Also, the decision to use that form of salutation: could have been arrived at as a preference over the various other possibilities: Versions #1 and 3 may have been thought to be too formal or stiff sounding (to the speaker/writer). 1. Can anyone confirm whether her starting phrase is at least grammatically okay or is it just wrong? Moreover, it is easy to understand the difference between whoever and whomever if you keep in mind that whoever works like I, he, she, we, and they while whomever works like me, him, her, us, and them. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. 2. Whoever is a subject pronoun; therefore, this is like other pronouns such as I, he, she, we, and they. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa.
Summary – Whoever vs Whomever. Well, I'd think they would have the software that would have automatically inserted your name appropriately in the salutation, especially since the letter is confirming funding. In the above examples, you can notice that whomever acts either as the direct object of the verb or the object of a preposition. Related posts: Difference Between … Should I use 'whoever' or 'whomever': “I will kill ___ despises me.” ? Whoever and whomever are interrogative pronouns that refer to people. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } }
The below infographic on the difference between whoever and whomever summarizes all these differences. I received a letter of confirmation for funding from an English native speaker. Whoever vs. Whomever Two weeks ago we helped you crack the code for when to use who and whom. What is the reasoning behind nighttime restrictions during pandemic? Overview and Key Difference “To whom it may concern” or “To whomever it may concern”? There's related info in the 2002 reference grammar CGEL, pages 1074-6.). Image Courtesy: 1.”1131055″ (CC0) via pxhere 2.”Don eNews (23640917732)”By vastateparksstaff via Commons Wikimedia. "To whoever/whomever/who/whom it may concern," and the version originally used by the letter writer is one of those, "To whoever it may concern," Just something to think about, if one is interested in the grammaticality of that salutation. Remember, you would never write, To he. And so, that leaves version #4. Subject pronouns basically refer to a person or thing that is performing the action of a verb. The key difference between whoever and whomever is that whoever is a subject pronoun whereas whomever is an object pronoun. Whoever is a subject pronoun and works like the pronouns he, she, and they (Whoever wrote this poem should win a prize). Just something to think about, if one is interested in the grammaticality of that salutation. 2.”Don eNews (23640917732)”By vastateparksstaff (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia. Whoever and whomever are two pronouns that often confuse us. Side by Side Comparison – Whoever vs Whomever in Tabular Form When did the Altair move ROM to the top of memory? (Note the difference between the meaning of "the person who(m)" and the free choice meaning of "anyone who(m)". Can a single card have multiple activations on a stack? There is a special place in hell for whoever thinks it is ok to steal from a dead person. When it comes after to, it will always be a form of whom. To determine whether to use whoever or whomever, here is the rule: him + he = whoever him + him = whomever. Georgia doing "hand recount" of 2020 Presidential Election Ballots. But that version might seem to sound a bit formal for some situations or purposes, for some speakers or institutions.).
(Though, the verb "concern" might not actually be considered to be a member of the small set of allowable verbs, such as "choose, like, please, want, wish", which would be interpreted as if having a causal complement when used in a free choice construction -- and so, perhaps this salutation can't involve a free choice construction. He is at the door.
However, wrong use of this pronoun will actually imply the exact opposite of this. he = who him = whom. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. To whom it may concern is the correct statement. 3. Therefore, you should choose the correct pronoun carefully; only use whomever when you are referring to an object. But the argument for the use of a fused relative seems to be strong, where it would have the meaning: "This letter is to the person whom it may concern". Then the salutation might be considered to be an ellipted form of something like "This letter is to whoever it may concern".
It has a similar function as personal pronouns like me, him, her, us, and them. I received a letter of confirmation for funding from an English native speaker. Why doesn't a mercury thermometer follow the rules of volume dilatation. Whom as well as Whoever vs. Whomever: Use the he/him method to decide which word is correct. 4. Whomever is an objective pronoun. There might even be a reasonable argument that the fused relative is being used in a free choice construction that would be equivalent in meaning to: To anyone whom it may concern. Grammarly. (Whomsoever also exists from whosoever.). How do I fix a consistent micro-timing error? When you’re faced with a “whoever/whomever” choice, it’s often a good time to dodge the issue and simplify your sentence. Whomever is an object pronoun and works like the pronouns him, her, and them (Give the document to whomever in the department). I believe that John Lawler argues that the dropping of 'whom' (and, by analogy, 'whomever') has progressed so far nowadays that it's prescriptivist to demand the forms once considered necessary here. And so, the salutation perhaps ought to be: But if the writer had truly intended to use the free choice meaning of To anyone whom it may concern, then, in a free choice construction, more forms might be possible: and the version originally used by the letter writer is one of those. In all the above examples, whoever refers to the person who performs the action of the main verb. And version #2 might have been considered to be too "non-standard" looking, or else the writer might have been afraid that the reader might consider that form to be too non-standard and unacceptable for a salutation. Object pronouns act as the direct object of a verb, i.e., something that receives the action of a verb. Anyway, if I had received a salutation like that in a letter, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. What is Whoever Category theory and arithmetical identities. Coloring where all colors are present in closed neighborhood of every vertex. Main Whoever vs. Whomever Takeaways: Whoever is a subject pronoun.This means that it can replace pronouns like I, we, she, he, and they that are often the subject of a sentence. Whoever vs. Whomever. Perhaps in 50 years saying "to whom it may concern" will be considered archaic and obsolete, but I, for one, will not concede that it is inevitable. These are also two pronouns that confuse most of us. The key difference between whoever and whomever is that whoever is a subject pronoun whereas whomever is an object pronoun. She started the letter with: I am not a native speaker, but that sounds quite odd to me and I would change that to To whom it may concern. Grammar Tips. Though, I'd think that the letter was meant to be read by a specific person, and so, the free choice argument here might be considered to be kinda moot, maybe. Do I need HDMI-to-VGA or VGA-to-HDMI adapter? A several billion dollars project to stop people from sneezing, besides full hazmat suits? “Dear Sir or Madam” versus “To whom it may concern”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. The key difference between whoever and whomever is that whoever is a subject pronoun whereas whomever is an object pronoun. Moreover, some people tend to use this pronoun as they think that the use of whomever sounds educated and intellectual. 1.”1131055″ (CC0) via pxhere What circumstances could lead to city layout based on hexagons? If you can substitute him/her, go with whomever. The Grammar Rules on our website cover Who vs. They can also act as the object of a preposition. Actually, I like that expression "To whoever it may concern". Yes it's wrong. 5. How should I visualize the average of two bars in a bar chart? ; Whomever is an object pronoun.This means that it can replace pronouns like me, us, her, him, and them that are often the object of a sentence’s preposition or verb. All rights reserved. Should I vote for him? rev 2020.11.12.37996, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, English Language & Usage Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us, @GEdgar: You put this far better than all the people claiming authority over.