Learn English – Is it correct to say it like this

grammar

  • The girl, whom I love, passes from in front of my house daily.

Is this sentence grammatical? I want to say that a girl goes to her destination but she passes from in front of house on her way. How should I say it? I know something is wrong with the sentence.

Best Answer

The sentence is correct except for the commas and one or two words.

There should be no commas around the relative clause whom I love because this is a defining relative clause - it is necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

In English, you put commas around a relative clause if it adds additional information. But this information doesn't change the meaning of the sentence.

My neighbor*, whose name is John,* is very friendly and helpful.

The relative clause in this sentence is a non-defining relative clause. It just tells us something more about the noun neighbor, but it isn't necessary to the meaning of what you want to say. If you take the relative clause whose name is John out of the sentence, the sentence still says what you want to say.

My neighbor is very friendly and helpful.

Let's take your sentence:

The girl, whom I love, passes in front of my house daily.

If we take out the relative clause whom I love , the meaning of the sentence changes.

The girl passes in front of my house daily.

The relative clause whom I love is a defining relative clause. That means, it defines the noun (the girl) very clearly. She's the girl you love, not just some girl who walks by your house every day. So, don't put commas around that clause because it's important to the meaning of the sentence.

The girl who/whom I love passes by my house every day.