Am I the only person who has a problem with who versus whom? Fortunately, I don’t use sentences requiring these words that often, but when I do, I become paralyzed. I’m not sure. I usually read through the sentence a few times using both words and pick the one that sounds better to me. There is nothing scientific about that. It simply boils down to preference.
This week I ran into a method to determine which word is correct, who or whom, and thought I would share my findings on this blog.
- Look at the clause associated with the who or whom. A clause is a set of words with a subject and a verb.
- Scramble the words of the clause (if you have to), so that they form a statement and not a question.
- Substitute either he or him for who or whom. If your sentence is about females, substitute males for the sake of your mnemonic.
Examples
- (Who, Whom) called you last night? This sentence has only one clause, so all you need to do is see if it’s necessary to scramble the words to make a statement. You don’t. Once you substitute he or him you have a statement. He called last night. Him called last night. He called last night is the obvious choice. Who is the correct answer. Who called last night?
***Look at the last letter of he and him to determine if you are using who or whom.
he = who
him = whom (they both end with the letter ‘m’)
- (Who, Whom) were you calling last night? This sentence has only one clause, but it does need to be scrambled to make a statement. You called he last night. You called him last night. You called him last night is correct, so the original sentence reads as follows: Whom were you calling last night?
Let’s try a trickier example:
- Sarah was concerned about (Who, Whom) her daughter would be paired off with in the dance competition. This sentence has two clauses, but you’re only concerned with the one containing Who,Whom. Scramble the words to make a statement, and substitute he, him for who, whom. Her daughter would be paired off with him in the dance competition. Her daughter would be paired off with he in the dance competition. Him was the obvious substitute, so we are going to use Whom. Sarah was concerned about whom her daughter would be paired off with in the dance competition.
Still a little complicated, but hope this helps 🙂
-Jan R
You’re coming to a close on your manuscript and have started thinking about agents. If you go the traditional route, you are going to want one. Where are they? How do you find one that would be a perfect fit for your work?
Think about the books you have read. What motivated you to continue to the end? What kept you turning the pages?
I know you may feel helpless at times. You’ve written an exciting adventure and edited it so many times you’ve lost count. You know you’ve produced a publisheable piece of work, so why isn’t it published. I’ve been there – done that.
I remember my middle sister as a child. She was the kid who sat in the corner with her nose in a book, didn’t play well with others, well to be honest, didn’t want to play at all. Her friends were imaginary. I always thought that she was a little strange, and she probably was, but she is also one of the most talented writers I know.
I’m a procrastinator. At least I am when it comes to writing. I know that sounds bad, and I know that it has held me up. I’ve been told by agents as well as published authors that the key to success is simple. Don’t give up!
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the phrase, ‘show don’t tell’. We all know you’re suppose to show and not tell. Why? You want the reader to experience the scene as if they are one of the characters walking through the story beside the hero/heroine.
I have to admit I’m guilty of a few query don’ts. Okay, maybe a lot 🙂 I didn’t know any better. Like many of you, I just thought I did. You don’t know what you don’t know. I hope you are researching and doing your homework at every stage of the process. You don’t want to send out queries with the following blunders.
I’ve stated in previous blogs, that there are a lot of reasons why your manuscript was passed over, and many have nothing to do with the manuscript itself, but I thought it would be nice to hear it from an agent.
Writing your first novel-Things you should know 