The fishermen,
the flood victims owed their lives, were rewarded by the
government.
Options:
(A) whom
(B) to which
(C) to whom
(D) that
Official Answer Key:
C
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
### **Official Solution & Concept Analysis (GATE BT 2019 Q.1)**
**1. Governing Concept**:
- **Topic**: Verbal Ability & Relative Pronouns (Prepositional Relative Clause)
- In formal English, when a relative clause refers to persons and functions as the indirect object of the verb "owe" (*owe one's life to somebody*), the relative pronoun is **"whom"** preceded by the preposition **"to"**:
- *"The fishermen, **to whom** the flood victims owed their lives, were rewarded."*
- "Whom" is the objective case of "who".
**2. Option Analysis**:
- **Option (A) [to that] is INCORRECT**: "That" cannot be used immediately following a preposition in non-defining relative clauses.
- **Option (B) [to which] is INCORRECT**: "Which" refers to inanimate objects or animals, not human fishermen.
- **Option (C) [to whom] is CORRECT**: Grammatically accurate objective case relative pronoun for persons following preposition "to".
- **Option (D) [to who] is INCORRECT**: "Who" is subjective case and cannot follow a governing preposition.
**3. Final Answer**:
- **Correct Choice**: **C**
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