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Help a highly anxious job applicant sound perfectly professional in his follow-up email by choosing the correct formal phrases.
Dear Hiring Committee,
The senior director, _________________________ I addressed my initial cover letter, was wonderfully welcoming during my interview. Furthermore, the rigorous conditions _________________________ the marketing team operates sound like exactly the kind of thrilling challenge I am looking for!
The correct answers are to whom and under which.
In highly formal English, prepositions are placed before the relative pronoun rather than at the end of the clause.
- We say "addressed a letter to someone," so the formal relative structure is "to whom." ("Who" cannot be used immediately after a preposition).
- We say "operate under conditions," so the formal relative structure is "under which." ("That" can never be used immediately after a preposition in a relative clause).