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I rarely see these words ("whence" and "wherefrom") written and I can't remember hearing them anywhere.

Anyhow, I find them to be a good replacement for "whose", which people use even for animals and inanimate objects, like in the sentence that follows:

My father had a Dodge Dart, whose tires were constantly flattened by the Loyd's kids when he was not home.

But I don't know if it is appropriate to write these in this context or if they're even current usages. The word "whose" seems more appropriate to use when talking about people.

Dog Lover
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Otter
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    Whence and wherefrom don't work well as direct replacements for whose in the quote you presented. – Lawrence Sep 07 '17 at 22:54
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  • Whose is the genitive of both who and which. 2) Whence and wherefrom are indeed rather dated; but in any case neither can be substituted for whose.
    • – StoneyB on hiatus Sep 07 '17 at 22:55
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    Yes, they are dated, and no, they are not appropriate in that context. – Kevin Sep 07 '17 at 22:56
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    @StoneyB Nothing wrong with being dated - in fact I'm getting a bit dated myself. – WS2 Sep 07 '17 at 23:10
  • I agree that "whose" can sound a bit funny, but as others have said, you can't really use either of those words you suggested in your example sentence. – Dog Lover Sep 07 '17 at 23:13
  • Yes, it appears whose is the right word.

    But in utilizing the good opportunity I'd like to ask if there are any other words I can use in this context.

     – Otter Sep 07 '17 at 23:15
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    Just FYI, if you used "whence", the sentence would basically be: My father had a Dodge Dart, from where (its) tires were constantly flattened... – Dog Lover Sep 07 '17 at 23:18
  • @DogLover, in the end, is it even right to say (...) from where tires* tires where constantly flattened*. The sentence looks rather strange if written like this. – Otter Sep 07 '17 at 23:22
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    @EzequielBarbosa No, it is not right. It doesn't make sense. If you really had to reword it, you could potentially say: My father had a Dodge Dart, of which its tires... But even then it sounds a bit awkward. – Dog Lover Sep 07 '17 at 23:25
  • This is possibly a duplicate of Can 'whose' refer to an inanimate object?; this thread answers the salient question. // Collins labels wherefrom 'archaic' and whence 'literary , or old-fashioned'. General reference. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 08 '17 at 00:40
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    No, whence and wherefrom can't substitute for whose there; what makes you think they could? – Arm the good guys in America Sep 08 '17 at 03:07
  • If you don’t like whose try: My father had a Dodge Dart. Its tires were constantly flattened by the Loyd's kids when he was not home. – Jim Sep 08 '17 at 05:40
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    I think you were thinking of "whereof" - "a Dodge Dart whereof the tires were constantly flattened" or "a Dodge Dart the tires whereof were constantly flattened". But it sounds stilted. You'd be better off sticking with "whose" and confronting the myth that it can't be used of inanimates. – rjpond Sep 08 '17 at 07:43
  • Whence and wherefrom are both dated but thereafter you seem to have lost touch with reality.

    Please first explain how you could imagine either of them replacing whose?

    This has nothing to do with current usage. It’s simply wrong.

    Please explain how you think whence and whose could be related, let alone a good replacement either way.

     – Robbie Goodwin Sep 08 '17 at 20:09