0
Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Most of whom
Hi,
Just a quick question. There were ten students, most of whom were majoring in philosophy.
I am assuming it is 'most of whom' rather than 'most of who', but ms word suggests it must be the latter. Any idea why? Also, is it always 'whom' in these cases, or there are instances where 'who' is right? I am almost certain it is 'whom' in all cases, but I'd like to know anyway.
b) Can transitive verbs be used in this way: His lack of emotion reveals more than it conceals. (both reveal and conceal are transitive verbs, so I wonder whether 'more' would function as their object)
Kindly,
Just a quick question. There were ten students, most of whom were majoring in philosophy.
I am assuming it is 'most of whom' rather than 'most of who', but ms word suggests it must be the latter. Any idea why? Also, is it always 'whom' in these cases, or there are instances where 'who' is right? I am almost certain it is 'whom' in all cases, but I'd like to know anyway.
b) Can transitive verbs be used in this way: His lack of emotion reveals more than it conceals. (both reveal and conceal are transitive verbs, so I wonder whether 'more' would function as their object)
Kindly,
Top answer
I believe in modern English you can use either who or whom. Whom isn't often used in conversation today as it old fashioned but technically more grammatical correct. I'm not sure if it is used at all in America hence it being flagged by Word - maybe one of American cousins could tell us.
- I believe in modern English you can use either who or whom.
- Whom isn't often used in conversation today as it old fashioned but technically more grammatical correct.
- I'm not sure if it is used at all in America hence it being flagged by Word - maybe one of American cousins could tell us.
- Even on the UK settings it sometimes finds fault with UK sentences.
- I find it tends to dislike passive sentences.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
I believe in modern English you can use either who or whom. Whom isn't often used in conversation today as it old fashioned but technically more grammatical correct. I'm not sure if it is used at all in America hence it being flagged by Word - maybe one of American cousins could tell us. Even on the UK settings it sometimes finds fault with UK sentences. I find it tends to dislike passive sen
00
Even though the use of "whom" is fading, it is still used immediately after a preposition.
I think Word was reacting to a mis-parsed "whom were majoring in philosophy" instead of "most of whom."
This is fine:
His lack of emotion reveals more than it conceals.
I think Word was reacting to a mis-parsed "whom were majoring in philosophy" instead of "most of whom."
This is fine:
His lack of emotion reveals more than it conceals.
0
Related Questions