The people _______________ were at the demonstration were from all sections of society. A. whose B. which C. who D. whom

GATE 2021 · General Aptitude · Pronouns · medium

Answer: C. who

1. Identify the antecedent and its type: The antecedent is 'the people' — a group of humans. For human antecedents, the relative pronouns are 'who', 'whom', or 'whose'. 'Which' is eliminated.
2. Determine the grammatical role of the blank: The relative clause is '________ were at the demonstration'. The blank is followed by the verb 'were' — so the pronoun is the subject of this verb. Subject form => 'who'. Object form ('whom') is only used when the pronoun is the object.
3. Eliminate 'whose': 'Whose' implies possession — 'the people whose [something]'. There is no possessive relationship here; we are simply identifying who was at the demonstration.