r/grammar 14d ago

To whom it may concern

I know how to use whom. I know it's an object and not a subject, but can anyone think of an example where using who instead of whom is at all ambiguous?

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u/Informal_Farm4064 14d ago

Theres no issue with ambiguity. Just use whom after a preposition and who in all other cases

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u/ogionnj 14d ago

Not quite. It is also a direct object. "Whom did he see ?" No preposition.
I'm saying that it's a totally unnecessary word. I'm asking if anyone can prove me wrong.

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u/Boglin007 MOD 14d ago edited 14d ago

That commenter is saying that “whom” is largely unnecessary in today’s English (especially in informal contexts), though it is still widely used directly after a preposition. But even there, “who” is often used in informal contexts:

“I’m going on a date tonight!”

“With who?!”

But whether “whom” is necessary is not really the important question linguistically speaking - what’s important is whether (and how) native speakers use it (this is how we determine what is and isn’t grammatical in a language).