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The chair that mother sat in.
The flowers that are in the vase on the table.
The vacation that we took with our family last summer.
The museum that we visited in Paris.
The truck that my uncle purchased ten years ago.
Use the pronoun “who” when referring to a person, people or group.
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My sister who came to visit last summer.
The pianist who performed at the concert.
The couple who were married in that church.
The team who won the championship.
The choir who sang at graduation.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of English-speaking people, even professional writers and speakers, too often use “that” when “who” is the proper choice.
To keep yourself from falling into conformity when you hear others misuse these words—and you’ll hear them often—mentally correct the error in your head.
Or simply remember: “A person is not a thing!”
And then you will be among the few who use these words properly.
From the town of Pamukkale, you see the travertine hills sparkle like a mound of gems on the opposite side of a valley. At the travertine’s edge, you remove your shoes and step into steamy, ankle-deep flowing water. You climb upward on terraces of moistened, solidified calcium carbonate, pausing to wade in hot, soothing pools.
At the top, you gaze across crystalized cliffs that, unlike roaring waterfalls, flow slowly as though with thoughtful purpose.
You bathe in thermal springs at the source of this placid place. Then you wander in the necropolis as your mind probes life’s luxuries among ancient Greeks who graced this land more than 2000 years earlier.
Photo by Robert M Weir, May 2012, from the crest of a travertine cliff in Pamukkale, Turkey, a World Heritage Site.
