This Pronoun Will Make You Irresistible to Women A Blog About Language Feb.

19 2014 10:37 AM By Geoff Pullum Earlier this month, Wired magazine published "How to Create the Perfect Online D ating Profile, in 25 Infographics," a large-scale statistical study of which wor ds and phrases correlate with high numbers of responses to online dating ads. Fo r example, mentioning "yoga" or "surfing" in your ad was found to have a positiv e influence on the number of contacts that will result. For men, it is much bett er to refer to a woman using the word "woman," but a woman's ad will do better i f she refers to herself as a "girl." Most interesting to me, however, was that m en who use "whom" get 31% more contacts from opposite-sex respondents. Whoa! This changes everything. And I'm talking just to the men from this point o n. First off, should you care to know the ins-and-outs of whom, here's a synopsi s of the relevant linguistic principles: Advertisement * The accusative form whom should never be used as the subject of a finite c lause; that is the role reserved for the nominative who. * Whom should always be used when a preposition immediately precedes it (as in the person to whom it was sent), and, except in very informal style, the same is true when a verb immediately precedes it (You saw whom?). * Where a relative clause modifying a noun of human gender is formed with th e gap in a non-subject position, formal style requires whom as the relative pron oun: thus the person whom they hired or the person whom I told you about. * Formal style calls for whom as the human-gender interrogative word where i t has non-subject function (Whom did they hire?), though this is rare in convers ation and could sound a bit pompous. * In cases where a relative or interrogative human-class pronoun is associat ed with subject function in a subordinate clause that is not the main clause in which it is preposed, usage is divided, but many prescriptive authorities regard whom as incorrect; they would recommend the person who the police thought was r esponsible rather than the person whom the police thought was responsible, as th e relative pronoun is understood as the subject of was responsible (even though it is not the subject of the whole relative clause, the police thought was respo nsible). OK, so you're probably just now waking up from the nap you took after falling as leep during the third bullet point. But never mind, fellas, because here's the b est part: None of this complicated crap makes the slightest bit of difference! Y ou see, Wired didn't check the syntactic contexts. They simply counted whoms. In other words, it doesn't matter whether you use whom correctly! In general, wo men don't know about the proper rules for whom any more than men do. Sure, they' re interested in seeking out intelligent men to have sex with. And the idea of b reeding with brainy guys who will think of creative ways to protect the offsprin g and carry home food is built into them by natural selection. The obvious infer ence, then, is that women view the mere occurrence of whom as a proxy for actual evidence of intelligence. The fact is that incorrect uses of whom occur rather frequently. "Whom did they think was underwriting the signage ," journalist Ari L. Noonan cleverly wrote in a Culver City online newspaper recently. But to laugh at Noonan for making a gra mmatical error would be to miss the point. What's important is that if you and h e are both using online dating services, he will get more sex than you unless yo u up the frequency of whom in your writing. Top Comment

"Oh, Ominous," she moaned, "I know it's a syntax, but I want to feel you deep in side in my whom." "Sorry, baby," I said, "but I belong to another, and it's a li fe sentence. I'll have to parse." More... -Ominous_silence So screw the rules. Evolution cares only about whether you get laid. And (admit it) so do you. I certainly do. I've been throwing my life away trying to catalog the entire set of grammatical principles that characterize Standard English, bu t those days are over. My eyes have been opened to what's really important: attr acting women by writing woman-pleasing prose. Whom would possibly object to that? Geoff Pullum is professor of general linguistics in the School of Philosophy, Ps ychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He is co-author o f The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

