|
boombox5
|
Relative Pronouns
|
Can anyone tell me how to explain the difference between whom and who? I know how to use them but I have no idea how to explain how to use them  .
Thanks in advance! Happy Friday for those who are making their way through their Fridays! |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
Akanah
|
|
Hi!
"Whom" is an object and "who" is a subject:
Whom did you see? = You saw whom? -- I saw Peter (Peter=object)
Who is Peter? = here there �s no inversion as "who" is the subject
Hope this helps :=)
Regards from Spain,
Olga
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
jocel
|
|
Hello Boombox5,
I also want to give a simple explanation about "WHO" and "WHOM".
Who is a subject pronoun, in the same way as �he / she / they �.
Who is use for PERSON
Example:Who did you see?
Whom is an object pronoun, in the same way as �him / her / them �.
�Whom � is the object of a verb.
Example: Whom did you see?
(Whom is very formal and not often used in spoken English.) |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
boombox5
|
wow, thanks guys, makes sense now although I am still trying to wrap my head around what is a subject and object  whom is especially difficult for me cause i rarely ever use it. i wrote a formal email this morning and started it with, to whom it may concern but I think this is really the only time i ever use �whom �.
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
PhilipR
|
|
I predict that in 20 years time, whom will have ceased to exist. Language is alive and changing continually; modern speakers hardly ever use whom and even in writing, not using whom has become accepted (with the possible exclusion of essays and formal tests).
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
alien boy
|
|
& PhilipR isn �t the only one who thinks so. Most of the contemporary writers on English linguistics (e.g. Swann) believe the same. |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
douglas
|
|
I don �t even teach "whom" anymore. I just let my students know they may hear it sometimes, but who is always acceptable and whom is being "phased out".
Okay, I do tell them that whom is for asking about the object vs who being for the subject.
>Boombox--(in simplest terms) the subject does the action and the object receives the action |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
Jayho
|
|
Native speakers rarely use �whom � any more. An exception is when you write "To whom it may concern" |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
|
