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Cloudpixie Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Who Whom confusion

Hello, please help.

In this sentence that I've written for a piece of fiction, should I use "whom" in place of "who"? (to mean: he took them down.)

He would do anything to get that promotion--no matter who he took down in the process.

  

Top answer

Traditionally and formally it should be "whom", but outside formal writing, "who" is increasingly used in place of "whom". Judging from the non-formal tenor of the rest of the sentence, I would say that "who" is probably appropriate.

  • Traditionally and formally it should be "whom", but outside formal writing, "who" is increasingly used in place of "whom".
  • Judging from the non-formal tenor of the rest of the sentence, I would say that "who" is probably appropriate.
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2 Answers
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Traditionally and formally it should be "whom", but outside formal writing, "who" is increasingly used in place of "whom". Judging from the non-formal tenor of the rest of the sentence, I would say that "who" is probably appropriate.

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cloudpixieno matter who he took down in the process.

The natural word order (independent of this sentence) is

He took [her / him / them / ... / whom] down in the process.

Moving 'whom' in front of 'he' is called "fronting whom".

In almost all of modern English, fronted whom becomes who.


If a wh

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