Who or whom? I have a book, it's called "Understanding&Using English Grammar" by Betty Schrampfer Azar, and there is a note: "In spoken Eglish, WHOM is rarely used; WHO is used instead. WHOM, not WHO,

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Yana Go

Who or whom? I have a book, it's called "Understanding&Using English Grammar" by Betty Schrampfer Azar, and there is a note: "In spoken Eglish, WHOM is rarely used; WHO is used instead. WHOM, not WHO, is used if preceded by a preposition." So, I've written these sentences: Who does that book belong to? Who is the letter addressed to? Who did I call to? But a native speaker corrected all the "who" to "whom" in each sentence. Could you explain me please why it's not correct to use WHO there? I'm wondering because according to my book, I can say this way:) Thanks in advance.

Jan 26, 2016 11:04 PM

Corrections · 9

Who or whom?

"In spoken English, WHOM is rarely used; WHO is used instead. WHOM, not WHO, is used if preceded by a preposition."

So, I've written these sentences:
Who does that book belong to?
Who is the letter addressed to?
Who did I call to?

All these are correct.

They could be rewritten as :

'To whom does that book belong ?'

'To whom is the letter addressed ?

'To whom did I call ?

'But a native speaker corrected all the "who" to "whom" in each sentence' : that would be incorrect, and a native speaker should know better.

The versions using 'whom' would not normally be used in speaking, and even in writing are rather formal. Few people these days would use this form unless wishing to appear formal, so it might be used in an ironic [slightly sarcastic] fashion i.e. making fun of a situation.

January 26, 2016

Who does that book belong to?

Who is the letter addressed to?
Who did I call to?

don't worry everyone says the above in real life

January 26, 2016

Thanks for your answer! :)

April 18, 2017

Your first two sentences are perfectly correct. Only someone not versed in current English would object. Your last sentence should be "Who did I call?" Well done;-)

April 18, 2017

Thank you, Holly! Usually, I don't have lots of problem with the usage of "whom" and "who". I just couldn't understand who is right in this situation, my textbook or that native speaker :) Now I got it! :)

January 27, 2016

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