# Need grammar help - Whomever vs. Whoever in this phrase **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404 "2009-08-14T14:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/1 "2009-08-14T14:34:07Z")
“Someone was going to hire Michael Vick. And whomever it was, was going to get a good QB cheap” Don’t fret about the passive voice or other errors. I’m only concerned about the use of who(m)ever. I wrote the sentence informally on Facebook. A petty FOAF whom I do not know said my usage was incorrect. His reasoning was off, but I suspect he’s right. When I re-read it, it seems that “whomever” was the antecedent and should’ve been “whoever.” Which is right? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/2 "2009-08-14T14:40:53Z")
I’d said “whoever”. That’s partly because “whomever” always sounds pedantic, and partly because if you are being strictly traditional in your grammar “whoever” or “whomever” is predicative to the verb “was”, and pedants use the nominative case there anyway. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/3 "2009-08-14T14:46:19Z")
He should have been more concerned about the use of “cheap” instead of “cheaply”! 🙂 Seriously - it’s Facebook. Just be happy half the words aren’t misspelled, as they are in most other posts on there! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/4 "2009-08-14T14:47:52Z")
“Whoever” ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/5 "2009-08-14T14:50:12Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I’d said “whoever”. That’s partly because “whomever” always sounds pedantic, and partly because if you are being strictly traditional in your grammar “whoever” or “whomever” is predicative to the verb “was”, and pedants use the nominative case there anyway. Easy on that Pedant stuff… “whoever” is a better choice for the OP’s question. See here for a nice guideline: [Whoever vs. Whomever | Grammar Rules and Examples](http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/whoever.asp) But in the \*\*Chief Pedant’s \*\*opinion, “whomever” should depart the language permanently. It’s not worth parsing out the difference, although it does make a nice pastime for regular pedants. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/6 "2009-08-14T14:58:21Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > “Someone was going to hire Michael Vick. And whomever it was, was going to get a good QB cheap” The easy way: And whomever it was, {HE/HIM} was going to get a good QB cheap “him was going” sounds terrible. So it’s not the accusative case. (Note the -M.) “he was going” sounds fine. He is the subject case, as is who, so (as the others said) “whoever it was” is great. In general, if you choose “who” where “whom” is correct, you’ll sound informal. If you choose “whom” where “who” is correct, you’ll sound like you’ve been poorly educated. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/7 "2009-08-14T15:05:12Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The easy way: > > And whomever it was, {HE/HIM} was going to get a good QB cheap No, I’d use non-gender-specific language, as well as “whoever”: And whoever it was, they were going to get a good QB cheap. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-grammar-help-whomever-vs-whoever-in-this-phrase/506404/8 "2009-08-14T15:20:09Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > He should have been more concerned about the use of “cheap” instead of “cheaply”! :smack: Adjective/adverb confusion is one of my grammar pet peeves. I can’t believe I did that. I blame it on late night facebooking.