Is it “That's the family that is moving in…” or “That's (they're?) the family who is (are?) moving...
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I know that 'who' refers to people and 'that' refers to things. But what about when the thing IS people, such as a family? Would I say, "That's the family that is moving in next door soon.", or "That's (they're?) the family who is (are?) moving in next door soon."?
relative-clauses relative-pronouns collective-nouns who who-that
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
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asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
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up vote
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I know that 'who' refers to people and 'that' refers to things. But what about when the thing IS people, such as a family? Would I say, "That's the family that is moving in next door soon.", or "That's (they're?) the family who is (are?) moving in next door soon."?
relative-clauses relative-pronouns collective-nouns who who-that
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 9 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
2
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I know that 'who' refers to people and 'that' refers to things. But what about when the thing IS people, such as a family? Would I say, "That's the family that is moving in next door soon.", or "That's (they're?) the family who is (are?) moving in next door soon."?
relative-clauses relative-pronouns collective-nouns who who-that
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
I know that 'who' refers to people and 'that' refers to things. But what about when the thing IS people, such as a family? Would I say, "That's the family that is moving in next door soon.", or "That's (they're?) the family who is (are?) moving in next door soon."?
relative-clauses relative-pronouns collective-nouns who who-that
relative-clauses relative-pronouns collective-nouns who who-that
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
edited Mar 15 at 20:09
sumelic
45.5k8108210
45.5k8108210
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
asked Mar 15 at 19:10
KathyP
111
111
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 9 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 9 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
2
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10
add a comment |
2
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10
2
2
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10
add a comment |
1 Answer
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You can substitute "that" for "who" in relative clauses when the clause is identifying. If the clause is non-identifying, then "that" is not permissible.
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
You can substitute "that" for "who" in relative clauses when the clause is identifying. If the clause is non-identifying, then "that" is not permissible.
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
You can substitute "that" for "who" in relative clauses when the clause is identifying. If the clause is non-identifying, then "that" is not permissible.
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
You can substitute "that" for "who" in relative clauses when the clause is identifying. If the clause is non-identifying, then "that" is not permissible.
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
You can substitute "that" for "who" in relative clauses when the clause is identifying. If the clause is non-identifying, then "that" is not permissible.
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
answered Mar 15 at 19:22
jpyvr
111
111
add a comment |
add a comment |
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2
Anaphoric "that" can refer to anything.
– BillJ
Mar 15 at 19:13
Related: Which is correct: “staff that may have this information” or “staff who may have this information”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 19:59
Also related: Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something? (ignore the accepted answer), What is the correct relative pronoun for “government”?
– sumelic
Mar 15 at 20:06
The fact (noted in the answer to the duplicate) that many people think 'that' refers to things, means that many people actually think it is wrong/rude to use 'that' in relation to people. Which will affect its common usage among English speakers. Which needs to be noted. Yes, the 'educated', the 'literate', section of the populace will know what is 'right', but that does not change the concept among the general populace. And concept is everything where language is concerned.
– Nigel J
Mar 15 at 22:10