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Guest Posted 23 years ago
Grammar
Whoever vs. Whomever
I came across this sentence in a text I was issued for a seminar: "Give the package to (whoever, whomever) comes to the door." The correct response was listed as "whomever."
The rationale for this was: substitute "he" or "him," as in "give the package to him." Therefore, in this sentence, "whomever" is correct.
I called a local community college that has a grammar hotline, and their response was that "whomever" was correct because it was the object of the proposition "to." I then asked the hotline person what function "comes to the door" served in this sentence, and she responded that it modified whomever!
Please, someone back me up here. "Whoever comes to the door" is a noun clause that is the object of the preposition "to," actually functioning as an indirect object in this sentence. Within the clause, the subject is "whoever." By virtue of the fact that it is the subject, it has to be in the nominative case - whoever, rather than whomever.
The rationale for this was: substitute "he" or "him," as in "give the package to him." Therefore, in this sentence, "whomever" is correct.
I called a local community college that has a grammar hotline, and their response was that "whomever" was correct because it was the object of the proposition "to." I then asked the hotline person what function "comes to the door" served in this sentence, and she responded that it modified whomever!
Please, someone back me up here. "Whoever comes to the door" is a noun clause that is the object of the preposition "to," actually functioning as an indirect object in this sentence. Within the clause, the subject is "whoever." By virtue of the fact that it is the subject, it has to be in the nominative case - whoever, rather than whomever.
Top answer
To understand this well, convert the ' whomever ' into ' any person who ' Give the package to any person who comes to the door. ( everything will be clear now )
- To understand this well, convert the ' whomever ' into ' any person who ' Give the package to any person who comes to the door.
- ( everything will be clear now )
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68 Answers
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To understand this well, convert the ' whomever ' into ' any person who '
Give the package to any person who comes to the door. ( everything will be clear now
Give the package to any person who comes to the door. ( everything will be clear now
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Speaking as a teacher, I get irritated when I see questions like this in an examination. I feel that it is a trick question. I hope it was not in an exam for those learning English as a Second language.
It is grammatically correct to say whomever but I doubt is one in a thousand would say it. Most people would say whoever.
There is an old joke passed around by teachers of gra
It is grammatically correct to say whomever but I doubt is one in a thousand would say it. Most people would say whoever.
There is an old joke passed around by teachers of gra
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Being a native Greek speaker, I can always just translate a sentence into Greek in order to see what the correct case (where forms such as who/whom have to be chosen from), since in Greek all grammar cases are well in use and perfectly equivalent to the - sadly - now defunct English ones - even the 'It is I' clause makes perfect sense if translated to Greek (for Greek speakers anyway).
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Grammar teachers are passing around a joke that asks "Whose there?"?
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Hear hear hear hear, advoca!!!
Just one small point. Using in object position is fully grammatical. is also as grammatical as . It's not so much an issue of grammar as it is a question of formality.
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DinoSM wrote: Being a native Greek speaker, I can always just translate a sentence into Greek in order to see what the correct case (where
Just one small point. Using in object position is fully grammatical.
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DinoSM wrote: Being a native Greek speaker, I can always just translate a sentence into Greek in order to see what the correct case (where
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Let me go point-blank first.
'Whoever' is correct.
Now here is my analysis.
At first glance, it seems confusing. If you focus on 'to' which is no doubt a preposition, 'whomever' is attractive. But if you take 'comes' into consideration, the nominative 'whoever' is a possibility. Now let's adopt a different angle to get out of this confusion.
First, the [who(m)ever ..
'Whoever' is correct.
Now here is my analysis.
At first glance, it seems confusing. If you focus on 'to' which is no doubt a preposition, 'whomever' is attractive. But if you take 'comes' into consideration, the nominative 'whoever' is a possibility. Now let's adopt a different angle to get out of this confusion.
First, the [who(m)ever ..
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advoca
Grammatically, it is correct to say, "It is I." But not one in a thousand says it. Most say, "It's me."
I find it quite natural to say "It is I" and when asked for on the phone I always say "This is he" not "speaking".
Now I feel like an oddball.
just pickin' advoca...happy new year
Grammatically, it is correct to say, "It is I." But not one in a thousand says it. Most say, "It's me."
I find it quite natural to say "It is I" and when asked for on the phone I always say "This is he" not "speaking".
Now I feel like an oddball.
just pickin' advoca...happy new year
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The correct answer is "Give the package to whoever comes to the door".
The agreement is always within the subordinate clause, not within the main clause, when there seems to be a conflict.
Give it to whomever you like best. (You like him best.)
Give it to whoever pays the highest price. (He pays the highest price.)
Introduce whoever you think is the ta
The agreement is always within the subordinate clause, not within the main clause, when there seems to be a conflict.
Give it to whomever you like best. (You like him best.)
Give it to whoever pays the highest price. (He pays the highest price.)
Introduce whoever you think is the ta
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0 What about this case: 02 br
02 br
00 There are several excellent candidates, and you can be sure that (whoever / whomever) is chosen by the selection committee will make an outstanding presentation. 02 br
02 br
00 or: 02 br
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00 At the conference, a scholarship prize is awarded to (whoever, whomever) makes the most compelling and convincin
02 br
00 There are several excellent candidates, and you can be sure that (whoever / whomever) is chosen by the selection committee will make an outstanding presentation. 02 br
02 br
00 or: 02 br
02 br
00 At the conference, a scholarship prize is awarded to (whoever, whomever) makes the most compelling and convincin
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0 Hello Guest 02 br
02 br
00 In both cases, 'whoever' is grammatically correct: 02 br
02 br
00 1. ...whoever is chosen... 02 br
02 br
00 Here, 'whoever' is the subject of 'is'. 02 br
02 br
00 2. ...to whoever makes... 02 br
02 br
00 Here, 'whoever' is the subject of 'makes'. 02 br
02 br
00 As a
02 br
00 In both cases, 'whoever' is grammatically correct: 02 br
02 br
00 1. ...whoever is chosen... 02 br
02 br
00 Here, 'whoever' is the subject of 'is'. 02 br
02 br
00 2. ...to whoever makes... 02 br
02 br
00 Here, 'whoever' is the subject of 'makes'. 02 br
02 br
00 As a
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