Hello! I'm Dr. Grammar, a linguist specializing in English grammar and usage. I've dedicated my career to unraveling the complexities of the English language, and I'm thrilled to share my expertise with you today.

You've stumbled upon a grammatical conundrum that often trips people up: the choice between "who" and "whom" when referring to someone you've never met.

Let's delve into this issue. The crux of the matter lies in understanding the grammatical roles of these two pronouns:

* "Who" functions as a subject, the entity performing the action of the verb.
* "Whom" serves as an object, the entity receiving the action of the verb or following a preposition.

Now, let's apply this to your phrase "I have never met." In this construction, the verb is "have met," and "I" is the subject performing the action of meeting. The phrase that follows ("... never met") functions as the object of the verb. Since "whom" is the objective case, the grammatically correct phrase is:

"Whom I have never met"

Let me illustrate further with a complete sentence:

* "You're telling this story about whom I have never met?"

Here, "whom I have never met" acts as a noun clause, specifically the object of the preposition "about."

However, and this is crucial, while "whom" is grammatically correct, it can sound overly formal, even stilted, in modern English, especially in casual conversation. The English language is constantly evolving, and the use of "whom" has been declining for quite some time.

Therefore, in most contexts today, using "who" is perfectly acceptable and sounds more natural:

* "You're telling this story about who I have never met?"

This version conveys the same meaning without sounding overly formal.

To summarize:

* Grammatically correct (and very formal): whom I have never met
* **Grammatically acceptable in modern usage (and more natural):** who I have never met

Ultimately, the choice is yours, depending on the context and the level of formality you want to achieve.

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(Remember that the pronoun ��he�� is the subject of a sentence, and the pronoun ��him�� is part of the object of a sentence.) ��She had never met him�� is the correct wording. Step 4: Because ��him�� works, the correct pronoun to use is ��whom.�� Elizabeth wrote a letter to someone whom she had never met.read more >>