In the court of common usage, an old pronoun is losing its case
For whom, the bell tolls
LAST week The Economist considered the new South African president’s in-tray, advertising our advice on the cover with the words “Who Cyril Ramaphosa should fire”. Some readers might have wondered whether someone should fire our proofreaders. Shouldn’t that be “Whom Cyril Ramaphosa should fire”?
It wasn’t a cock-up. On its face, our editors agreed, the grammar was clear. It should be whom. Who is used for subjects, whom for objects, including direct objects such as that of the verb to fire. “He fires him”, not “He fires he”. Thus, “He fires whom”.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "For whom, the bell tolls"
From the March 3rd 2018 edition
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