原书 PDF 第 1706 页
(1) Thomas Alva Edison is remembered chiefly as the man which invented the light bulb. (TOEFL)
(2) Mrs Swanson, a member of the social committee for the coming years, is the only woman the
which has a car. (TOEFL)
上面的两题均要求将 which 改为 who, 由此判断, 关系代词 which 是不能指人的名词的。但是下列句子如何解释?
His brother has become an engineer, which he wanted to be.
对于初学者应当指出关系代词 which 一般是不能用来指人的。用 which 来指人是有条件的，见 which 。
请做下面的英语试题：
The Tartar chief a thousand men, all of must obey his orders both war and
(TOEFL)
____ the men's a doctor?
A. What B. Both C. Which of D. Who of
考虑到 doctor 是指人,我选了 D。不知对否?
选 D 是错误的。应当弄清楚, who 是指不确定的人之中的“谁”, 即 who 是无定的, 因此, 不能用 of 短语来作它的限制性定语; 而疑问代词 which 指人时, 是指确定的人之中的“谁”“哪一位”, 即 which 是有定的。换言之, which 是指在有限几个对象中作出选择, 因而, 与之连用的 of 短语中的名词必须带定冠词或其他限定词。请分析:
Who is your favourite conductor? 谁是你最喜欢的指挥家?
Which is your favourite conductor? (Von Karajan or Stokowsky?) 哪一位是你最喜欢的指挥家？(是冯·卡拉杨，还是斯托柯夫斯基？)
Which of the three girls is the oldest? 这三个姑娘哪一个最大?
Which of you has got a typewriter? 你们之中谁有打字机？
[附注]但是,在实际上,who与which的上述区分有时被打破:
Who/Which do you like best — your father or your mother? (CGEL)