Quiz created: 2023-10-23
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Who-Whom Quiz 5

Instructions: Answer the multiple choice questions, guessing if necessary; then click on the "Process Questions" button at the end of the quiz to see your score in the adjacent message box. The program will not reveal which questions you got wrong, only how many points you have. Go back and change your answers until you get them all right. (The message box will rejoice at that point and the page will change color to show it is tickled pink.)

Points to note: (1) Questions with only one possible answer are one point each. (2) Questions with one or more possible answers (represented by check boxes) give a point for each correct answer, but also subtract a point for each wrong answer! (3) The program will not attempt to score your efforts at all if you have not tried at least half of the questions. (4) This quiz is for your own use only. No record of your progress is kept or reported to anyone.

The objective (accusative) form “whom” is rapidly being displaced by the nominative form “who” is most sentences. It rarely leads to confusion, since English generally depends on word order rather than inflection to show case, but formal, especially written, English still makes the distinction. Although a subordinate clause as a whole can function as a subject or object or modifier, the structure of the subordinate clause itself, not how it is used, is what governs the cases of its constituent words . For example, “He gave brochures to whoever attended.” “Whoever” is the subject of “attended,” not the object of “to”; the object of “to” is the full clause “whoever attended.” Hence “whomever” would be inappropriate. “Ellen is the woman WHOM I met at work.” “Whom” is the object of “met”; the whole clause “whom I met at work” simply modifies “woman.” Some of the following writers got it right and some screwed it up. For each of the following quoted sentences select the “proper” form and the logic that makes it the correct choice. The abbreviation “SDUT” stands for San Diego Union-Tribune.
1. “After a local television station did a story about the missing books, one person called [librarian Bette] Ammon to praise WHOMEVER had hidden them, complaining that the library only carries books that represent a liberal point of view.” (2019-11-11-NYT via SDUT-A6)
The word should be
Whoever because it is the subject of “had hidden.” 
Whoever because it is the subject of “complaining.” 
Whoever because there is no such word as “whomever.” 
Whomever because it is the object of “praise.” 
Whomever because it is the object of “complaining.” 
No Answer
2. “‘When Johnson replied that he had no problem with people marrying WHOMEVER they want, Beale told him he was “not a child of god,”’ the suit says.” (2019-09-10-SDUT-B3)
The word should be
Whoever to agree with “they.” 
Whoever because there is no such word as “whomever.” 
Whomever because it is the object of “want.” 
Whomever because it is the object of “marrying.” 
No Answer
3. “… her group is offering a $3000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of WHOMEVER was responsible for the shooting … .” (2019-08-29-SDUT-A1)
The word should be
Whoever because it is the subject of “was responsible.” 
Whoever because there is no such word as “whomever.” 
Whomever because it is the object of “of.” 
No Answer
4. “Thus, actual malice can easily be proven based on your reckless disregard of the truth and unreasonable reliance on an alleged ‘source’ WHO you will not even identify in your story … .” (2019-09-29-SDUT-A4)
The word should be
Who because it is in apposition with “source.” 
Who because it is the subject of “identify.” 
Whom because it is in apposition with “source.” 
Whom because it is the object of “identify.” 
No Answer
5. “Now we [Trump advisers] are wondering, WHO did he [Michael Cohen] tape? Did he store those someplace where they were actually seized? … Did they find his recordings?” (2018-04-13-SDUT-A8)
The word should be
Who because it is the subject of “tape.” 
Who because it is the subject of “did.” 
Whom because it is the object of “wondering.” 
Whom because it is the object of “tape.” 
Whom because it is the object of “did.” 
No Answer
6. “An independent analysis of traffic stop data … showed some evidence of racial bias, although race and ethnicity aren’t significant factors in determining WHOM police pull over, the report … concluded.” (2019-05-28-SDUT-A8)
The word should be
Who because it is the subject of “pull over.” 
Whom because it is the object of “determining.” 
Whom because it is the object of “pull over.” 
No Answer
7. “For the next eighteen months, the fight between mainstream liberals and socialists will consume the Democrats, and determine WHOM the party nominates for president.” (2019-01-11-The Week-16)
The word should be
Who because it is the subject of “nominates.” 
Whom because it is the object of “nominates.” 
Whom because it is the object of “between.” 
Whom because it is the object of “consume.” 
Whom because it is the object of “determine.” 
No Answer
8. “Understanding that lower court judges are bound by precedent, I will not vote to confirm nominees WHOM I believe will expand substantive due process precedents like Roe v Wade… .” (2019-02-27-SDUT-A7)
The word should be
Who because it is the subject of “expand.” 
Whom because it is in apposition with “nominees.” 
Whom because it is the object of “believe.” 
No Answer
9. “Like business leaders in other countries, Italian captains of industry have a history of striving for cordial relations with WHOMEVER is in power.” (2022-10-01, The Economist, p. 54)
The word should be
whoever because it is subject of “is.” 
whomever because it is the object of “with.” 
No Answer

      Points out of 9:

Awesomeness
Score
Awesomeness Score: The following awesomeness score is a measure of how much guessing you did to get all items right. It is 100 if you got all questions right when you clicked the process button for the first time. It gets proportionately lower if it took more clicks, until it hits 0 if your clicks exceeded the number of questions.



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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
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