In English, relative pronouns such as ‘who’ and ‘that’ are often used to introduce relative clauses. The sentence ‘It is the media who decide what is important news and what is not’ seems to use ‘who’ in a way that might initially seem unusual, but there’s a specific grammatical reason for it. This article will explain why ‘who’ is used instead of ‘that’ in this case.
Understanding the Sentence Structure
The sentence ‘It is the media who decide what is important news and what is not’ follows a structure known as ‘cleft sentence’. A cleft sentence is used to emphasize a specific part of a sentence. In this case, the part of the sentence that is being emphasized is ‘the media’. This structure is often used to put more focus on a particular element.
The structure of a cleft sentence typically follows the pattern: ‘It is + [focus element] + who + [relative clause].’ Here, ‘the media’ is the focus element, and ‘who decide what is important news and what is not’ is the relative clause providing more information about ‘the media’.
Why ‘Who’ is Used
‘Who’ is used in relative clauses when the subject of the clause is a person or a group of people, which is why it is used here to refer to ‘the media’. The media, in this case, is considered a collective noun referring to people (journalists, reporters, etc.), and the use of ‘who’ is grammatically correct for referring to people.
On the other hand, ‘that’ is typically used when referring to things or objects, not people. So, while ‘that’ could be used to refer to a non-human subject or an inanimate object, ‘who’ is used when referring to a person or group of people, such as ‘the media’ in this case.
Difference Between ‘Who’ and ‘That’
The key difference between ‘who’ and ‘that’ in relative clauses is based on the noun they refer to. ‘Who’ is specifically used for people or groups of people, while ‘that’ can refer to both people and things, but it is more commonly used with non-human subjects.
For example:
- ‘The teacher who is teaching today is very nice.’ (refers to a person)
- ‘The book that you gave me was very interesting.’ (refers to a thing)
In this case, because ‘the media’ refers to a group of people, the correct relative pronoun to use is ‘who’.
Summary: The Use of ‘Who’ in Cleft Sentences
In summary, the sentence ‘It is the media who decide what is important news and what is not’ uses ‘who’ instead of ‘that’ because it is a cleft sentence that emphasizes the subject, ‘the media’, which refers to a group of people. ‘Who’ is the appropriate relative pronoun for people, while ‘that’ is used for things or inanimate objects. Understanding these subtle differences helps improve both your understanding and use of English relative clauses.
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