say who said to whome?
Answers
Explanation:
Who is correct?
Yes, though it may depend on whom you ask!
“Who” and “whoever” are subjective pronouns; “whom” and “whomever” are in the objective case. That simply means that “who” (and the same for “whoever”) is always subject to a verb, and that “whom” (and the same for “whomever”) is always working as an object in a sentence. As simple and important as that distinction is, many people have difficulty deciding on the proper usage of “who” and “whom” in sentences.
The two sentences below illustrate the easy usage in which “who” is clearly the subject and “whom” is clearly the object. In such simple cases, virtually everyone can determine the proper choice:
Who is that masked man? (“Who” / subject [subjective case])
The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted for fraud. (“whom” / object [objective case])
When “who” is not the main subject of the sentence, however, many people become confused. They tinker and change who to “whom.”
It was Thomas Jefferson, I think, who was the third president of the United States.
Notice that “who,” not “whom,” is still the correct form as the subject of the clause that follows. The proper name, Thomas Jefferson, could be substituted for “who” to make a perfectly good sentence:
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States.
As a ready check in such sentences, simply substitute the personal pronoun “he/him” or “she/her” for “who/whom.” If he or she would be the correct form, the proper choice is who.” If “him” or “her” would be correct, use “whom.”
This technique of substituting a personal pronoun for the relative pronoun works nicely whenever you have difficulty deciding whether to use “who” or “whom,” assuming that you have no difficulty using the proper form of personal pronouns.
Even when the word order must be altered slightly, you can use the technique:
Mrs. Dimwit consulted an astrologer whom she met in Seattle. (She met him in Seattle.)