Anna and Troy’s Weblog

Recently I was reading a newsletter that we get at the studio, and the title of the first major article had a blaring misuse of “who” vs. “whom.”  As I write this, I can’t even remember what the offensive sentence was…..just that the grammatical mistake was blatant enough to jar me out of my “going through the junk mail stupor.”

It occured to me, as I sat there being quietly offended by the publication, that I as not EXACTLY sure why the sentence was wrong….only that it WAS wrong.  So I set out to refresh my grammatical understanding.   In doing so, I found a fun little website called Grammar Girl, which has a searchable section called “Quick and Dirty Tips.”

So, for those of you that are interested, here is the quicker and dirtier version (if you want the full description, I recommend reading the Grammar Girl explanation).

Who is in reference to the SUBJECT of the sentence or clause.

Whom is in reference to the OBJECT of the sentence or clause.

If you are at all like me, when I read this I was like, “Wow.  I haven’t thought about subjects and objects of sentences since…oh…..the 6th grade.”

If you need a refresher: The SUBJECT is the “doer” of an action and the OBJECT is the “receiver” of an action (ie: I love you.  “I” am the subject and “you” are the object.

The mneumonic that Grammar Girl gives is: If I say, “I love you,” you are the object of my affection, and you is also the object of the sentence (because I am loving you, making me the subject and you the object). How’s that? I love you. You are the object of my affection and my sentence.  It’s like a Valentine’s Day card and grammar mnemonic all rolled into one.

Brilliant.

Even quicker and dirtier:

If you can answer the inquiry with “he” the correct pronoun is “who.”

Question: “Who answered the door?”  Answer: “He answered the door.”

If you can answer the inquiry with “him” the correct pronoun is “whom.”

Question: “To whom are you speaking?”  Answer: “I am speaking to him.”

Brilliantly easy.

So…if you even care, there is a little grammar brush-up, and if nothing else, a little flashback to the 6th grade.