for-whom-the-bell-tolls

Use the object pronoun or the subject pronoun as the relative pronoun heading a restrictive clause that employs a transitive verb and a linking verb?

by

EXAMPLE: James is the man who/whom we know is who won it. I’ve been trying to work this out, but for the life of me, I can’t work out in such a scenario as shown above if the restrictive relative pronoun is to be an object pronoun or a subject pronoun. That’s because I can’t … Read more

Is “Whom did you give the book?” ungrammatical?

by

You gave him the book.                       (1) Based on the sentence (1), it seems to me that the following form of question is possible: Whom did you give the book?            (2) instead of To whom did you give the book? … Read more

Who/whom puzzle

by

The Blue Book of Grammar has a question: “John knows WHO/WHOM the winner is.” The correct answer is: “John knows WHO the winner is.” But … The main clause is “John Knows.” But WHOM is actually the pronoun of “the winner” and the verb “is”. I used the usual rules and got 9 / 10 … Read more

Who or whom? “I wanted you to listen to this interview by an author who(m?) many of you read”

by

Which word should I be using in the following sentence: “I wanted you to listen to this interview by an author who(m?) many of you already read”. Who or whom? I saw this answer What’s the rule for using “who” and “whom” correctly?, but who/whom in this case cannot be replaced by neither “he” nor … Read more

“whom…must…”: is this real sentence grammatical?

by

I encountered this curious sentence on page 234 of the 1859 novel Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds, by Emma V. Hallet writing under the pseudonym “Ferna Vale”, marked here in bold: In a few words he informed her of what he had learned from Mrs. Santon the day previous, but what was his astonishment to … Read more

When he first entered the classroom no one knew who/whom/whoever/whomever he was?

by

I am unable to understand which one is the correct? Answer The choice between who[ever]/whom[ever] comes down to the role of the relative pronoun in the subordinate clause. In this case, it will be nominative rather than oblique since who is linked to he by was. Now, for whoever vs who, whoever implies an indefiniteness … Read more

Who vs. whom when the he/him test is unclear

by

I’m not sure whether the following sentence requires who/whom: Does anyone know who/whom I can speak with about that? If a similar sentence began with who/whom, it would be “whom.” Whom can I speak with about that? You can speak with “him” about that. Note, however, that this example uses “can I” vs. “I can.” … Read more

Is the use of whom appropriate in the phrase “You are with whom your mind is.”?

by

And why? I always see whom used in questions. This is not a question, is a statement. Whom sounds correct to me, but I’m not sure if it is and why. The “rules” I’ve seen around are all for questions, not for statements. In this case, “whom” seems the object to whom (hehe) the action … Read more

“Who are you staying with” or “Whom are you staying with?”

by

Which one is correct? Who are you staying with or Whom are you staying with? Answer There are not many words in English that clearly tell us nominative or objective case. The pairs he/him and she/her are in the nominative / objective case, and may be used to tell us the answer to your question. … Read more