r/mildlyinfuriating 1d ago

English for Beginners

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u/Admirable_Hunter_703 1d ago

English is so hard to learn that even native speakers argue over whether it's "who" or "whom"—and then just avoid the sentence altogether by saying, "That guy!"

23

u/EnigmaFrug0817 1d ago

“Who” and “Whom” isn’t actually that hard

It’s related to the answer to the question.

Who is there?” -> “He is there!”

Whom do you want to go for lunch with?” -> “I want to go to lunch with him!”

5

u/Nevermore_Novelist 23h ago

I'm forever looking up when to use "that" and "which", because it does make a difference... and I can never remember. Same with "who" and "whom".

3

u/blewawei 10h ago

It sometimes does, sometimes doesn't. "The shoes that/which I saw yesterday" is fine either way, but if it's a non-defining clause (i.e. the information is an extra, not essential) then we tend to only use which; "The shoes, which I saw yesterday, are..."