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SC - Pronoun Problem

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by limestone » Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:51 am
A reward was offered to whoever would return the dog to its owner.

B. to whomever would return the dog to its owner.
C. to whosoever would return the dog to its owner.
D. to whomsoever would return the dog to its owner.
E. to whichever person would return the dog to its owner.

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler] IMO: C
Can anyone explain the difference between whoever and whosoever?
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by Maciek » Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:15 am
Hi!

'Whoever' is a pronoun and means 'whatever person' or 'anyone that'.
'Whomever' is also a pronoun and the objective case of 'whoever'.
'Whosever' is also a pronoun and the possesive case of 'whoever'.

examples:
Whoever did it must be clever.
Whosever car this is, should be repaired.
Whomever they spoke to, they were smiling.

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
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by gmat_perfect » Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:16 am
limestone wrote:A reward was offered to whoever would return the dog to its owner.

B. to whomever would return the dog to its owner.
C. to whosoever would return the dog to its owner.
D. to whomsoever would return the dog to its owner.
E. to whichever person would return the dog to its owner.

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler] IMO: C
Can anyone explain the difference between whoever and whosoever?
Rule 1.
To determine whether to use whoever or whomever, here is the rule:
him + he = whoever
him + him = whomever

Examples:

Give it to whoever/whomever asks for it first.
Give it to him. He asks for it first.
Therefore, Give it to whoever asks for it first.

We will hire whoever/whomever you recommend.

We will hire him. You recommend him.

him + him = whomever

We will hire whoever/whomever is most qualified.
We will hire him. He is most qualified.
him + he = whoever

Rule 2. When the entire whoever/whomever clause is the subject of the verb that follows the clause, look inside the clause to determine whether to use whoever or whomever.

Examples:
Whoever is elected will serve a four-year term.
Whoever is elected is the subject of will serve.
Whoever is the subject of is.
Whomever you elect will serve a four-year term.
Whomever you elect is the subject of will serve.
Whomever is the object of you elect.

whosoever =whoever.

whosoever is used in formal way.

Thanks.

Answer MUST be A.
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by limestone » Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:03 pm
I appreciate so much. But why don't we use whosoever here?
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by e-GMAT » Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:53 pm
limestone wrote:I appreciate so much. But why don't we use whosoever here?
@limestone, your doubt is valid. In this sentence, whosoever may also be considered correct. However, IMO, whosoever is more formal or archaic than whoever and hence whoever is more precise and better usage.

That being said, I do not believe that GMAT will test you regarding the usage of whosoever vs. whoever. So in the test, you will not see two choices like A and C in this question. There will be other reasons to reject Choice C.

I hope that helps.

Thanks,

Payal
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by shweta.kalra » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:00 am
hi payal,
someone has commented that if "who" CAN BE REPLACED with "he" then we should use "who".
SO HERE "a reward was offered to "him"MAKES MORE SENSE shouldn't we use "WHOM" HERE.
A reward was offered to "WHOMEVER" WOULD.........................
AND
a reward was offered to "HE" doesnt make sense.
THANKS,
SHWETA
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by e-GMAT » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:54 am
shweta.kalra wrote:hi payal,
someone has commented that if "who" CAN BE REPLACED with "he" then we should use "who".
SO HERE "a reward was offered to "him"MAKES MORE SENSE shouldn't we use "WHOM" HERE.
A reward was offered to "WHOMEVER" WOULD.........................
AND
a reward was offered to "HE" doesn't make sense.
THANKS,
SHWETA
Shweta, you are absolutely correct that we should use who when we can replace this pronoun with he and we should use whom when we can replace this pronoun with him. However, the thing you need to keep in mind is where this replacement should be done - in the main clause or in the relative pronoun clause. Here is what I mean:

A reward was offered to whoever would return the dog to its owner.

whoever begins the relative pronoun clause - whoever would return the dog to its owner.
It is in this clause that you should do the replacement and check whether "he" makes sense or whether "him" makes sense. Clearly in this clause "he" makes sense since we can say that "he would return the dog to its owner".

So always makes sure that you perform this test on the clause that begins with this pronoun - whomever or whoever or who or whom.

Now lets check a sentence where whomever will be correct.

A reward was offered to whomever the committee randomly selected.

Now in this sentence, we will perform this test on the clause that begins with this pronoun - whomever the committee randomly selected.
What is the verb in this clause - selected.
Who did the selection - committee.

Now we write this clause as - the committee randomly selected whomever - and determine whether "he" or "him" can replace it.
the committee randomly selected him.
In this clause - him makes sense. he is incorrect. Thus "whomever" is correct.

I hope this clarifies your doubt. Let me know if you need any further clarifications. :)

For e-GMAT users, the concept of who vs whom is explained in the concept titled "Modifiers - Relative Pronouns"

Regards,

Payal
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by shweta.kalra » Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:04 am
thats awesome
many thanks to u payal
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