3

Use the adjective exalted to describe something (or someone) that is raised in rank, value, or power.

Which group has the most exalted status at your high school depends on who you ask.

Is the sentence correct or should we use whom instead of who?

0

1 Answer 1

7

The easy way to tell if you need who or whom is to substitute it for he or him and see which one makes sense.

For example:

  1. Take the section with who(m) in.

    Which group has the most exalted status at your high school depends on who you ask.

  2. Substitute he in. Does it make sense?

    …depends on he

  3. Substitute him in. Does it make sense now?

    …depends on him… Yes, it does make sense!

  4. Insert into your sentence who if he worked or whom if him. Remember the 'm's on whom and him to help you.

So, your final sentence should be:

Which group has the most exalted status at your high school depends on whom you ask.

Warning: Many native English speakers find who versus whom difficult and frequently get it wrong. This is also due to the fact that it is falling out of fashion and is often seen as archaic.

3
  • 1
    Since who and whom don't pattern like he and him, this advice is incorrect.
    – user230
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 2:09
  • @snailplane Erm… Look at the Internet. E.g. here, here Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 5:06
  • 1
    Yes, I'm aware that many people are wrong :-( Here is a description written by an actual linguist, Arnold Zwicky. As he writes: "This is just a fact of life. Though they are to some degree parallel, WHO and the ordinary personal pronouns differ in the way Form1 and Form2 are distributed."
    – user230
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 13:52

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .