Comments on: who/whom

By: BobB

BobB — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:24:30 +0000

I agree with the ‘only’ section. That drives me crazy.

So as to the value of a comma, “My parents, Mother Theresa and the Pope agree that we should attend to our language.”

If nothing is lost in the meaning, i.e., the person understands precisely the intention, the argument over who and whom is a waste of air. However, in a formal setting, it would behoove one to follow the dictates of proper language usage.

By: Rachel V.

Rachel V. — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:21:17 +0000

Courtney, thanks for your comment. You are correct in that most of these errors (except for the ones on the Pronunciation page) do refer to written, as opposed to spoken, English. There is certainly more leeway in conversational English.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:11:21 +0000

That’s true. But this site doesn’t seem to be about “real life” since most people speaking English don’t use the correct rules all the time. See? I just started a sentence with the word “but” (a taboo in my English classes). I also put my comma OUTSIDE the quotation marks simply because I like the way it looks better than on the inside.

The examples given here often do sound strange in the context of normal conversation, but they certainly don’t sound strange to an English teacher who’s grading a paper. Language is always evolving, and for most people “whom” is virtually extinct. However, it is not yet obsolete; and for those who wish to know the difference, the examples are still helpful… if a little awkward when put to use.
(That was riddled with errors I’m sure, haha!)

By: Todd Beaucoudray

Todd Beaucoudray — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:19:37 +0000

That isn’t correct. It’s perfectly acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition when it’s necessary. In fact, it’s considered idiomatic in English.

Where are you? is correct because at isn’t needed.

What are you talking about? is perfectly acceptable. I’ve never heard or read “About what are you talking?”

By: Rachel V.

Rachel V. — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:36:39 +0000

Marcie, I believe the sentence you asked about should read as follows:

There are 500 graduating students, of whom, 300 are males and 200 are female.

We're talking about people, so whom would be the correct word of choice.

By: marcie

marcie — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 06:02:29 +0000

Which is the correct way of saying things?

There are 500 graduating students.

A. of whom, 300 are males and 200 are females.

B. of which, 300 are males and 200 are females.

By: Sam Orchard

Sam Orchard — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:50:05 +0000

Even after all of these years, I STILL get this one wrong all of the time. Maybe this will help me finally get it right

By: Mr.RightUsage

Mr.RightUsage — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:40:13 +0000

I agree with Warsaw on the preposition at the end of a sentence thing. I remember reading that some uptight grammarians around the turn of the century insisted on the eminently absurd rule based on the rules of Latin. I can’t remember their names or why Latin was such a big deal to them (since English is germanic with a Latin influence).

By: Warsaw Will

Warsaw Will — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:07:17 +0000

I teach English to foreigners and your ‘rules’ go contrary to every course book I have seen.

Example 1 – OK, no problem.
Example 2 – Use ‘whom’ after a preposition if you want to be very formal, yes, but when that preposition comes after the verb, use ‘who’.
Example 3 – ‘whom I helped’ is a defining relative clause. The relative pronoun here is ‘who’ or ‘that’ or nothing. Many native speakers would simply say ‘The stranded motorist I helped …’.

I can’t speak for other countries, but if you used these ‘rules’ in Britain, people would wonder what planet or century you had come from. Even something like ‘to whom should I make the cheque payable’ sounds incredibly old fashioned nowadays.

@grammar freak. Churchill, who was a great lover of the English language, deliberately used this expression to show how ridiculous the ‘don’t end a sentence with a preposition’ rule is. Have you actually ever heard anyone say ‘About whom are you talking’? In real life, I mean?

By: betshy

betshy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:35:07 +0000

Great material! thanks