![\"Who](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/to-whom-am-I-speaking-3.jpg?resize=770%2C494&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Speaking vs. Writing<\/h2>\n
In casual usage, speakers frequently substitute \u201cwho\u201d for \u201cwhom.\u201d You seldom hear \u201cwhom\u201d in everyday speech.<\/p>\n
Using the pronoun \u201cwhom\u201d can seem old-fashioned or pretentious. You might ask, \u201cWho did you serve the summons on?\u201d and nobody would think twice. \u201cOn whom did you serve the summons?\u201d is correct but might come off as snooty.<\/p>\n
I recently came across what I consider an extreme example of bad grammar in this description of a military mess hall: \u201cWhomever wasn\u2019t eating was talking.\u201d Uh, no.<\/p>\n
Even if you never utter \u201cwhom\u201d or \u201cwhomever\u201d aloud, you need to use it correctly in your writing. It\u2019s a good idea to use it properly in oral argument as well.<\/p>\n
Subject vs. Object<\/h2>\n
Get to the Point has previously preached<\/a> against the incorrect, ubiquitous misuse of the subjective \u201cI.\u201d Why people shun the objective case pronoun \u201cme\u201d stumps me. It doesn\u2019t stump I, so why would I say it stumps Joan and I?<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u201d or \u201cwhoever\u201d is the subject of the sentence. You are referring to the person doing the action. The simplest correction of that ungrammatical sentence would be: \u201cWhoever wasn\u2019t eating was talking.\u201d<\/strong> The writer is referring to people doing the action of eating and talking. But an even better plain-English sentence would have been \u201cEveryone who wasn\u2019t eating was talking.\u201d<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n Or how about \u201cEveryone was eating or talking\u201d<\/strong> and avoid the whole who\/whom issue altogether?<\/p>\n \u201cWhom\u201d or \u201cwhomever\u201d are objective case pronouns. Use objective case pronouns as the object of a verb to show who is being acted upon and as the object of a preposition, as in \u201cVote for whomever you like best.\u201d Undoubtedly, you have seen documents that address the reader as \u201cTo whom it may concern.\u201d Maybe you still use this phrase yourself.<\/p>\n Your credibility is on the line when you present your brilliant legal argument orally or in writing, regardless of whomever you are in front of. Whoever is listening or reading your document might be turned off<\/a> or distracted if you choose the wrong pronoun.<\/p>\nMisuse of \u201cwho\u201d versus \u201cwhom\u201d is another example of subjective\/objective case confusion. <\/h3>\n
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![\"Order](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Get-to-the-Point-Order-of-Adjectives.jpg?resize=770%2C495&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
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