Hello, I'm a grammar expert with years of experience in the intricacies of the English language. I'm here to help you understand the nuances of *who* and *whom*, which can be tricky even for seasoned speakers.
Let's dissect the phrase "
who you met or
whom you met." First, we need to understand the grammatical function of the pronoun in question.
*
Who and
whom are both interrogative pronouns, used to ask questions about people.
*
Who is the nominative case, meaning it acts as the subject of a verb.
*
Whom is the objective case, used when the pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition.
In our sentence, "
who you met or
whom you met," the pronoun is part of the object clause "who/whom you met." The verb "met" needs a direct object – the person who was met. Therefore, we need to determine if the pronoun is the subject or object of the clause.
Here's the key:
Who is the subject of the verb "met." We can rephrase the clause to make it clearer:
You met who? Therefore, the correct answer is:
who you metTo summarize: *
Who is the subject of the verb "met" in the object clause "who you met."
*
Whom is not used because it is the objective case and the pronoun is acting as the subject of the verb.
I hope this explanation helps! Remember, understanding the grammatical roles of pronouns like *who* and *whom* is essential for writing and speaking accurate and eloquent English.
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