Everyday I find something new about the English language; especially the written English language. The funny thing is a while back I put on Twitter, "Relearning the English language. Is that even possible?" Oh yes, it is possible. It's impossible to have all the rules memorized and with constant changes every year, how can we not continuously 'relearn' it?
This morning I was going through my old college textbook on grammar and language usage, when I stumbled upon an interesting little box. You know, those boxes to the side of the page; the "at a glance" boxes. Well, I found something I had never known. Well, something I never thought about it really. When to use who and whom. Is there even a difference between the two. Let me describe it to you as it is written in the "at a glance" box:
To check for the correct use of who and whom (and whoever and whomever), try substituting he or
him. If he is correct, use who (or whoever); if him, use whom or whomever.
Interesting, isn't it? Let's try an example.
Who took my coffee?
- He took my coffee. So it stays as who, because you were able to answer he (or they).
Who did you see today?
- I saw him today. Since you're answering with him, then the question needs to be changed to: Whom
did you see today?
Do we get it? Great! To better understand this concept let's look at all those nice and fancy words used in grammar textbooks. You know the words we don't really listen to; the ones that make our eyes glass over and put us to sleep.
The reason why there's a difference between who and whom is because of the sentence itself and whether you are using subjective-case pronouns or objective-case pronouns (don't be fading out on me!). What does that even mean? Well, to put it simple; subjective-case pronouns are pronouns that are being used as subjects and objective-case pronouns are pronouns that are being used as objects. Still not getting it? OK, let me break it down some more. You use subjective-case pronouns (I, you, he/she/it, they, we, who) when the pronoun is the subject of the verb.
Example:
I drive to work.
She eats the cake.
Objective-case pronouns (me, you, him/her/it, them, us, whom) are used when the pronouns are a direct or indirect object of the verb.
Example:
I drove him to work.
She ate the cake made by them.
Better? Aren't you amazed by this new information? I know I am! Enjoy correcting everyone today.
Happy grammar,
KLM
P.S.: Correct use of common incorrect pronoun usage:
It is I NOT It is me.
This is she NOT This is her.
The winners were they NOT The winners were them.
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