WHO or WHOM? A 90% Trick

Self | 30APR03 | bannie

[bannie]

In a recent thread, we discussed teachers' various abilities/inabilities. With the banter about math "blocks," I had to start calling people on the frequent mis-usage of the pronoun "that."

I teased others--and I hope the understood my playful intent! Even true mathematicians can make simple mistakes in math. Likewise, even true grammarians can make simple mistakes in grammar. I only made note because of the subject of the thread (An English teacher who was having trouble passing a required math test).

In the thread, I mentioned that I could give a quick-fix lesson on how to determine whether one should use the pronoun "who" or the pronoun "whom."

The Rule:
WHO = SUBJECTIVE
WHOM = OBJECTIVE
or...
While "who" holds the grammatical position of a SUBJECT, "whom" holds the grammatical position of an OBJECT.
Subject = the "doer." Object = the DIRECT OBJECT or the INDIRECT OBJECT or the OBJECT of a preposition...the "do-ee."

THE TRICK:

IF replacing the who/whom in question with HE--simply because it SOUNDS BETTER--use WHO.

IF replacing the who/whom in question with HIM--simply because it SOUNDS BETTER--use WHOM.

IE:
With the question:

To who/whom should I give the "Offed by a Clinton" Award?

Try replacing the space with each, "he" and "him."
Although it's not totally "sensical," the better sounding choice is...

To HIM should I give...

(more clearly, Should I give the "Offed by a Clinton" award to HIM?
SOOOOOooooo...since "HIM" = "WHOM,"

the correct "who/whom-ness" of the question should be:

To WHOM should I give...?

IE:
Who/Whom was the oldest goat in the pool?

Try replacing the space with each, "he" and "him."

It makes much more sense to the ear to replace the who/whom with:

He was the oldest...

than with:

Him was the oldest...

SOOOOOoooooo....since "HE" = "WHO"...

The answer is...WHO was the oldest goat in the pool?

[Sloth]

Yep... depends on whether you are talkin' about things or stuff. A lot of deep physics, there... we have stuff (hardware) that consists of things (wrenches) that are made of stuff (steel), but that stuff in turn is made of things (atoms) which are made of smaller things (protons, etc.) which are made of smaller things (quarks) which are made of... ? Unfortunately it seems that most of our "stuff" is empty space. :(

[Ditter]

Well....... there ya' go!

[yankeedame]

Apply the old "never end a sentence with a preposition" rule and see what you get.

To quote Winston Churchill, "This is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put."
========================

I like the one reportedly told of Dr. Samuel Johnson.

He was at a supper party seated next to a very grand lady. He had not, alas, the time that day wash himself as well as he might. The poor woman could bear it no longer and declared:

"Dr. Johnson, you smell!"

"No,madame," replied the unflappable lexicographer, "You smell. I stink."

[Cogadh na Sith]

To whom was this post intended?

Heh heh heh....

[Sloth]

Susan can't tell Oscar has a hard on always.

I think she can.

[bannie]

'him and me' vs 'he and I.'

All you have to do is listen to each of the pronouns separately...

Give it to him...
Give it to me...
THEREFORE: Give it to him and me.

He went to the park...
I went to the park...
THEREFORE: He and I went to the park.

(AGAIN, the rule is that "I" and "HE" are subjective pronouns (subjects in the sentence); and "me" and "him" are both objective pronouns (objects in the sentence).

[TaxRelief]

Who affects the Who's effects?

Little Cindy-lou Who, that's who.

[Revolting cat!]

The Whooters:

[bannie]

I after E except before C

nonono!!!

"i" before "e," except after "c"...unless sounding like "A," as in "neighbor" and "weigh."

With the exceptions of "neither," "either," "seize," "weird," "leisure"

[bannie]

He do you trust? Him do you trust? Which is correct?

Just as you do when you diagram a question, turn the question around.

Do you trust he/him?
Do you trust him?
and back to...WHOM do you trust?

[nicollo]

My kids say "This kid said..." I say, "this guy or that guy?" They don't like this business. We also go at it with "He went..." "He went where? To the store? To the bathroom?"

Eminem blew it for my with "...between you and I, females lie."
I don't disagree with the sentiment, but his grammar fails.

This thread is classic FR.

[THUNDER ROAD]

While we're on this kind of thing,
does anyone know the code to remember the planets?

Mary's Violet Eyes Make John Sit
Up Nights Periodically !

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn
Uranus Neptune and Pluto !

.....THUNDER......

[T Minus Four]

OK, here's another one that makes me crazy, and lots of a lot of many educated folks do it - using an apostrophe in the possesive form of "it".

it is = it's
belonging to it = its

I believe it's the only possesive form that doesn't use an apostophe.

[paix]

The effect of hard drugs will affect your health.

[Coleus]

Any tricks with pronouns, I,me, he, she, him, her.

[gcruse]

You don't have to tell me. I know how it works. The shock is seeing all the college educated professionals and broadcast journalists screwing it up.

[bannie]

lie/lay

"Lay" is a transitive verb...it needs an OBJECT

"Lie" is an intransitive verb..it nees no OBJECT.

Lay it down. ("It" is an object.)

Lie still. ("Still" is just an adverb describing the verb "lie.")(Of course, the subject of both of these is "you understood.")

"transitive" means that it carries the subject across to an object..."TRANS" (across)...The subject does something TO something. While, with "intransative" means the subject can do something without doing it TO something/someone else.

I hope that one was clear.

[jejones]

Well done, and I hope that everyone who reads it remembers and uses it! (Now, to get people not to write "loose" when they mean "lose"...)

[j_tull]

That's the mnemonic to recall the standard Resistor Code

Haven't scrolled down and someone may have done this, but you forgot: "....willingly, Get Some Now." G,S,N for Gold, Silver, None for the precision bands.

[potlatch]

I'm not even going to use those words around you!! LOL