Not going to, because I already know I did not contradict myself. No need to convince myself even more.
I'm curious, when would you use whom? Only in an objective form, usually in questions? Though the analogy of using other objective pronouns like him can be used to determine whether whom works grammatically, I want to know how you would use it in a contextual sense. It's pretty clear that what I said about whom stressing the subject of the sentence since I've just verified it from the dictionary, but I want to know how you would use whom, because after all, that's what I'm talking about. Go beyond the simplicities of pronouns, because all that technical jargon is too much like mathematics, and language doesn't really deal in absolutes. So tell me Mr. Wizard, despite the rest of this bullshit thread and the grammatical nonsense, how would you use whom to enhance your prose?
Yes. I use "whom" whenever the sentence calls for an objective relative pronoun or objective interrogative pronoun that functions as a noun and refers to a person or a personified object. Which, y'know, is how the English grammar prescribes for me to use it.
Unless I am assigning human characteristics to the line, I do not refer to it as "whom". I refer to it as "which".
The Blue Book of Grammar just replied... see below... I don't understand Lester's reply to number three, though, do you?... Dear Jake: You can also think of your sentences in terms of subject (who) or object (whom). (1) "whom" is the object of "blames": …whom he blames for the split. (2) "whom" is the object of "of" ("all" is the subject): …all of whom blame him for the split. (3) Who and whom are used for persons: The line, which all revered, was walked alone. Sincerely, Lester Kaufman for GrammarBook.com On Sat, Aug 15, 2015 at 6:55 PM, <jakeybum> wrote: Is "whom" the correct choice in both sentences below? Using the "who/he," "whom/him" trick, could you explain why? The second one is especially problematic. (1) "John is separated from his wife and two teenage sons, whom he blames for the split." (He blames "him" for the split; hence, "whom," I believe, is undoubtedly correct.) (2) "John is separated from his wife and two teenage sons, all of whom blame him for the split." (This one is confusing when using the trick. "He blames him for the split," so one would think, when employing the trick, that "who" is correct [". . . all of who blame him for the split]. But "who," in this context, certainly sounds incorrect to my ear. How do you explain that "whom" is, in fact, correct here using the "who/he," "whom/him" trick?) (3) The line, whom all revered, was walked alone. (I believe this one should be "who," not "whom." Am I right?) Thank you, Jake
Lester's reply is terse; maybe it will be clearer if it is made a bit more verbose: "who" and "whom" refer to a person or persons. "which" refers to an object. To say the line is revered and it is walked alone, say "the line, which all revered, was walked alone."
