Whom/who She Might Have Married

Question

I feel that in the following sentence, it should be "whom" instead of "who" because, I reason that, "Spencer" is the object of "developed", hence its referent must be objective, too. Am I right?

She developed strong feelings for Spencer, who/whom she might have married save for the fact that he found her too 'morbidly intellectual'.

Thank you for your help.

Dave_anon · Accepted Answer

Hi

'Whom' is right there (as the object of the phrase), strictly speaking or writing

However, it's one of those things (who/whom) that is being lost in English. Nowadays, few people would notice the difference. It depends on to who you're speaking!

Dave

CalifJim · Answer

SelvakumarI reason that, "Spencer" is the object of "developed", hence its referent must be objective, too. Am I right?

No, the reasoning is wrong. Just because the antecedent (Spencer) is in the object case in the main clause does not mean that the relative pronoun that references it must also be in the object case. Thus:

1. She developed strong feelings for Spencer, who was the richest man in town.
2. Spencer, whom she knew from childhood, was the richest man in town.

In sentence 1 'who' is the subject of its clause, so even though Spencer is the object of a preposition, we use the subject case 'who' in the relative clause.

In sentence 2 'whom' is the direct object of its clause, so even though Spencer is the subject of the sentence, we use the object case 'whom' in the relative clause.

That said, in modern English we use 'whom' only after a preposition (from whom, to whom, with whom, ...) because we change 'whom' to 'who' in other cases — except in somewhat formal speech and writing, where it remains 'whom'.

Therefore, you may use either 'who' or 'whom' in your sentence. Use 'whom' if you want a more formal style.

CJ

GPY · Answer

SelvakumarI feel that in the following sentence, it should be "whom" instead of "who" because, I reason that, "Spencer" is the object of "developed", hence its referent must be objective, too. Am I right?

In formal English "whom" is correct. However, this is not because "Spencer" is the object of "developed" (which isn't true anyway), but because "Spencer" is (indirectly) the object of "married". In everyday or informal English "who" is used instead of "whom". This sentence seems formal enough for "whom" to not be out of place.

Whom/who She Might Have Married

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