Grammar?

Question

It is John whom/who/that I went to meet.In the sentence, which is correct, whom or who or that?

Persian Learner · Accepted Answer

I went to meet John.

The underlined part is the direct object of the verb 'meet'.

'whom' refers to object of a verb or preposition while 'who' refers to the subject of the sentence.

Who met John?

I met John.

Whom did you meet?

I met John.

It is John whom I went to meet.

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If you had too choose between 'who' and 'whom' in a grammar exam, you should follow the rules mentioned above.

However, in modern English, who is used to refer to both the subject and object. If the context is formal, 'whom' is preferred to 'who' referring back to an object.

'that' is also acceptable when the antecedent is a person, but not when the relative pronoun functions as the object of preposition.

For example:

He paid the man whom (or that) he had hired.

But: He paid the man from whom he had borrowed the money.

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