请看下面这道题:
I saw some trees __________ leaves were black with disease.
A. its B. whose C. his D. the
分析:此题应选B。容易误选A。许多考生认为,关系代词whose和who,whom一样,只能指人,不能指物。
事实上,用作关系代词的 whose 与 who,whom不一样,它不仅可以指人也可以指物(用作定语):
There are some students whose questions I can’t answer. 有些学生的问题我不能回答。
Can you see the mountain whose top is covered with snow? 你看得见山顶上覆盖着雪的那座山吗?
Here is a word whose meaning escapes me. 这里有一个词,我一下想不起它是什么意思了。
当先行词为物时,其后引导定语从句的 whose+n. 也可换成 the+n. +of which / of which+the+n.:
■窗户破了的那座房子是空的。
正:The house whose windows are broken is empty.
正:The house the windows of which are broken is empty.
正:The house of which the windows are broken is empty.
但是如果 whose所修饰的名词中心词之前有数词或其他限定词,则不用 whose,而用of which:
There I saw a large table,two legs of which were broken. 在那里我看见有一张大桌子,其中有两条腿断了。