America's Education System: What Is the Correct Use of 'Whoever' and 'Whomever'?
Posted: Sunday, November 01, 2009
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
Born in a Liberian village, English was not my first language. My mother tongue is Bassa, one of sixteen Liberian languages. (Yes, languages, not dialects.) I was about ten years old before I began learning how to speak English. So tough was the experience that the first time someone asked me, "What is your name?" I replied, "Ni sey bada", which means, "It didn't rain." The Bassa word "ni" (rain) sounds like the English word "name", so I really thought the person was asking whether or not it had rained that day. Everyone in the room just fell off laughing at the country boy who didn't know English.
So, who am I to grade anyone's English grammar skill, especially that of a native-born Caucasian American? Answer? Because I respect the English language, or any language for that matter. Here's the story. We're at work. Our team leader, who is on the phone with someone, asks, "What is the English rule for 'whoever' and 'whomever'? Is it 'Let whoever is...or let whomever is...?"
After a brief pause, a co-worker replies, "One is singular, and the other is plural. If you're addressing one person it's 'whoever' … if you're speaking to a bunch of people it's 'whomever'".
With that, our team leader tells the person on the phone, "John (not his real name) has just told me the answer: 'whoever' refers to a single person, and 'whomever' refers to a lot of people."
I almost asked out loud, "Are American schools really churning out raving ignoramuses?"
Trying hard to keep my laughter under control, I asked, "John, are you sure about that?" John says, "I'm pretty sure..."
Now, I'm not sure if this guy and the team leader attended college or not, but I'm certain they graduated from high school. So, how come they missed the lesson on the correct usage of 'whoever' and 'whomever'? I remember we learned that in junior high, which in Liberia is 7th to 9th grades.
Here's the short answer: "Whoever" is a pronoun that can be used as the subject of a sentence. Example: "Whoever arrives first wins a prize."
The other pronoun, "whomever", is the objective case. It is used as the object of a clause or phrase. Example: "Management will promote whomever the supervisor recommends."
If I remember correctly, neither of these pronouns has anything whatsoever to do with singular or plural. 'Whomever' is not the plural of 'whoever'.
Beyond this little matter of pronoun usage, there is a bigger question here: Is it possible that these one-time students were never adequately taught how to correctly use 'whoever' and 'whomever'? And if the answer to that question is even a faint "Yes", then the American education system offers little hope of a nation with an educated class that's fit to lead the world in this century or the next.
Or, should the American school system hire non-natural-born English teachers, who tend to show greater appreciation for the rules of the English language? Maybe those foreign-born English instructors will actually teach our kids the difference between 'whoever' and 'whomever'.
Yeah...I can hear the typical American student saying, "Whatever!"
After a brief pause, a co-worker replies, "One is singular, and the other is plural. If you're addressing one person it's 'whoever' … if you're speaking to a bunch of people it's 'whomever'".
With that, our team leader tells the person on the phone, "John (not his real name) has just told me the answer: 'whoever' refers to a single person, and 'whomever' refers to a lot of people."
I almost asked out loud, "Are American schools really churning out raving ignoramuses?"
Trying hard to keep my laughter under control, I asked, "John, are you sure about that?" John says, "I'm pretty sure..."
Now, I'm not sure if this guy and the team leader attended college or not, but I'm certain they graduated from high school. So, how come they missed the lesson on the correct usage of 'whoever' and 'whomever'? I remember we learned that in junior high, which in Liberia is 7th to 9th grades.
Here's the short answer: "Whoever" is a pronoun that can be used as the subject of a sentence. Example: "Whoever arrives first wins a prize."
The other pronoun, "whomever", is the objective case. It is used as the object of a clause or phrase. Example: "Management will promote whomever the supervisor recommends."
If I remember correctly, neither of these pronouns has anything whatsoever to do with singular or plural. 'Whomever' is not the plural of 'whoever'.
Beyond this little matter of pronoun usage, there is a bigger question here: Is it possible that these one-time students were never adequately taught how to correctly use 'whoever' and 'whomever'? And if the answer to that question is even a faint "Yes", then the American education system offers little hope of a nation with an educated class that's fit to lead the world in this century or the next.
Or, should the American school system hire non-natural-born English teachers, who tend to show greater appreciation for the rules of the English language? Maybe those foreign-born English instructors will actually teach our kids the difference between 'whoever' and 'whomever'.
Yeah...I can hear the typical American student saying, "Whatever!"
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Very interesting Mogama, I myself always preferred whom over who.Please log in to respond to this comment.Correct usage there by the way, David: "...preferred whom". Thanks for commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
The cobwebs are thick and I am digging a LONG way back but seems like there something about one being the way the action is directed - I googled and it is interesting. Thanks for writing this to keep us on our toes! I was pondering which to use just yesterday. MarijoPlease log in to respond to this comment.Speaking of keeping us on our toes, these little pronouns can be pretty sneaky, but the rules are not difficult, really. Here's another rule of thumb: "whom" usually follows a preposition, as in "to whom, for whom, in whom", etc. I'm still learning to speak English the right way. What a challenge! Thanks, Marijo, for your comments. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.I suspect you are doing much, much better than most of us - I learned more about English in my 4 years of Spanish classes than I ever did in English class - please keep teaching us (and this from someone who was around here when the dinosaurs roamed....) Marijo (Mary Jo is how it is pronounced)Please log in to respond to this comment.
I could not have told you the correct usage either, Mogama. Am I an ignoramus?I write what, to me, sounds right and leave it at that. I have tried time and again to learn the "rules," and I'll keep trying.Great article, as always!Please log in to respond to this comment.Oh, Ken, as emotive as ever! I understand your writing just fine. I think you've got most of the rules down packed, so "leave it at that". Thanks for your fervent comment, my friend. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.Hi Mogama,This is a great article. Excellent subject matter and superb writing for anyone, ESL or not...you're amazing!And here's a new idiom lesson for you: the words you use to say someone has gotten the subject memorized and can use it well is, "down pat," not, "down packed," as you used it above.But idioms and slang are the hardest part of any language, so you still get an A+ from me!DebiPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Debi, for teaching me that - "down pat", instead of "down packed". I didn't know that...and I think I know English! Again, thanks for the free education. I have it "down pat". ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Thanks, Mogama. I needed to read your article. As Marijo, I learned more about English in my Latin class than in English class. It is getting worse, not better. Today kids are encouraged to write creatively rather than correctly. One of my daughters was in English AP (advanced placement) and when she got to college was placed in a "catch up" class. What does that tell you? In America, I see many placing more value on feeling good than doing well. What seems to be forgotten in this race to attain self esteem is to feel good about something we've done, we need to have done it completely and well. I was an average student in school and have learned more about correct grammar from my husband (who is a grammar nut) and reading than I did in school. Back then, I think they taught it; I remember learning sentence structure, but I didn't retain much. Very good article!Please log in to respond to this comment.
I enjoyed reading your article, Mogama!Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, William, for reading and commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
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