Slate Search . This Pronoun Will Make You Irresistible to Women 3.4k 353 Slate Sign In Sign Up Search Slate Lexicon Valley A Blog About Language Feb. 19 2014 10:37 AM This Pronoun Will Make You Irresistible to Women 3.4k 353 116 By Geoff Pullum 2202ff_lovebynumbers_20 Earlier this month, Wired magazine published "How to Create the Perfect Online D ating Profile, in 25 Infographics," a large-scale statistical study of which wor ds and phrases correlate with high numbers of responses to online dating ads. Fo r example, mentioning "yoga" or "surfing" in your ad was found to have a positiv e influence on the number of contacts that will result. For men, it is much bett er to refer to a woman using the word "woman," but a woman's ad will do better i f she refers to herself as a "girl." Most interesting to me, however, was that m en who use "whom" get 31% more contacts from opposite-sex respondents. Whoa! This changes everything. And I'm talking just to the men from this point o n. First off, should you care to know the ins-and-outs of whom, here's a synopsi s of the relevant linguistic principles: Advertisement * The accusative form whom should never be used as the subject of a finite c lause; that is the role reserved for the nominative who. * Whom should always be used when a preposition immediately precedes it (as in the person to whom it was sent), and, except in very informal style, the same is true when a verb immediately precedes it (You saw whom?). * Where a relative clause modifying a noun of human gender is formed with th e gap in a non-subject position, formal style requires whom as the relative pron

oun: thus the person whom they hired or the person whom I told you about. * Formal style calls for whom as the human-gender interrogative word where i t has non-subject function (Whom did they hire?), though this is rare in convers ation and could sound a bit pompous. * In cases where a relative or interrogative human-class pronoun is associat ed with subject function in a subordinate clause that is not the main clause in which it is preposed, usage is divided, but many prescriptive authorities regard whom as incorrect; they would recommend the person who the police thought was r esponsible rather than the person whom the police thought was responsible, as th e relative pronoun is understood as the subject of was responsible (even though it is not the subject of the whole relative clause, the police thought was respo nsible). OK, so you're probably just now waking up from the nap you took after falling as leep during the third bullet point. But never mind, fellas, because here's the b est part: None of this complicated crap makes the slightest bit of difference! Y ou see, Wired didn't check the syntactic contexts. They simply counted whoms. In other words, it doesn't matter whether you use whom correctly! In general, wo men don't know about the proper rules for whom any more than men do. Sure, they' re interested in seeking out intelligent men to have sex with. And the idea of b reeding with brainy guys who will think of creative ways to protect the offsprin g and carry home food is built into them by natural selection. The obvious infer ence, then, is that women view the mere occurrence of whom as a proxy for actual evidence of intelligence. The fact is that incorrect uses of whom occur rather frequently. "Whom did they think was underwriting the signage ," journalist Ari L. Noonan cleverly wrote in a Culver City online newspaper recently. But to laugh at Noonan for making a gra mmatical error would be to miss the point. What's important is that if you and h e are both using online dating services, he will get more sex than you unless yo u up the frequency of whom in your writing. Top Comment "Oh, Ominous," she moaned, "I know it's a syntax, but I want to feel you deep in side in my whom." "Sorry, baby," I said, "but I belong to another, and it's a li fe sentence. I'll have to parse." More... -Ominous_silence So screw the rules. Evolution cares only about whether you get laid. And (admit it) so do you. I certainly do. I've been throwing my life away trying to catalog the entire set of grammatical principles that characterize Standard English, bu t those days are over. My eyes have been opened to what's really important: attr acting women by writing woman-pleasing prose. Whom would possibly object to that? Geoff Pullum is professor of general linguistics in the School of Philosophy, Ps ychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He is co-author o f The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. 116 Comments Join In David Guarrera David Guarrera 5ptsFeatured 2 days ago I'm not sure the evidence supports your conclusions. Just because the study did

not examine whether or not "whom" was being used correctly does not mean that wo men were responding positively to it uniformly, regardless of whether it was bei ng used correctly. FlagShare 2Luke O'SeitJoe FiorillLikeReply Tonie Fisk Tonie Fisk 5ptsFeatured 3 days ago It's a made up word to trick students! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUxeCGGHnA Money (Part 1), Clip 3 | The Office | TBSMoney (Part 1), Clip 3 | The Office | T BS FlagShare 1FitzpatrickLikeReply Fitzpatrick Fitzpatrick 5ptsFeatured 3 days ago Can't believe this thread is days old and yet no reference to fans of "Doctor Wh om." FlagShare LikeReply Eric Eric 5ptsFeatured 4 days ago Learn German first, and once you have mastered the Akkusativ and Nominativ cases , you will get the whom/who thing 100% right. Now will that get you laid? FlagShare LikeReply livedarklions livedarklions 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago Screw that, should I use "thee" or "thou"? FlagShare 1toomanydogsLikeReply toomanydogs toomanydogs 5ptsFeatured 4 days ago @livedarklions thee is the object, thou is the subject. Thou/Thee were the fami liar forms of the second person that dropped from the language when ye/you becam e standard. Then "ye" went by the wayside, leaving English with an overused "you ." I am sure that knowing this will now help you achieve your lustful goals. FlagShare 2livedarklionsFitzpatrickLikeReply SJ SJ 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago The best way to get to know a woman is time. Let her get to know you. Period. FlagShare LikeReply toomanydogs toomanydogs 5ptsFeatured 4 days ago

