In English grammar, the choice between "who" and "whom" in adjective clauses hinges on the pronoun's grammatical role within the clause itself. Adjective clauses, also known as relative clauses, modify nouns or pronouns by providing additional information. The core distinction lies in whether the relative pronoun acts as the subject or the object of the verb in the adjective clause.
"Who": The Subject of the Clause
"Who" is the subjective case pronoun and is used when the person being referred to is the one performing the action within the adjective clause. A simple test is to see if you can replace "who" with the subject pronouns "he," "she," or "they."
Examples:
* The man who lives next door is a doctor. (Within the adjective clause "who lives next door," "who" is the subject of the verb "lives." You could say, "He lives next door.")
* The students who passed the exam were ecstatic. (In the clause "who passed the exam," "who" is the subject of the verb "passed." You could say, "They passed the exam.")
"Whom": The Object of the Clause
"Whom" is the objective case pronoun and is used when the person being referred to is the recipient of the action or the object of a preposition within the adjective clause. To check if "whom" is correct, you can see if the pronoun can be replaced with the object pronouns "him," "her," or "them."
Examples:
* The woman whom I admire is my grandmother. (In the adjective clause "whom I admire," "whom" is the direct object of the verb "admire." You could rephrase it as, "I admire her.")
* The candidate whom they elected promised many changes. (Within the clause "whom they elected," "whom" is the direct object of the verb "elected." You could say, "They elected him.")
* The artist to whom I spoke was very talented. (Here, "whom" is the object of the preposition "to." You could say, "I spoke to him.")
A Practical Test: "He/She" vs. "Him/Her"
A straightforward method to determine whether to use "who" or "whom" is the substitution test. Isolate the adjective clause and rephrase it as a simple sentence using "he/she" or "him/her."
Consider the sentence: "The musician ___ wrote the song is famous."
* Isolate the adjective clause: "___ wrote the song"
* Substitute with a pronoun: "He wrote the song." (Correct) vs. "Him wrote the song." (Incorrect)
* Since "he" is the correct choice, the proper relative pronoun is "who."
* Correct: The musician who wrote the song is famous.
Now consider: "The actor ___ the director praised is very talented."
* Isolate the adjective clause: "___ the director praised"
* Substitute with a pronoun: "The director praised him." (Correct) vs. "The director praised he." (Incorrect)
* Since "him" is the correct choice, the proper relative pronoun is "whom."
* Correct: The actor whom the director praised is very talented.
In contemporary informal English, "whom" is often replaced by "who" or omitted entirely if it's the object. However, in formal writing and for grammatical correctness, maintaining the distinction between "who" and "whom" is important.
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