"among whom" vs "among who"

Question

He visited 40 people among whom were a journalist and a florist.

Should I replace “whom” with “them” or maybe with “who?” I would chose “who” because “were” needs a subject, on the other hand, I would chose “whom” because it can be the object of “visited.”

Miriam · Accepted Answer

Hi, Guest.

I'd use "whom" in your sentence; that is, I'd leave it as it is.

The reason is not really that "whom" is the object of visited, but that it is the object of "among". Look at it this way:
"A journalist and a florist were among the 40 people he visited."
"The 40 people he visited" is the object of the preposition "among"; it is corect to replace it with "whom", not "who".

If you had to decide between "them" and "they", you'd choose the objective form too:
"A journalist and a florist were among them."

You can use "them" as well in your original sentence, but you would have to change the punctuation. For example:
"He visited 40 people. Among them were a journalist and a florist."

You can even have the sentence keep its meaning without using wither "whom" or "them":
"Among the 40 people he visited were a journalist and a florist."

Of course, your choice will depend on the cntext in which the sentence will appear.

Some people will probably use "who" instead of "whom" in your sentence, but "whom" is the grammatically correct form.

Hope it helps.

Miriam

Anonymous · Answer

0 Yes, "were" needs a subject; however, it is a part of  a clause. Therefore, "whom" is the correct usage. 0-

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for that! I had a similar case and I naturally used "whom" but Microsoft word was irritatingly telling me that I was wrong!!

"among whom" vs "among who"

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