GATE CSE 2012 | Question: 60

Question

Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence:

Suresh’s dog is the one ________ was hurt in the stampede.

• A. that
• B. which
• C. who
• D. whom

Comments

https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/whoVwhVt.asp

Answer 1

A. that

Who and whom are people, not dogs.

Regarding that and which...

Restrictive Clause—That

A restrictive clause is just part of a sentence that you can't get rid of because it specifically restricts some other part of the sentence. Here's an example:

• Gems that sparkle often elicit forgiveness.

The words that sparkle restrict the kind of gems you're talking about. Without them, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, you'd be saying that all gems elicit forgiveness, not just the gems that sparkle. (And note that you don't need commas around the words that sparkle.)

Nonrestrictive Clause—Which

A nonrestrictive clause is something that can be left off without changing the meaning of the sentence. You can think of a nonrestrictive clause as simply additional information. Here's an example:

• Diamonds, which are expensive, often elicit forgiveness.

Comments

@Srinath-Sri no idea :)

---

dogs are living being too and we do call them by name but idk why not ‘who’

---

The most appropriate alternative to complete the sentence is:

Suresh's dog is the one that was hurt in the stampede.

Option 1, "that," is the correct choice here. Here's why:

1. "That" is used as a relative pronoun to refer to animals or things. Since we're talking about a dog, "that" is appropriate.
2. "Which" is also used for animals and things, but it's typically used in non-restrictive clauses (clauses that add extra information but aren't essential to the sentence's meaning). In this case, the clause is restrictive (it's essential information), so "that" is preferred.
3. "Who" is used for people, not animals, so it's incorrect in this context.
4. "Whom" is the object form of "who," also used for people, and is incorrect here for the same reason as "who."

**from the information given by Claude AI as it is or edited. 

Answer 2

Here is why:

This sentence uses a restrictive relative clause—meaning the information after the blank is absolutely essential to identify which specific dog we are talking about (it's not just any dog, it's the specific one hurt in the stampede).

• "That" is the preferred relative pronoun in Indian and American English for essential/restrictive clauses involving animals or objects.

• It perfectly identifies the specific noun without needing commas: "Suresh’s dog is the one that was hurt..."

Why the other options don't fit:

• Which: While "which" is used for animals/objects, it is traditionally preferred for non-essential clauses (clauses separated by commas that just add extra information, like: "The dog, which was brown, barked"). For a defining clause following "the one," that is structurally the best fit.

• Who / Whom: These are strictly reserved for human beings. Even though people love their pets and often call them "he" or "she", standard formal grammar rules for competitive exams like GATE treat animals as objects/entities requiring that or which.