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I was taught that “who” is used when referencing humans, and “which” when referencing other life forms and inanimate objects.

Examples: “The man who fell over” vs “the tree which fell over”.

Extending that to who/whose…it would seem to follow that I’d say: “A man whose hands are large” but that I cannot say: “A clock whose hands are large” (because a clock is an inanimate object).

Thus my question: Is there an English word I should use as a simple replacement for “whose” in the sentence above (“A clock ... hands are large.”)

Or is there no such word and thus, as my teacher said, I must reconstruct my sentence to read: “A clock, the hands of which are large…”

Edwin Ashworth
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Besserwisser
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    'Whose' is pressed into doing duty for inanimate objects also.† 'A clock whose hands are large' is perfectly acceptable. 'It's the house whose door is painted red.' [OLD] // † 'Whose' cannot be so used as the wh-question-word. 'Which house's door is painted red?' not 'Whose ...?', which must refer to the owner. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 11 '24 at 12:53
  • The word you are looking for is "that". – MWB Mar 11 '24 at 14:24

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