The Who-Whom Problem in Noun Clauses

The Who-Whom Problem in Noun Clauses Lesson 20 Joseph C. Blumenthal

Few people notice the sign. The noun sign is the direct object of the verb ______.

Few people notice the sign. The noun sign is the direct object of the verb notice.

A few people notice the sign. Few people notice who directs a movie. The clause who directs a movie in sentence b does the same job as the noun sign in sentence a. Both are _____ _____ of the verb notice.

A few people notice the sign. Few people notice who directs a movie. The clause who directs a movie in sentence b does the same job as the noun sign in sentence a. Both are directobjects of the verb notice.

Few people notice the sign. Few people notice who directs a movie. Because the clause who directs a movie in sentence b is used just like the noun sign in sentence a, it is a _____ clause.

Few people notice the sign. Few people notice who directs a movie. Because the clause who directs a movie in sentence b is used just like the noun sign in sentence a, it is a noun clause.

The choice between who and whom, when they start noun clauses, depends upon their use within the clause. who directs a movie The clause signal who is the subject of the verb _____.

The choice between who and whom, when they start noun clauses, depends upon their use within the clause. who directs a movie The clause signal who is the subject of the verb directs.

Use the subject form who for subjects and subject complements; use the object form whom for objects of verbs and prepositions. who directs a movie We use the subject from who because it is the (subject, direct object) of the verb directs.

Few people notice who directs a movie. Be careful to avoid the mistake of thinking that the clause signal is the direct object of the verb noticeand therefore requires the object form whom. The direct object of the verb noticeis not the clause signal but the entire noun _____.

Few people notice who directs a movie. Be careful to avoid the mistake of thinking that the clause signal is the direct object of the verb noticeand therefore requires the object form whom. The direct object of the verb noticeis not the clause signal but the entire noun clause.

WRONG: Few people notice whom directs a movie. The object from whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the verb noticebut the subject of the verb ______ within the clause.

WRONG: Few people notice whom directs a movie. The object from whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the verb noticebut the subject of the verb directswithin the clause.

Now we shall change the wording of our sentence. Few people notice who the director was. The direct object of the verb notice is not the clause signal who but the entire noun _____.

Now we shall change the wording of our sentence. Few people notice who the director was. The direct object of the verb notice is not the clause signal who but the entire noun clause.

who the directorwas Within the noun clause, the subject of the linking verb was is not who but _______.

who the directorwas Within the noun clause, the subject of the linking verb was is not who but director.

who the directorwas When we straighten out this clause by putting the subject first, we get: the directorwas who Since who completes the linking verb was, it is a (subject compliment, direct object).

Few people notice (who, whom) the director was. Because the clause signal is a subject complement, we use the subject from (who, whom).

WRONG: Few people notice whomthe director was. The object from whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the verb notice. The object of the verb noticeis the entire _____ _____.

WRONG: Few people notice whomthe director was. The object from whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the verb notice. The object of the verb noticeis the entire nounclause.

Now we shall put the same idea in a different way: Few people pay any attention to the director. The noun director is the object of the preposition ___.

Now we shall put the same idea in a different way: Few people pay any attention to the director. The noun director is the object of the preposition to.

Few people pay any attention to the director. Few people pay any attention to who directs a movie. In sentence a, the object of the preposition to is the noun director. In sentence b, the object of the preposition tois the noun clause _________________.

Few people pay any attention to the director. Few people pay any attention to who directs a movie. In sentence a, the object of the preposition to is the noun director. In sentence b, the object of the preposition tois the noun clause who directs a movie.

Few people pay any attention to who directs a movie. Within the noun clause, the subject of the verb directs is the clause signal ____.

Few people pay any attention to who directs a movie. Within the noun clause, the subject of the verb directs is the clause signal who.

WRONG: Few people pay any attention to whom directs a movie. The object form whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the preposition to but the subject of the verb ______ within the clause.

WRONG: Few people pay any attention to whom directs a movie. The object form whom is wrong because the clause signal is not the object of the preposition to but the subject of the verb directswithin the clause.

Few people pay any attention to who directs a movie. How do we know that the clause signal is not the object of the preposition to? If the clause signal who(m) were the object of the preposition to, the clause would have no (subject, object).

Now let us look at another sentence: The producers must consider whom a moviemight offend. The pronoun whom cannot be the subject of the verb mightoffend because the verb already has a subject, the noun ______.

Now let us look at another sentence: The producers must consider whom a moviemight offend. The pronoun whom cannot be the subject of the verb mightoffend because the verb already has a subject, the noun movie.

whom a movie might offend When we straighten out this clause, we get: a movie might offend whom The clause signal whom is the (subject, direct object) of the verb might offend.

(who, whom) a movie might offend Because the clause signal is the direct object of the verb might offend, we choose the object form _____.

(who, whom) a movie might offend Because the clause signal is the direct object of the verb might offend, we choose the object form whom.

The producer must consider whom a movie might offend. We choose the object form whom because it is the direct object of the verb (must consider, might offend).

To choose between who and whom in a noun clause, see how it is used within the clause itself. The way in which the entire noun clause is used in the full sentence has no bearing on your choice of who and whom. (true, false)

To decide whether to use the pronoun who or whom, you need to look only (inside, outside) the clause.

If the clause signal is the subject or subject compliment within the clause, use the subject form (who, whom).

When a noun clause begins with whoever or whomever, we make our choice in exactly the same way as we did with who and whom. Choose the correct word: Mrs. Torrey tells (whoever, whomever) will listen about her travels.

The Who-Whom Problem in Noun Clauses