WAEC 2023 English Language · Question 50

This is the man … I said told me the interesting story.

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences. This is the man ........... I said told me the interesting story.

A.which
B.whose
C.whom
D.who

Answer: D. who

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "This is the man ........... I said told me the interesting story."

The blank sits inside a relative clause. There is also a parenthetical phrase, "I said", which interrupts the clause.

Explain the concept

Choosing between who and whom depends on the function of the pronoun within its own clause:

Who is the subject form (it does the action).
Whom is the object form (it receives the action).

A parenthetical phrase like "I said," "I think," or "she believes" often misleads students into choosing whom. To test it, remove the interrupting phrase and see what is left.

Step-by-step solution

Remove "I said": "This is the man ........... told me the interesting story."
Ask who did the telling. The man did, so the blank is the subject of "told".
A subject needs the subject form, who.
Check the other options: • A. which is used for things, not people. • B. whose shows possession ("the man whose story..."), which doesn't fit here. • C. whom is the object form. It would only fit if the man were receiving the action, as in "the man whom I met".

Full sentence: "This is the man who I said told me the interesting story."

Correct answer: D. who

Exam tip

When you see a phrase like "I said," "I think," or "they believe" right after the blank, cross it out mentally. If the blank is followed by a verb ("told"), you need who. If it is followed by a new subject plus verb ("whom I met"), you need whom.

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