Who vs whom in this sentence ...?

Question

"Instead, they revel in their civilization and think themselves superior to those that are connected to nature, who(m?) they refer to as 'Savages'."

I was thinking it was whom, but I'm not sure. I always have trouble with that. =P

Oh, I have to write a compare/contrast essay with "The Lives Of A Cell" by Lewis Thomas and "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley, so that's what my sentence is about, if it seems a little odd.

Thanks! =D

Answer 1

You're right - it's "whom." That's because the subject ("they") refer to the object of the sentence as "savages."

The savages act as the object in the sentence. The savages aren't the ones committing the action of calling themselves savages; "they" (the subject) are committing the action.

The object of the sentence ("the savages") is being acted upon by the subject.

Hope that helps! :>)

Answer 2

Whom

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/who.html

Answer 3

In the sentence "they refer to them as 'Savages'", 'them' can be grammatically replaced by 'whom'. But 'whom' alone, I mean it doesn't follow a preposition, can be replaced by 'who', because there is no confusion. So I think either whom or who is correct.

Answer 4

there is as a rule confusion approximately while to apply 'who' and 'whom'. in case you're uncertain which to apply, use 'who'. at first, this is plenty extra problem-unfastened than 'whom'. Secondly, using 'whom' is considered previous shaped in some circles. Who - concern of Verb The be conscious 'who' can purely be used while it fairly is the priority of a verb. Ex: Who paid for the meal? ("Who" is the priority of the verb "to pay".) 'Whom' is on no account the priority of a verb. ('Who', on the different hand, is often the priority of a verb.) Ex: You sat via whom all night? (in this "whom" isn't the priority. "You" is the priority of "to sit down down".) continuously use 'whom' after prepositions. you have a baby via whom? (via - preposition) With whom did you spot Janice? (with - preposition) this is the girl to whom I made the promise. (to - preposition) i think of now you're sparkling.

Answer 5

I would say whom as well.