@SJ did you write this on your typewriter? FlagShare LikeReply Monty Monty 5ptsFeatured 22 hours ago @SJ This is my new favorite Slate comment non-sequitur. FlagShare LikeReply susanl susanl 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago Didn't bother anyone that the example used as correct grammar was incorrect? the person whom I told you about Should be: The person about whom I told you FlagShare LikeReply livedarklions livedarklions 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago @susanl Nope, sorry, you're applying a fake rule. FlagShare 1vincentLikeReply Carola Carola 5ptsFeatured 3 days ago Susani: the writer is correct. Take out the clause "did you think," and you will easily see! Cheers! FlagShare LikeReply belladonna16 belladonna16 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago Yeah, no. Incorrect use of grammar, especially if it's an attempt to sound smart er than you are, is an automatic rejection. FlagShare LikeReply Jen Doe Jen Doe 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago Really? If you pervasively (and thus incorrectly) use whom, it seems like you a re trying to sound smarter than you are, and it's a huge turn-off. It's the same as people who incorrectly assume "me" is always wrong and say thin gs like "Give it to I." You sound pretentious AND stupid. FlagShare

1Gwan57LikeReply Fitzpatrick Fitzpatrick 5ptsFeatured 3 days ago @Jen Doe Statistics never lie. FlagShare LikeReply NA-what's-ME NA-what's-ME 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago Okay, here goes... 44, male, professional seeking a woman whom likes the outdoors, travel, and Thai cuisine. Your move, ladies. FlagShare LikeReply staticint staticint 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago Keep in mind the people in this study whom were brave enough to use "whom" proba bly knew they were using it correctly. So using it incorrectly may not get you m any points, like this article would lead you to believe. FlagShare LikeReply Joe Shmoe Joe Shmoe 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago For the most part I find usage of whom to be near anachronistic, unless you're c ombining it with a preposition. It sounds awkward and stilted in most other case s. FlagShare 1WaryapLikeReply NinjaofSin NinjaofSin 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago Personally when referring to someone I was telling someone else about, I would u se "that" rather than whom. And I want to choke the person who told the grammar checker software that expres sion "your insured" (standard format on ALL company report documents) is incorre ct and should be substituted with "You're". FlagShare LikeReply SJ SJ 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago @NinjaofSin: Are you kidding? You think that "your" is correct? LOLOLOLOL. How o

ld are you? "your insurance" or "you're insured" FlagShare LikeReply livedarklions livedarklions 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago @SJ I love it when a snarky correction is just plain wrong. "Your insured" refe rs to the person you've insured. You run into it in legal documents all the tim e. I'm betting you're too stupid to be embarrassed. FlagShare 4Fitzpatrickmdh2GG1000toomanydogsLikeReply JS JS 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago "My eyes have been opened to what's really important: attracting women by writin g woman-pleasing prose." But I'm not attracted to women whom would fall for "Whom do you love". FlagShare LikeReply GG1000 GG1000 5ptsFeatured 4 days ago @JS I just can't see ole George crooning that to someone. FlagShare LikeReply Serai Serai 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago HA. Screw you, I'm a woman and proud of it. No WAY I'm ever going to refer to myself as a "girl". FlagShare 2toomanydogstpowers4949LikeReply SJ SJ 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago @Serai: "girl" seems the be the new cutesy word that many adult women use to des cribe themselves. Have no idea why. FlagShare LikeReply livedarklions livedarklions 5ptsFeatured 5 days ago @Serai You had me at "screw you". FlagShare 1GG1000LikeReply The Heartographer The Heartographer 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago

