who vs whom

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paes: Legendary Member; Posts: 995; Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 31 times

by paes » Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:12 am

While it was initially unclear whom was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, evidence later surfaced that a group of Serbian military officers organized a conspiracy to exterminate the leader and cause a break-up of the Balkan states that would eventually lead to the First World War.

(A) While it was initially unclear whom was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,
(b) While it was initially unclear to whom was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,
(c) While it was initially unclear who was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,
(d) While it was initially unclear to who was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:12 am

mohit11: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 293; Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:08 amFollowed by: 5 members; Location: India; Thanked: 36 times; GMAT Score:730

by mohit11 » Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:55 am

Who vs Whom, I think the easiest way to approach this by answering the question in the sentence. If the answer is "He/She" use Who, if the answer is "Him/Her" use Whom

He was to blame for the assassination ... Sounds correct to me
Him was to blame... Sounds incorrect to me

Answer should be C

to whom /who is incorrect usage.

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niksworth: Legendary Member; Posts: 520; Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:44 amFollowed by: 6 members; Thanked: 70 times

by niksworth » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:14 am

C should be right.

whom is a objective pronoun and is taken when it appears as an object in the sentence.

who is a subjective / nominative pronoun and is used as a subject.

In the subordinate clause While it was initially unclear whom was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the pronoun is functioning as the subject of the clause, so use of who in subjective case is right.

scio me nihil scire

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scorpionz: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 98; Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:00 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 7 times; GMAT Score:760

by scorpionz » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:16 am

Another vote for C..

Both the explanations above are spot on!!

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