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HUBLOT Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

... whom he thought had been in bed ...

Hi teachers,

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/19/world/africa/south-africa-pistorius-case/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

It was only after he called to girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp -- whom he thought had been in bed beside him after a quiet evening -- that he realized something horrible might have happened, he told Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair in a statement read by his lawyer during his bond hearing Tuesday. Prosecutors dispute the version of events that Pistorius detailed in his statement.

Is the "whom" above used correctly? I think that "... who he thought had been in ..." is correct.
  

Top answer

HUBLOT Is the "whom" above used correctly? No. HUBLOT I think that "...

— RandomGuy

  • HUBLOT Is the "whom" above used correctly?
  • No.
  • HUBLOT I think that "...
  • " is correct.
  • You are right.
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8 Answers
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HUBLOTIs the "whom" above used correctly?
No.
HUBLOTI think that "... who he thought had been in ..." is correct.
You are right.
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Perfect StrangerWhy is it incorrect?
Whom cannot function as a subject.

…who he thought had been in bed beside him…
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Thanks a lot, AG.


- …who he thought had been in bed beside him…
- …who, he thought, had been in bed beside him…

Which is correct?
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The first is. I can’t imagine a single possible need for commas there.
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Thanks a lot, AG.

Here's what I found in The Boxmaker's Revenge: 'Orthodoxy,' 'Heterodoxy,' and the Politics of the Parish in Early Stuart London (author: Peter Lake):

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Hmm. Maybe I didn’t think hard enough. Emotion: big smile

English is pretty flexible when it comes to the use of parenthetical commas. It
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Thanks a lot, AG.

Some British English speakers might say that "…who, he thought, had been in bed beside him…" is more common in British English.

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