Luiz
''He who...'' or ''He that...'' I have doubts about the construction of such a sentence. I have learned that the correct grammar structure is ''He who...'', for example: ''He who hesitates is lost''. However, I have come across this quote from Henry V. Act 4, Sc 3 by William Shakespeare: ''For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother...'' So, I wonder whether or not I could use ''He that...'' instead of ''He who...'' to make this grammar construction. Thanks in advance.
Mar 29, 2018 2:00 PM
Answers · 4
4
'who' is the correct relative pronoun. Shakespeare lived 500 years ago, and although his writing is absolutely beautiful, you shouldn't take it as a guide for 21st century English.
March 29, 2018
1
„He that“ doesn’t work because „he“ is a person and „that“ refers to objects, even though native speakers get it wrong all the time. „The people that said that are crazy“ instead of „The people who said that are crazy.“ A very common mistake. However, saying „He who“ is not technically wrong, it’s just a bit archiac sounding. „He who hesitates is lost“ is an idiom so the rules don’t really apply there. I always tell people English is a language of brevity. It hates long words, complicated constructions, and long sentences. It’s a matter of style rather than grammatical correctness. So let’s take your „He who“ expression. Not really grammatically wrong, but ask yourself „Is there another way to say this that’s shorter and easier?“ The answer is yes. How about „Whoever“ rather than „He who?“ One word, simpler, easier. Even though there are 7 letters as opposed to 5, you’re only using ONE word. That makes the English speaker‘s ear happier. Weird, but that’s kind of how it works. And that maybe why „He who“ sounds a little archaic, outside of the idiom you said, which you can still use.
March 30, 2018
John has just spotted out the problem.
March 29, 2018
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