Posted on 04/30/2003 6:15:29 PM PDT by bannie
In a recent thread, we discussed teachers' various abilities/inabilities. With the banter about math "blocks," I had to start calling people on the frequent mis-usage of the pronoun "that."
I teased others--and I hope the understood my playful intent! Even true mathematicians can make simple mistakes in math. Likewise, even true grammarians can make simple mistakes in grammar. I only made note because of the subject of the thread (An English teacher who was having trouble passing a required math test).
In the thread, I mentioned that I could give a quick-fix lesson on how to determine whether one should use the pronoun "who" or the pronoun "whom."
The Rule:
WHO = SUBJECTIVE
WHOM = OBJECTIVE
or...
While "who" holds the grammatical position of a SUBJECT, "whom" holds the grammatical position of an OBJECT.
Subject = the "doer." Object = the DIRECT OBJECT or the INDIRECT OBJECT or the OBJECT of a preposition...the "do-ee."
THE TRICK:
IF replacing the who/whom in question with HE--simply because it SOUNDS BETTER--use WHO.
IF replacing the who/whom in question with HIM--simply because it SOUNDS BETTER--use WHOM.
IE:
With the question:
To who/whom should I give the "Offed by a Clinton" Award?
Try replacing the space with each, "he" and "him."
Although it's not totally "sensical," the better sounding choice is...
To HIM should I give...
(more clearly, Should I give the "Offed by a Clinton" award to HIM?
SOOOOOooooo...since "HIM" = "WHOM,"
the correct "who/whom-ness" of the question should be:
To WHOM should I give...?
IE:
Who/Whom was the oldest goat in the pool?
Try replacing the space with each, "he" and "him."
It makes much more sense to the ear to replace the who/whom with:
He was the oldest...
than with:
Him was the oldest...
SOOOOOoooooo....since "HE" = "WHO"...
The answer is...WHO was the oldest goat in the pool?
The funniest post of yours, that I remember, was on a 'tattoo' thread. Various ones of us were arguing about the pros and cons and innocence and hellfire of body tattoos and about two weeks later the thread bumped up again when you posted: "I just wanted to get this thread out and play with it again."
Good one, Dunstan...
I believe it's the only possesive form that doesn't use an apostophe.
No pronouns have apostrophes.
Contractions always have apostrophes at the point at which the extra letters were squeezed out.
It is = it's (the "i" was squeezed out by the contraction, and in its place, you must put an apostrophe.
I've = I have (The "ha" was squeezed out by the contraction [like muscles squeeze when they contract]...in their collective place, one puts the apostrophe.)
I know that many know much more than do I. I had just encountered some interest. I meant no offense.
All I know about this: "She" is subjective (the subject of a sentence or clause); and "her" is objective (the Direct Object, the Indirect Object or the Object of the Preposition.
HAHA! Losers are loose with the rules.
Aw...cummon...this only came up because the subject of the post was about an English teacher who was having trouble passing a math test.
I'm an English teacher, and I hope I never have to teach math! (My father, however, was a math teacher early in his career.)
I certainly passed the math portion of the CBEST test--and on the first try. I finished my required statistics course--but not handily.
I guess that my point was, simply, that someone can know enough to teach one thing while not know enough to volunteer to teach something else.
:-) I speak in the vernacular most of the time! ;-)
You can BE good; but you FEEL well.
(Good = adjective: Well = adverb)
Thanks.
Look at this:
http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1047749804460_2003/03/19/iraq12,1.jpg
Scots Dragoon Guard playing the pipe in Iraq
Prepositions show relationships. UNDER, BECAUSE OF, WITHOUT, DURING, etc.!)
It's still not safe: It's incorrect. To use "their," it would require that "parent" be "parents." I simply write "his/her," and no one (noone) has questioned this usage.
Ingrained
gasp! er...that must have been...er...my playful twin.
:-)
Keep the period, comma, semicolon inside of the quotes.
Put the question mark inside ONLY IF THAT WHICH IS IN THE QUOTES IS the question.
Do you want to vote, "No"?
We heard him when he asked, "Where is that damned Billyblythe Clinton?"
I made a "blooper": He made a simple "bloop."
Clinton told his "tall tale;" however, his "Little 'Lady' " wrote it.
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