I comforted the lost boy, whom was shivering and cold,

Question

I comforted the lost boy, whom was shivering and cold, before the authorities arrived. (Page 108)

Is use of 'whom' correct?

Shoudn't it be 'who'?

mikemcgarry · Answer

Absolutely correct. It should be "who" --- the "case" of the relative pronoun depends entirely on its grammatical role within the relative clause. Here the relative clause is ..... who was shivering and cold ... and "who" is the subject of that clause. Pretend we removed that clause, and substituted for who/whom the personal pronoun I/me , to make it an independent clause I was shivering and cold = correct me was shivering and cold = incorrect If "I' is correct, then "who" is correct. If "me" is correct, then "whom" is correct. Those are pairs of pronouns of the same "case." Here's a sentence that requires "whom" The boy whom the older woman comforted was shivering and cold. Now, within the relative clause ...... whom the older woman comforted .... the "whom" is the direct object, the object of the comforting, so it has to be in the objective case. Again, substitute the pronoun I/me ---- me the older woman comforted --- the word order is Yoda-like there, but the basic grammar is correct --- it's very clear who gives and who receives. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

bonjoindia · Answer

Makes perfect sense. Crystal clear concepts.

Actually, I was using a different approach:

I comforted the lost boy, whom was shivering and cold, before the authorities arrived. 
I comforted the lost boy before the authorities arrived. The lost boy was shivering with cold. (the 'lost boy' is clearly the subject of the relative clause; hence 'who' should be used)

The boy whom the older woman comforted was shivering and cold. 
The boy was shivering and cold. The older woman comforted the boy. (the 'boy' is clearly the object of the relative clause; hence 'whom' should be used)

Also, let's see the following example:
 The boy was shivering and cold. The boy was comforted by the older woman.  
In this case, the output would be: The boy who was comforted by the older woman was shivering and cold 
 Is my approach is correct.

Anyway, Kudos to you for your explanations!

mikemcgarry · Answer

The first sentence is incorrect. (1) I comforted the lost boy, who was shivering and cold, before the authorities arrived. Within the subordinate clause "X was shivering and cold", X is the subject --- we would say " he was shivering and cold" and NOT " him was shivering and cold" This means "whom" is wrong and "who" is correct. You seemed to indicate this in your comment -- perhaps this was merely an oversight. Sentence #2 is perfectly correct. Sentence #3, while technically correct according to grammar rules, would never be acceptable on the GMAT, because it is wildly indirect and passive. That's an excellent example of a sentence that is 100% grammatically correct and yet would be an absolute abomination on the GMAT SC. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

bb · Answer

Moved to the proper (SC) forum.
Thanks.

bonjoindia · Answer

I hope that Sentence #3 doesn't come up as an option in GMAT SC.

VerbalBot · Answer

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I comforted the lost boy, whom was shivering and cold,

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