Who vs Whom

Question

Hi everyone,

Following was a question I came across:

"Neither of my aunts, both of whom  visited Venice last spring, want  to return"

While I don't have a problem with correcting the underlined part, should the word be who instead of whom because it acts as the subject in the clause?

Thanks in advance!

generis · Answer

Hi Greedypigeon , welcome to GMAT Club.

The subject is not whom . Whom is the object of the preposition OF. The object of a preposition is never the subject of a clause. The subject of that clause is both.

We will see phrases such as some of whom, many of whom, none of whom , or both of whom , all of which are very common phrase structures in English (I just used one). Jargon: the pronouns some, many, none and both are called "indefinite pronouns." The construction of this type of phrase that refers to people is this way: indefinite pronoun + of + OBJECT pronoun ( Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom We should think both of whom = both of them Them is never a subject. Them go to the store. ouch. Them doesn't actively do anything, ever. Indefinite pronouns such as both are still pronouns and thus able to function as a subject in the same way that a noun would. Hope that helps.

Greedypigeon · Answer

That's a great explanation! Thanks for taking the time out!

generis · Answer

Greedypigeon  , you are very welcome.

sharathnair14 · Answer

So,  generis , in the phrase mentioned above, the subject in the modifier clause is = 'Many', the preposition = 'of', and the object of the preposition is = 'Whom', like the way you explained in this post huh?

Source - Manhattan GMAT

generis · Answer

sharathnair14 , you have an expressive personality, which is a good quality.

"Huh?" used this way could mean: -- Are you out of your mind? (You're talking nonsense.) -- WTH are you talking about in that post? (You may be talking sense, but I do not understand!) -- Yes? (Did I state those items correctly?) Don't change a word. The laugh was much needed, and I'm laughing because I was kinda shocked -- I took it the first way initially. YES, what you have written is accurate. Just one detail, probably obvious to you: whom refers to "elderly patients."

sharathnair14 · Answer

Glad you found it funny generis

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Who vs Whom

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