This original essay cracked me up when I saw it on the LDC blog. To be fair, not ALL women are whom-idiots I would be appalled by its misuse where a nominative is called for! Still, it's a pretty depressing conclusion, isn't it? Sigh. I'm an online dating coach, and I just really, really hope a bunch of dudes don't go Wh oming it up based on statistical jerking off like this, heh. Time will tell. FlagShare 1sabinaLikeReply sabina sabina 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @The Heartographer I have to say one guy said in his first para that he was a fa n of the Oxford comma. Bet he got a lot of action! FlagShare LikeReply JuanPierre JuanPierre 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago what a ridiculously complicated way to explain how to use whom correctly FlagShare 1swilderLikeReply Take Cover Take Cover 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Grammar? Riiiight. Both men and women have 1,000,000% more contact with the opposite sex if they ha ve a nice face pic. Stick to the low-hanging fruit, people. FlagShare 1The HeartographerLikeReply bitsinmotion bitsinmotion 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Take Cover Actually, face photos get a lot worse response than full-body photo s, especially of women from men, but vice versa as well. FlagShare LikeReply CAguy CAguy 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I always found that a large bulge in my pants worked well to attract women (fat wallet). FlagShare 2SJJSLikeReply Krsnaji Krsnaji 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Mere phallicy, we all know it really is the size of the pronoun not the sentenc e structure. FlagShare LikeReply Jeff Jeff 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago

@Krsnaji Cunning linguists erect all sorts of ridiculous theories about sexual a ttraction. FlagShare 1KrsnajiLikeReply Jeff Jeff 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Correlation or causation? You cannot believe that the mere usage of the word "w hom" causes sexual attraction. Guys who have a way with words attract women and they probably also use the word "whom" more often. The belief that "whom" is a magically seductive word is likely highly correlated with stupidity. FlagShare 1avecLikeReply Zimmy2 Zimmy2 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Jeff To whom are you addressing these remarks? Bada-bing! FlagShare 2sabinadsimonLikeReply sabina sabina 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Zimmy2 I'm so hot right now. FlagShare LikeReply Fenngibbon Fenngibbon 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Isn't the rule of thumb that if you ask a question that can be answered with "hi m" or "her" you use "whom," and if it can be answered with "he" or "she" you use "who"? FlagShare 1Alexandra DuaneLikeReply Joe Shmoe Joe Shmoe 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago @Fenngibbon That's a terrible rule of thumb. For a lot of reasons, such as you shouldn't have to think of the answer of a question you are going to ask to divi ne its grammar. But also! "Who is the boss?" "Him." Is right, while... "Whom is the boss?" "She is." Is not. FlagShare

LikeReply Fenngibbon Fenngibbon 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago @Joe Shmoe @Fenngibbon The latter one isn't correct under the rule of thumb I put out. FlagShare LikeReply The Gripester The Gripester 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago As Treebeard once said, "Whom, hom!"

Of course, he hadn't seen his wife in about 6,000 years... FlagShare 2Ominous_silenceFitzpatrickLikeReply Rik Rik 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Whomever hath the biggest bank account shall, yea verily, be triumphant. FlagShare 1leroy jenkemsLikeReply avec avec 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Whom's your daddy? FlagShare 3toomanydogsleroy jenkemsTake CoverLikeReply rory rory 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Yet more anti-intellectualism from Pullum. Condescending to boot; his real point is to convey the surely important information that he understands English gramm ar whereas we clods don't. As it happens, some us understand English grammar at least as well as he does. I could certainly explain rules for using "whom" more succinctly and clearly than he has attempted here. FlagShare 1Ludo TotemLikeReply John Phillips Rogers John Phillips Rogers 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @rory One is subjective, one is objective. If it's an object, whom. If it's a s ubject, who. Simple. FlagShare LikeReply

