Can the word "who" in the sentence below be replaced by the word "that"?

Eating well and exercising is important for students who are stressed.

Question

Can the word "who" in the sentence below be replaced by the word "that"?

Eating well and exercising is important for students who are stressed.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

First, let's restate the given sentence and options to ensure clarity.
Question: Can the word "who" in the sentence below be replaced by the word "that"?
Sentence: Eating well and exercising is important for students who are stressed.
Answer options: ["no", "yes"]

Option 1: no
This option argues that replacing 'who' with 'that' is not acceptable. While it’s true that many traditional style guides favor 'who' when referring to people, 'that' can sometimes be used in restrictive relative clauses referring to people as well. However, using 'that' in place of 'who' can sound less natural or slightly informal in contexts where 'who' is preferred for human subjects. The reasoning here hinges on stylistic preference and formality rather than a strict grammatical rule, so claiming a blanket 'no' would be overly rigid.

Option 2: yes
This option asserts that replacing 'who' with 'that' is acceptable. In fact, 'that' is commonly used in restrictive relative clauses to introduce essential information about a noun. Since 'students who are stressed' identifies a specific subset of students in a restrictive sense, 'students that are stressed' is grammatical and often considered acceptable in American English. The key condition is that the relative clause remains essential to identify the noun; if the information is nonessential, 'which' would be used and separated by commas, but that is not the case here. Thus, this replacement does not break grammar and is acceptable in many contexts.

In summary, understanding the distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses helps explain the nuance: replacing 'who' with 'that' is acceptable in a restrictive relative clause referring to people, though some style guides prefer 'who' for formal usage. Therefore, the statement that the replacement is allowed is supported by standard grammar usage in restrictive contexts, while noting stylistic preferences.

Can the word "who" in the sentence below be replaced by the word "that"? Eating well and exercising is important for students who are stressed.Single choice

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