grammar questions?

Question

How can you tell when to use "who" or "whom"?

when using quotations like the one i used earlier, should the question mark be out of the quotes, or within?

The teacher's enthusiasm and obvious passion for the subject inspired students who had never before been interested in Shakespeare. ^why do we use who instead of what here?

when in this sentence, its considered incorrect...

When the hometown crowd realized that its team was about to lose the game, they started to leave the stadium.
^its incorrect to use "they" instead of "it".

Answer 1

You can try rephrasing the sentence (in your head). "Whom" indicates an action that moves towards the other person. For example: "The man whom I gave the money to", could be put as, "I gave the money to him". The pronoun "him" - and particularly the final letter "m" - gives you the clue as to whether to use "who" or "whom". It just doesn't sound right to say, "The man who I gave the money to". If you're not sure which to use, say to yourself, "Did someone do something to that (other) person?" If yes, then you should use "whom".
As regards the quotation with the question mark, you are quite correct in putting the question mark outside the quotes, because your question was about the two words "who" and "whom", and it concluded the entire sentence.
The difference between "who" and "what" is usually defined as : "who" refers to a human being, or beings, and "what" refers to an animal or an object. I know that Shakespeare said, in "Macbeth", "What bloody man is that?", but he was asking what kind of man that was, and he was not referring directly to the man.
Now, the hometown crowd. Strictly speaking, "it" should be used before "started", but it just doesn't sound right. It's what some call "literary licence". Everyone knows that a crowd is made up of individual persons, and that we should regard the crowd as a homegeneous mass as long as it is static, i.e. watching the game, but as soon as the crowd ("it") starts to break up ("leave the stadium") the crowd becomes a collection of individuals, who are rightly referred to as "they".

Answer 2

Trick #1: Horse and carriage
According to an old song, "love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage." Grammarians might sing that song with slightly different lyrics: "A subject and verb go together like a horse and carriage." (What do you think? Grammy material?) To use Trick #1, follow these steps:

1. Find all the verbs in the sentence.

2. Don't separate the helping verbs from the main verb. Count the main verb and its helpers as a single verb.

3. Now pair each of the verbs with a subject.

4. If you have a verb flapping around with no subject, chances are who or whoever is the subject you're missing.

5. If all the verbs have subjects, check them one more time. Do you have any linking verbs without complements? If you have a lonely linking verb with no complement in sight, you need who or whoever.

A linking verb begins a word equation; it expresses a state of being, linking two ideas. You can think of linking verbs as giant equal signs plopped into the middle of your sentence. The complement completes the equation.


6. If all subjects are accounted for and you don't need a linking verb complement, you've reached a final answer: whom or whomever is the only possibility.

Here's a sample sentence, analyzed via Trick #1:

SENTENCE: Who/Whom shall I say is calling?

The verbs = shall say, is calling.

The subject of shall say = I.

The subject of is calling = Okay, here you go. You need a subject for is calling but you're out of words. You have only one choice: who.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Who shall I say is calling?

Pop quiz
Now you try: Which word is correct?

Agnes buys detergent in one-ton boxes for Lochness, who/whom she adores in spite of his odor problem.

Answer: Whom, because it's the direct object of adores. Agnes buys, she adores = subject–verb pairs. Both are action verbs, so no subject complement is needed.

Trick #2: Getting rhythm
This trick relies on your ear for grammar. Most English sentences follow one pattern: Subject–Verb–Object or Subject Complement. Trick #2 is to say the parts of the sentence in this order, even if you have to rearrange the words a little. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Identify the verb in the sentence that seems connected to the who/whom choice. Usually it's the verb nearest who/whom. It's also the verb logically connected by meaning — that is, in the same thought as who/whom.

2. Say (aloud, if you don't mind scaring your classmates or co-workers, or silently, if you plan to keep a reputation for sanity) the three parts of the sentence.

Anything before the verb is who or whoever.

If you're working with an action verb, anything after the verb is probably whom or whomever.

If you're working with a linking verb, anything after the verb is probably who or whoever.

Here is a sample sentence analyzed with Trick #2:

Who/Whom will Lochness choose for the vacancy in his nuclear spy ring?

The verb is will choose.

Will choose is an action verb, so forget about linking verb complements.

Say aloud: Lochness will choose who/whom.

Choice = whom because the word is after the verb.

Whom = direct object of will choose.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Whom will Lochness choose for the vacancy in his nuclear spy ring
ts

Answer 3

who vs. whom, restate the question or quote with he or him. if you use he, then your answer will be who. if you use him, then your answer will be him.
ex. For whom did you vote?
I voted for him. Therefore, whom is correct.

when using quotations, your punctuation should always be within the quotes.

in the statement, you are talking about the students, therefore you must use who. if you were to use what, it would not make sense

as for the last question, the sentence seems to be correct.

Answer 4

Which book title makes more sense: '' For Whom the Bell Tolls '' or For Who the Bell Tolls?