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?

[Erasmus]

You probably think that to 'cooperate' means to shut your chickens inside.

[CharacterCounts]

Good boys do fine always.

[Senator Pardek]

"They" are doing the reminding, and "they" = "who".

[Sloth]

Or, in order from West to East, SMHEO.

[Senator Pardek]

Cello player?

[gaspar]

A generation has forgotten the difference between the singular and plural. For example, how many times have you heard: "There's a lot of people...." People is, of course, plural. So it should be: There are people. The interjection of a prepositional phrase doesn't change that. There are [a lot of] people.

[Anamensis]

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet?

[VermiciousKnid]

Bingo!

Any idea on Chief SohCahToa?

[FollowingTheGrace]

While we are on the subject of word usage...

(I am not kidding) The following appeared in my church bulletin last Sunday at the end of a paragraph about a fund-raising dessert: "Donations gladly excepted!"

I meant to ask how much they collected...

[Rocky]

How about this for a change in the language:

"Whoever the person was who wrote this, they need to confess immediately."

You can't say "he". That would be sexist. You can't say "he/she". That would be awkward. You can't say "he" half the time, and "she" the other half of the time. That would be stupid. Next you'll have to register each usage with a central clearinghouse to determine which pronoun you should use next. (Also, if you say "she" in any negative context, you are obviously suggesting that the wrongdoer is a female. Another sexist presumption.) So you are stuck with using a plural pronoun to describe a single person.

[Revolting cat!]

Nope. There are many people, but there is one lot of people, me thinks. "There is one [or 'a'] lot of people"

[Anamensis]

I understand what you're saying but I'm pretty sure that's not how this one would pan out. There's a preposition there. Where there's a preposition, you get whom, him, them. Apply the old "never end a sentence with a preposition" rule and see what you get.

[Sloth]

Who do they remind you of?

Then what word is the object of "of" in that sentence, if not the "who"? If it's an object, it should be "whom".

[Anamensis]

Any idea on Chief SohCahToa?

No idea, sorry...

[Ditter]

I don't have any chickens.

[Sloth]

"Donations gladly excepted!"

I wish I had $100 for every time I've seen the word "excellerated." I once saw it written this way by an high school advanced English teacher.

[Erasmus]

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."

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

And aren't these also supposed to be in the order of their distance from the sun?

[Fifth Business]

Know any tricks for hence, thence, and whence?

[Revolting cat!]

An interesting discussion of there there.