bitsinmotion bitsinmotion 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @rory Uh yeah, but given that the article is supposed to be funny, do you think maybe explaining it clearly and succinctly wasn't exactly the goal, Einstein? FlagShare LikeReply rory rory 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago @bitsinmotion That was supposed to be funny, Leno? FlagShare 1Ludo TotemLikeReply proterozoic proterozoic 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Whomen... am I right, fellas? FlagShare 6FitzpatrickdsimonJessicaHuUrMb_anistaLikeReply Oh freakin' joy look who's here Oh freakin' joy look who's here 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Look great or don't date. FlagShare LikeReply dsimon dsimon 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago "In other words, it doesn't matter whether you use whom correctly!" I could never respect a woman who fails to recognize whether I'm using "whom" co rrectly. FlagShare 1sabinaLikeReply Tim Tim 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago No doubt Geoff is pullum our legs and no doubt that short one of his in the midd le when he gets horny. FlagShare LikeReply Crumbz Crumbz 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago So can someone write me a coherent sentence with the words "whom" "surf" and "yo ga"? I'm lazy, but that's not going in my profile. FlagShare LikeReply

Viretarmis Viretarmis 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Crumbz Looking for a hottie with whom to surf and do yoga. HAH! Bet that'll bring the girls to the yard! FlagShare 4sabinaRikHuUrMb_anistaCrumbzLikeReply Crumbz Crumbz 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Viretarmis @Crumbz Man they're going to be soooo pissed when they meet me. FlagShare LikeReply Vadim Vadim 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago There are only 2 rules. Rule 1) Be good looking. Rule 2) See rule 1.

FlagShare LikeReply cs30109 cs30109 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I don't use "whom." Ever. I wouldn't even do it to get laid. FlagShare LikeReply the true conservative the true conservative 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Did anyone but me feel any irony in this article being positioned directly under the "why there is so much junk science on your Newsfeed" article? FlagShare 3Danny MarkledobeOpen Your MindLikeReply ChosenSpeed ChosenSpeed 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @the true conservative Leave it to you to write something like that. FlagShare LikeReply the true conservative the true conservative 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @ChosenSpeed @the true conservative I'm not saying, I'm just saying . . . FlagShare

1FitzpatrickLikeReply ChosenSpeed ChosenSpeed 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I'm pretty sure the key to getting online dates is to be attractive. Grammar ma y run a close second, however. FlagShare LikeReply kenmorecyclist kenmorecyclist 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @ChosenSpeed When all you've got is a photo (or three) and words...the words a re pretty damn important. I've been known to click "Next!" at the first sign of poor spelling or grammar. And to send a "Nicely written profile" note. FlagShare 1sabinaLikeReply Danny Mark Danny Mark 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Say it ain't so. FlagShare LikeReply gallifrey gallifrey 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Chicks dig a big pedant. FlagShare 3JWAJD_MTLannalternateLikeReply FoolishChemist FoolishChemist 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I walked up behind a woman, leaned in and whispered "Whom" in her ear. She found it creepy. FlagShare 7GOP_RefugeeannalternateZanyagallifreyLikeReply Open Your Mind Open Your Mind 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @FoolishChemist Maybe if you used it with a preposition? FlagShare LikeReply LaBelleBretonne LaBelleBretonne 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @FoolishChemist I would have slugged you . FlagShare LikeReply G. Dannek G. Dannek 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @FoolishChemist Small sample size. You need to keep doing it.

FlagShare 2WaryapFoolishChemistLikeReply Trent Bennigan Trent Bennigan 5ptsFeatured 2 days ago @G. Dannek @FoolishChemistI think that if he was "doing it" often enough to keep doing so, he wouldn't be going around whispering in their ears in the first pla ce. FlagShare LikeReply NNevada NNevada 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago They should measure the contacts of the people who use "(blank)...and I" regard less of its grammatical accuracy. FlagShare 1NotThatYouAskedLikeReply Albacorewing Albacorewing 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago This article is pretty silly, but they need to make a Porn film titled "Whom." FlagShare LikeReply mojomo mojomo 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Whom do you love? FlagShare LikeReply Lord North Lord North 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @mojomo The one who rings my bell. FlagShare 1John Phillips RogersLikeReply John Phillips Rogers John Phillips Rogers 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Lord North @mojomo And with whom my bell is rung. FlagShare LikeReply dsimon dsimon 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @mojomo Whip it well. FlagShare LikeReply Albacorewing

