What Part of Speech is “WHO”
In English texts and verbal communication, the word “who” is always used as a pronoun.
- Pronoun
In all cases, the word “who” acts as a pronoun because it can take the place of a noun. It can be used to ask a question about which person, or it can also start the clause that provides additional details regarding someone. For instance, in the sample sentence below:
That is the woman who gave me the address.
The word “who” is used to introduce the clause that provides further information about the “woman.”
Definition:
a. what or which person or people
- Example:
- Who is that man?
b. used to introduce a clause giving further information about a person or people previously mentioned
- Example:
- Christopher plays the teenager who killed his own parents.