alytical practical grammar - Toronto Public Library

ETYMOLOGY-PRONOUNS. 51
with au ivory handle, which knife he still has." This construction, however,
is inelegant, and should be avoided.
262. Which is applied also to collective nouns, expressing collections of
persoos, when the reference is to the collection, and not to the pel'80nS
composing it; as, "The committee which was appointed." Also to names
of persons considered only as a word; as, "Nero, which is only another
name for cruelty."
263. Which has for its possessive whose; as, .. A religion whose origiu
is Divine." Instead of "whose," however, the objective with of before it
is more common; as, " A religion the origin of which is Divine."
264. That is applied to both persons and things; a,,:,
"The boy that reads ;" " the dog that barks;" "the book
that was lost" (748).
265. What is applied to things only, and is never used
but when the antecedent is omitted; as, "This is what'
I wanted:-
266. In this example, properly speaking, what neither includes the antecedent,
nor has it understood, in the ordinary sense of that expression.
If it included the antecedent, then what would be of two case. at the l'amc
time, which, if 110t absIlrd, is an anomaly not to be rl'adily admitted. If
the antect'dent were understood, it could be supplied, and then the sentence
would stand, .. This is the thing what I wanted." But this is not
English. The truth is, what is a simple relative, having. wherever used,
like all other relatives, but one case; but yet it has this peculiarity of
usage, that it always refers to a general antecedent omitted. but easily
supplied by the mind, and to whieh belongs the other case in the construction.
The antecedent referrcd to is always the wvrd "thing" or
"things," or· some general or indefinite term, obvious from the ~ense.
When that antecedent is expressed, the relative following must be which
or that, but never what.
Thus," This is what J wanted," is equivalent to
.. This is that which, or the thing which, I wanted." Hence, though it is
true that what is equivalent in meaning to that which, or the thing which,
yet the error to which this has imperceptibly led. viz., that what is a compound
relative, and includes the antecedent, should be carefully avoi(led.
-See Appendix III. p. 247.
267. The office of the relative is twofold :-
1. It is sometimes merely additive or descriptive. and connects its clause
with the antecedent, for the purpose of further describing, without modifying
it; thus used, it is a mere connective, nearly equivalent to and with
a personal pronoun he, she, it, &c.; as, "Light is a body which moves with
great celerity"=" Light is a body, and it moves with great celerity."