Whoever vs whomever

totally--not--me

6 days ago

I'd like to prefix that I am american but just a little stupid. I know that whoever works as subject and whomever as object but I'm currently watching the rookie and a sentence said in it threw me off "It seemed likely that whomever sent that text killed Dim" Shouldn't it be whoever? Like "whoever" sent that text is the subject performing the action or am I missing something here?

5 comments

culdusaq•6 days ago

You're right.

kdorvil•6 days ago

Some people over correct because they learned something but didn't fully understand the rules. It should be "Whoever" in that sentence. Subject: Whoever. Object: Whomever. I notice that people will also often use the wrong object pronoun in sentences that include a singular first person pronoun because they simply remember that "we always end with 'I' when including multiple pronouns" which is not true. Wrong: "Remember to send your answers to Michelle or I." Correct: "Remember to send your answers to Michelle or me."

RichCorinthian•6 days ago

"Whomever" should only be used as a direct object. Since it is the subject of a dependent clause here, "whoever" is correct. Honestly, "whomever" is falling out of use in spoken English here in the USA, and you are probably safe not using it except in formal writing. People who DO use it sometimes use it incorrectly, because it sounds fancy. In my mind, this falls under the same category as the untriggered reflexive ("Send that report to Dan and **myself**" instead of "Dan and me")

iamcarlgauss•6 days ago

Question has been answered, but I wanted to point out that the word is "preface" not "prefix".

SnooDonuts6494•6 days ago

You have the right to complain when you learn to use a capital A for Americam, and use quotes correctly.