In everyday and less formal English, you leave the preposition at the end of the relative clause: This is the house (which) I used to live in.

In more formal English, when the relative pronoun is the object of the relative clause, you put the preposition before the relative pronoun: This is the round table which the knights sat at. (= less formal) This is the round table at which the knights sat. (= more formal)

Do not use who or that after a preposition. Use preposition + whom instead of who: Arthur; about whom very little is known, is the subject of many biographies. Arthur, about who very little is known, is the subject of many biographies. X

Use preposition + which instead of that: There was the castle of Camelot that (or which) he lived in. There was the castle of Camelot in which he lived, (not in that he lived)

You cannot use prepositions with where, when or why: This is the palace where the Queen lives in. This is the time when we normally leave at. The university is the reason why Oxford is famous for.

You can make these more formal by using the preposition + which: This is the palace in which the Queen lives. This is the time at which we normally leave. The university is the reason for which Oxford is famous