Perbedaan That vs Which vs Who vs Whom

That, which, who, dan whom seringkali membuat penulis bingung. Kapankah keempat kata tersebut harus digunakan dalam kalimat berbahasa Inggris? Serta manakah yang paling tepat digunakan untuk merujuk atau menggantikan kata tertentu.

Dalam tulisan kali ini, kami akan berikan cara mudah untuk membedakan keempatnya dan kapan saja keempat kata tersebut dapat digunakan dalam suatu kalimat. Simak penjelasannya secara umum berikut ini.

Kata-kata tersebut merupakan relative pronouns, yakni kata-kata yang dapat berperan sebagai subjek maupun objek, serta dapat pula menggabungkan dua bagian kalimat ke dalam satu kalimat.

THAT VS WHICH

THAT digunakan untuk menggantikan atau merujuk pada hewan, benda, atau konsep abstrak. Terkadang juga digunakan untuk merujuk pada orang. That merupakan kata penghubung yang penting atau terikat.

Contoh:

• The rabid dog that bit me has been put down. Luckily, I’m fine. (Merujuk pada hewan)
• The skirt that she’s wearing is actually mine. (Merujuk pada benda)
• The man that jaywalked was hit by a taxi. (Merujuk pada orang)

Meski termasuk kata penghubung yang terikat (restrictive), kita dapat menghilangkan kata that dalam suatu kalimat bila penghilangan tersebut tidak membuat pembaca bingung akan makna kalimat.

Contoh:

• I knew that you were waiting for me last night.
• I knew you were waiting for me last night.

Perhatikan bahwa meski kata that di kalimat kedua dihilangkan, pembaca akan tetap memahami maksud kalimat tersebut.

WHICH digunakan untuk menggantikan benda atau hewan yang tidak bernama. Berbeda dengan that, which merupakan kata penghubung yang tidak terikat (non-restrictive).

Contoh:

• I watch a lot of Michael Douglas’ movies, which my father introduced me to, and he’s definitely my most favorite actor of all time.
• She refused to take my advice, which I carefully thought for a long time, and decided to go on with hers.
• My daughter wore the blue dress, which I love, to her graduation party.
  

WHO VS WHOM

WHO digunakan untuk menggantikan orang yang merupakan pelaku atau merujuk pada subjek dalam suatu kalimat. Mudahnya, who digunakan untuk menggantikan she, he, atau they.

Contoh:

• She’s the one who sets the lab on fire with her experiment.
• The old man who lived next door used to scare the children in this neighborhood.
• The last one who gets to the finish line is the loser.

WHOM digunakan untuk merujuk atau menggantikan orang yang merupakan objek dalam suatu kalimat. Berbeda dengan who, whom merujuk atau menggantikan her, him, atau them.

Contoh:

• Whom did you speak to on the phone last night?
• Helen Mirren, whom I want to marry one day, is my favorite actress.
• That is the man to whom the wallet belongs.

Nah, kini cobalah untuk mengisi bagian-bagian kalimat yang kosong di bawah ini dengan baik dengan that, which, who, atau whom. Perhatikan baik-baik apa yang telah kami jelaskan di atas dan pilihlah jawaban yang tepat.

1. This is the collection of poems ____ I’ve written since I was on second grade.
2. The bag ____ was stollen contained important belongings such as identity card, driver license, ATM card, and money.
3. You need to ennunciate more. I can’t understand the things ____ you said.
4. The little girl ___ lost her parents in the department store was my neighbor’s daughter. I stayed with her until her parents, ____ also looked for her everywhere, came.
5. Henry really looks like his mother, from ____ he gets his good looks and great set of teeth.
6. That’s the only thing ____ I treasure in this world and can’t be easily replaced.
7. ___ threw my lunch box in the bin? Please, reveal yourself, I won’t be angry.
8. Viktor Frankl, ____ I got to meet last year in an international conference of psychology, inspired me a lot to search for existensial meaning.
9. Mom doesn’t think ___ I can go to the grocery store by myself.
10. Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s books, ____ was written decades ago, continue to resonate very well on this day and age.
11. ____ bought the electric massage chair ____ sits in the living room? Could you move it? It’s really big, ugly, and doesn’t fit the room decoration.
12. Come on, don’t be shy. ____ did you write ____ letter for, Andy? You can spill your secrets to me.
13. My sister still insists to go out with the guy ___ she met at a concert, ___ our dad didn’t approve.
14. I can’t believe ____ you lied to me about him. I thought you’re the only person ___ I can put my trust into.
15. Mom gave me a $50 iTunes voucher, ___ is exactly what I wanted, for my birthday.

Jawaban: 1. Which/That 2. Which/That 3. That 4. Who, who 5. Whom 6. That 7. Who 8. Whom 9. That 10. Which 11. Who, that 12. Whom, that 13. Whom, which 14. That, whom 15. Which