Who

Question

"I have been blamed by Republicans for a lot of things but being blamed for who they are selecting for their party is novel," he [President Obama] said at a welcome for Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (BBC website.)

Is "who" an object of the preposition "for" in the President's statement?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

[ who they are selecting for their party]   The clause is the object.

Anonymous · Answer

AlpheccaStars[ who they are selecting for their party] The clause is the object.

Thank you for the reply.

Is "who they are selecting for their party" an indirect question in that statement?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Do you think it is?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousIs "who they are selecting for their party" an indirect question in that statement?

It certainly looks like it, but I'd say this is a rare case where "who" is a fused relative equivalent to 'the person who' just as "what" can be a fused relative equivalent to 'the thing which'.

Compare:
..., but being blamed for [who they are selecting for their party] is novel.
..., but being blamed for [what they are planning for their party] is novel.
________________

Incidentally, there are certain uses of fused relative 'who' which seem to "get on people's nerves". One of them which comes up fairly often is the cash register clerk's "Can I help [who is next]?"

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimIt certainly looks like it, but I'd say this is a rare case where "who" is a fused relative equivalent to 'the person who' just as "what" can be a fused relative equivalent to 'the thing which'.

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

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