TSA CBT Practice Test

What role does the pronoun 'who' serve in a sentence?

1. Interrogative

2. Relative

3. Both interrogative and relative

4. Indefinite

The correct answer is: Both interrogative and relative

The pronoun 'who' serves as both an interrogative and a relative pronoun, making the choice of both interrogative and relative correct. As an interrogative pronoun, 'who' is used to ask questions about people, such as "Who is coming to the party?" This illustrates its function in gathering information. In addition to its role in inquiries, 'who' also functions as a relative pronoun. In this capacity, it introduces relative clauses, providing additional information about a noun in the sentence. For instance, in the sentence "The woman who called you is my aunt," 'who' connects the main clause to the additional detail regarding 'the woman.' Consequently, since 'who' can serve these two distinct roles depending on the context in which it is used, stating that it functions as both an interrogative and relative pronoun accurately encapsulates its versatility in sentence structure.