Prepositions used with relative pronouns in prepositional relatives

Preposition	Relative pronoun / marker	Pied-piped example	Stranded example	Semantic role
about	which / whom	the topic about which we spoke	the topic which we spoke about	topic / object of preposition
above	which / whom	the shelf above which I placed the vase	the shelf which I placed the vase above	locative / spatial
across	which / whom	the river across which he swam	the river which he swam across	path / motion
after	which / whom	the day after which events unfolded	the day which events unfolded after	temporal
against	which / whom	the wall against which I leaned	the wall which I leaned against	contact / opposition
along	which / whom	the path along which we walked	the path which we walked along	path / trajectory
among	which / whom	the group among which he was chosen	the group which he was chosen among	inclusion / partitive
around	which / whom	the park around which we ran	the park which we ran around	path / spatial
at	which / whom	the school at which she teaches	the school which she teaches at	locative / goal
before	which / whom	the meeting before which we waited	the meeting which we waited before	temporal
behind	which / whom	the house behind which there is a garden	the house which there is a garden behind	locative
below	which / whom	the floor below which the cellar lies	the floor which the cellar lies below	locative
beneath	which / whom	the rock beneath which we hid	the rock which we hid beneath	locative
beside	which / whom	the chair beside which he sat	the chair which he sat beside	locative / adjacency
between	which / whom	the countries between which the treaty was signed	the countries which the treaty was signed between	spatial / relational
by	which / whom	the artist by whom the painting was created	the artist whom the painting was created by	agent / means
during	which / whom	the period during which he traveled	the period which he traveled during	temporal
for	which / whom	the reason for which he left	the reason which he left for	purpose / reason
from	which / whom	the city from which he came	the city which he came from	source / origin
in	which / whom	the house in which I live	the house which I live in	locative
inside	which / whom	the box inside which were the letters	the box which were the letters inside	locative / containment
into	which / whom	the room into which we entered	the room which we entered into	goal / direction
near	which / whom	the town near which we stopped	the town which we stopped near	locative
of	which / whom	the reason of which I spoke	the reason which I spoke of	partitive / genitive
off	which / whom	the cliff off which he jumped	the cliff which he jumped off	path / motion
on	which / whom	the table on which I put the book	the table which I put the book on	locative / surface
onto	which / whom	the stage onto which she stepped	the stage which she stepped onto	goal / motion
opposite	which / whom	the house opposite which we waited	the house which we waited opposite	locative / spatial
out of	which / whom	the room out of which he ran	the room which he ran out of	source / motion
over	which / whom	the bridge over which cars pass	the bridge which cars pass over	path / locative
through	which / whom	the tunnel through which cars pass	the tunnel which cars pass through	path / motion
toward / towards	which / whom	the direction toward which we moved	the direction which we moved toward	goal / direction
under	which / whom	the table under which he hid	the table which he hid under	locative / support
underneath	which / whom	the rock underneath which lay treasure	the rock which lay treasure underneath	locative / containment
until / till	which / whom	the moment until which we waited	the moment which we waited until	temporal
up	which / whom	the hill up which we climbed	the hill which we climbed up	path / motion
upon	which / whom	the stage upon which she performed	the stage which she performed upon	locative / support
with	which / whom	the friend with whom I went	the friend whom I went with	accompaniment / instrument
without	which / whom	the method without which success is impossible	the method which success is impossible without	condition / instrument

CGEL notes:

• Pied-piping is formal; stranding is neutral / colloquial.

• Semantic role is determined by the preposition itself, not by pied-piping vs stranding.

• This table excludes relative adverbs (where, when, why), which encode prepositional meaning internally.

• Relative pronouns are typically which / whom; who is sometimes used for people informally.

• In CGEL, pied-piping is a syntactic phenomenon in relative clauses (and questions) where a preposition is “fronted” together with a relative pronoun (or interrogative word) to the start of the clause, instead of being left in its canonical position at the end.

Multi-word prepositions

Muti words prepositions like (out of, in front of, because of) behave similarly:

> the room out of which he ran

> the building in front of which we waited