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Anonymous Posted 7 years ago
Grammar
He versus him
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the titular characters futilely exclaims “Dumbledore!” (his late headmaster) “because it was he whom he yearned to see.” Why would it not be “it was him whom he yearned to see?” Please advise. Thanks!
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anonymousWhy would it not be “it was him whom he yearned to see?”
"it was he whom" is OK. The writer is being very formal. In ordinary conversation we use "it was him". And in fact, we would not even say "it was he whom" at all. We would say "because he was the one he wanted to see".
CJ
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