Language FAQ <1>

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Q. When do you use whom instead of who?

A. Use who when a nominative pronoun is appropriate, and whom when an objective pronoun is appropriate.
Who is a nominative pronoun (meaning it acts as a subject) and is used:

As the subject of a verb, as in "It was Paul who rescued the dog."
As the complement of a linking verb, as in "They know who you are."
Whom is an objective pronoun (meaning it serves as an object) and is used:

As the object of a verb, as in "Whom did you see?"
As the object of a preposition, as in "That is the group to whom the credit belongs."
Who and whom seem to cause more difficulty than other pronouns. Thus, when in doubt, substitute him and see if that sounds right. If him is OK, then whom is OK. For example: "You talked to whom? You talked to him." It would be incorrect to say "You talked to he," and few native English speakers would make that mistake.


Copyright &copy; 2004, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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Language FAQ <2>

Q. Do I put a comma before and?

A. Sometimes . . .
The use of a "serial comma" (in a series such as "bread, butter, and beer") is a matter of taste. You can either leave it in or take it out ("bread, butter and beer" works just as well). But its absence can sometimes change the meaning, so read your sentence carefully. The Alt.Usage.English FAQ cites the example of an author who dedicated his novel thus: "To my parents, Ayn Rand and God." Clearly the author should not have omitted the serial comma in this case.

Use commas in a compound sentence to clarify meaning or add emphasis. You do want to use a comma to separate clauses of a sentence which have and between them. If there's no and, use a semicolon instead: She hadn't left the computer all week; by Friday she was climbing the walls.


Copyright &copy; 2004, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.