Albacorewing 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I wonder why this piece of propaganda is out today. Nice guys do not get laid. Thugs do. FlagShare LikeReply Open Your Mind Open Your Mind 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Albacorewing According to whom? FlagShare 3FitzpatrickproterozoicFormyleLikeReply Primecut Primecut 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Open Your Mind @Albacorewing You ever met an overconfident thug? FlagShare LikeReply Allen Garvin Allen Garvin 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I've always strictly followed the eminent grammarian James Thurber's advice on c orrectly using "whom": http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~heycock/thurber-who.html Thurber gives such easy rules for us: A common rule for determining whether "who" or "whom" is right is to substitute "she" for "who," and "her" for "whom," and see which sounds the better. Take the sentence, "He met a woman who they said was an actress." Now if "who" is correc t then "she" can be used in its place. Let us try it. "He met a woman she they s aid was an actress." That instantly rings false. It can't be right. Hence the pr oper usage is "whom." And, yet, somehow, I'm still a bachelor at 45. I don't get it. FlagShare 1tinkerLikeReply 123fakename 123fakename 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Allen Garvin "he" and "him" are easier to use... you know, since "him" has an "m," and whatnot FlagShare LikeReply

Laura Laura 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Allen Garvin Maybe you're calling women 'girls.' I put the same rule earlier, but it's really easier if you use male pronouns sin ce both objective forms end in 'm.' Of course, most of the people I tell to use this 'trick' are in elementary school! FlagShare LikeReply Darth Credence Darth Credence 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Allen Garvin Are you saying that the sentence "He met a woman her they said wa s an actress." sounds right to you? FlagShare 1ArkadyLikeReply Laura Laura 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Darth Credence @Allen GarvinNo, you change the sentence to '...they said she wa s an actress.' FlagShare LikeReply Arkady Arkady 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Laura But the conclusion seems to be 'her' will sounds better, hence 'whom' is to be used. I'm so confused now. FlagShare LikeReply Laura Laura 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Arkady @Laura'Who' is correct. 'She' is subjective and so is 'who.' 'Whom' and 'her' are objective...can you tell I used to tutor English in college? FlagShare LikeReply NNevada NNevada 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Laura If only people could understand subjective and objective, articles like t his wouldn't take up a dozen lines giving examples of usage. FlagShare 1toomanydogsLikeReply Darth Credence Darth Credence 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Laura My comment had nothing to do with what is correct. It was purely about t he ridiculousness of the initial statement, that whichever sounds right when swa pped is the correct one. Neither choice sounds right, because it is a horribly c onstructed sentence. FlagShare

LikeReply Formyle Formyle 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Darth Credence @LauraAnd women like to be called 'actors' now. FlagShare LikeReply Allen Garvin Allen Garvin 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago @Darth Credence @Laura Way to over-analyze a satirist. FlagShare LikeReply Arbaito Arbaito 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Allen Garvin It probably should be pointed out that Thurber was joking througho ut this piece. And in particular, "who" is correct in that sentence, not "whom," as it's the subject of "was an actress." And let me apologize in advance; for whomever this joke is spoiled, I am the one to whom you may address complaints. FlagShare 1roryLikeReply Allen Garvin Allen Garvin 5ptsFeatured 6 days ago @Arbaito @Allen Garvin Thurber on the split infinitive: "Word has somehow got ar ound that a split infinitive is always wrong. This is of a piece with the sentim ental and outworn notion that it is always wrong to strike a lady. Everybody wil l recall at least one woman of his acquaintance whom, at one time, or another, h e has had to punch or slap. I have in mind a charming lady who is overcome by th e unaccountable desire, at formal dinners with red and white wines, to climb up on the table and lie down." FlagShare LikeReply Arkady Arkady 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Well that explains why I get laid so much... not. FlagShare LikeReply Ominous_silence Ominous_silence 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago "Oh, Ominous," she moaned, "I know it's a syntax, but I want to feel you deep in side in my whom." "Sorry, baby," I said, "but I belong to another, and it's a life sentence. I'll have to parse." FlagShare 21toomanydogssabinaHusband of CuratorJWLikeReply Silas Byrne Silas Byrne 5ptsFeatured

