Grammar Rule: Relative Pronouns with Prepositions

This question tests the correct usage of relative pronouns, specifically when a preposition is involved.

Analyzing the Sentence Structure

• The main clause is: The fishermen [...] were rewarded by the government.
• The relative clause modifies fishermen.
• The phrase indicating the relationship is: the flood victims owed their lives.
• The word fishermen refers to people.
• The action owed their lives requires a preposition (to) indicating the recipient of the debt/lives. The structure is 'victims owed lives to fishermen'.

Evaluating Pronoun Options

We need a relative pronoun that:

• Refers to people (fishermen).
• Is in the objective case because the victims owed lives *to* them.
• Accommodates the required preposition to.

Let's examine the options:

• whom: This is the objective case for people but requires the preposition 'to' to be placed before it in this context (owed lives to whom). Standing alone, it's incorrect.
• to which: 'Which' refers to things or animals, not people.
• to whom: This correctly combines the preposition to with the objective case relative pronoun whom, referring to people. The structure "victims owed their lives to whom" is grammatically sound.
• that: While 'that' can refer to people, it's typically used in restrictive clauses and doesn't inherently include the preposition 'to'. The structure "victims owed their lives that" is incorrect.

Conclusion

The phrase "owed their lives" necessitates the preposition "to" linking the victims' debt to the fishermen. Therefore, the correct relative pronoun construction is to whom.

The completed sentence is: The fishermen, to whom the flood victims owed their lives, were rewarded by the government.