Prepositions Before Relative Pronouns (Formal Style)

The issue to which I referred earlier remains unresolved.

Notice

  • The issue to which I referred earlier remains unresolved.
  • The company for which she works is expanding rapidly.
  • This is the reason for which the meeting was postponed.
  • The colleague with whom I collaborated has since left the firm.

Rule

In formal or academic writing, prepositions move before the relative pronoun (to which, for which, with whom) rather than being stranded at the end of the clause (which…to, who…with). Informal English keeps the preposition at the end (‘the issue I referred to’); formal/written English fronts it.

Practice

  1. Formalise: ‘This is the topic I was talking about.’
    Answer: This is the topic about which I was talking.
  2. Formalise: ‘She is the person I work with.’
    Answer: She is the person with whom I work.
  3. Formalise: ‘That’s the reason I called you for.’
    Answer: That’s the reason for which I called you.
  4. When is it appropriate to strand a preposition at the end of a clause?
    Answer: In informal spoken or written English — fronting the preposition is reserved for formal register.

Connect

Practise formal relative clause patterns with fronted prepositions.

Try Error Correction →

CEFR: Writing — select a style appropriate to a formal reader.

Azizul Hakim
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