7 days ago @Ominous_silence Magnificent. FlagShare LikeReply Open Your Mind Open Your Mind 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Ominous_silence You sir are a true artist. FlagShare LikeReply JaneMtl JaneMtl 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Ominous_silence Whom are you, Ominous silence? Let's conjugate! Please don't decline me. FlagShare 3toomanydogssabinaOminous_silenceLikeReply Laura Laura 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I'm not at all impressed by men who use 'whom' incorrectly. Folks, skip all of t he above crap and just change the sentence around in your head...'You are visiti ng who/whom?' "I am visiting him" - whom is correct. It always works, especially if you use the male pronouns since both end in 'm' - of course, this does assum e that people use the correct pronouns... FlagShare 2BAS1970maleLikeReply Armando Catastrophe Armando Catastrophe 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Laura I'm a straight guy. I'd rather use female pronouns. FlagShare LikeReply Arbaito Arbaito 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Armando Catastrophe @Laura You shouldn't "use" them - you should respect them a s fully independent and equal pronouns in their own right. FlagShare 2sabinaHusband of CuratorLikeReply NNevada NNevada 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Laura He is the one I am visiting. FlagShare LikeReply JOhn JOhn 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago This reminds me of my daughter's take on effective essays for standardized tests (ACT/SAT) and college admissions. The key?

Semicolons! FlagShare LikeReply Armando Catastrophe Armando Catastrophe 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @JOhn I didn't learn to use semicolons until I was in grad school. FlagShare LikeReply Eigenvector Eigenvector 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago I'll pass. FlagShare LikeReply Irma Gerd Irma Gerd 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Did they make a distinction between those who use it correctly and those who use it incorrectly? FlagShare 3ZanyaChrisrizzoLikeReply Allen Garvin Allen Garvin 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Irma Gerd Uh, I think that's the point of the article... FlagShare 1Daffodil FinesmithLikeReply Sharon Smith Sharon Smith 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Whomever studies these things needs to get a life... FlagShare LikeReply JOhn JOhn 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Sharon Smith Somebody tabulated all of Jay Leno's jokes over the years. Too many people with too much time. FlagShare LikeReply Scruffy the Janitor Scruffy the Janitor 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @JOhn @Sharon Smith Does it include all of them or just the funny ones? FlagShare LikeReply toomanydogs toomanydogs 5ptsFeatured

4 days ago @Scruffy the Janitor @JOhn @Sharon Smith there weren't enough funny ones to giv e statistical signficance. sorry. FlagShare LikeReply Armando Catastrophe Armando Catastrophe 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @JOhn @Sharon Smith There are too many people, period. Gotta give them busywor k. FlagShare LikeReply Hessian Hessian 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Sharon Smith Make it stop. FlagShare LikeReply TheDude TheDude 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago Also found in the study, the word associated with profiles getting most quickly deleted: Grammarian. FlagShare 1WaryapLikeReply Phale Phale 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago But what if those 31% more contacts are women contacting guys just to tell them they're using "whom" wrong? FlagShare 9ZanyaPrimecutNasochkasBanxyLikeReply Ominous_silence Ominous_silence 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Phale Chicks dig fixer-uppers, amirite? FlagShare 5ZanyaArbaitoPrimecutSparksLikeReply Scruffy the Janitor Scruffy the Janitor 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Ominous_silence @Phale They like a salvageable project, not a total loss. FlagShare 1ZanyaLikeReply Ominous_silence Ominous_silence 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Scruffy the Janitor

Hah! FlagShare LikeReply Primecut Primecut 5ptsFeatured 7 days ago @Ominous_silence @Phale Dudes dig grammar correcters, amialsorite?