Understanding Relative Pronouns and Sentence Structure

The question asks us to examine the underlined part of the sentence, "It was the mother of the girl of whose voice I had recognized," and determine if one of the given substitutions improves the sentence.

The underlined phrase is "of whose voice". This involves the relative pronoun "whose".

Analysing the Original Sentence

The original sentence is "It was the mother of the girl of whose voice I had recognized." Let's break down the components:

• "It was the mother of the girl" - This identifies the person (the mother).
• "of whose voice I had recognized" - This is a relative clause modifying "the girl". The clause tells us something about the girl's voice.

The relative pronoun "whose" is used to show possession. It links the possessor (the girl) to the possessed item (her voice). The structure "whose voice" means "the voice of the girl".

Using "of whose voice" is redundant. "Whose" already incorporates the idea of "of whom" or "of which". Therefore, "of whose voice" is equivalent to saying "of the voice of the girl", which is grammatically awkward and incorrect in this context.

Evaluating the Options

Let's look at the proposed substitutions:

Option (a): whose voice

Substituting "of whose voice" with "whose voice" gives us: "It was the mother of the girl whose voice I had recognized."

In this sentence, "whose voice I had recognized" is a relative clause modifying "the girl". "Whose" is the possessive relative pronoun linking "girl" to "voice". The structure "whose voice" correctly means "the voice of the girl". This sentence is grammatically correct and flows naturally.

Option (b): the voice of who

Substituting with "the voice of who" gives us: "It was the mother of the girl the voice of who I had recognized."

The phrase "the voice of who" is grammatically incorrect. "Who" is a subject pronoun. When referring to possession or following a preposition like "of", we would use "whom" in formal contexts, or more commonly, the possessive "whose". Furthermore, the structure "the girl the voice of who" is awkward and doesn't form a proper relative clause.

Option (c): voice whose

Substituting with "voice whose" gives us: "It was the mother of the girl voice whose I had recognized."

The word order "voice whose" is incorrect for a relative clause modifying "the girl". The possessive relative pronoun "whose" should typically precede the noun it modifies ("whose voice", "whose car", etc.).

Option (d): No improvement

Since option (a) provides a clear grammatical improvement over the original sentence, "No improvement" is not the correct response.

Conclusion on Sentence Improvement

Comparing the options, "whose voice" is the only grammatically correct and natural-sounding substitution that properly forms a relative clause modifying "the girl" and indicating possession of the voice.

Revision Table: English Grammar Concepts

Let's quickly review some relevant grammar points:

• Relative Pronouns: Words like who, whom, whose, which, that. They introduce relative clauses that give more information about a noun.
• Possessive Relative Pronoun: "Whose" is used to show possession. It replaces a possessive noun or pronoun (like 'her voice') and connects a noun to a clause describing something it possesses. Example: "This is the dog whose tail is long." (This is the dog; its tail is long.)
• Sentence Improvement: Identifying grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, or redundancy in a sentence and finding a more correct or clearer way to express the same idea.

Additional Information: Using 'Whose'

"Whose" is a versatile relative pronoun. While most commonly used for people (like in this question, referring to a girl), it can also be used for animals or even things, especially in formal writing, although "of which" is often preferred for things.

Examples of using "whose":

• The artist whose painting sold for a million dollars is here. (The painting of the artist)
• We saw a house whose windows were all broken. (The windows of the house)
• The car whose engine broke down is being towed. (The engine of the car)

Remember that "whose" is a relative pronoun showing possession, whereas "who's" is a contraction of "who is" or "who has". These are often confused but have very different meanings and uses.