Who vs Whom – And 23 other things we say wrong

Using who and whom incorrectly…. I’m good at this… or am I bad at this?  Irregardless, I say it wrong most of the time. 

Here are a couple examples of things we might be saying wrong:

You might say: Who

You might mean: Whom

Why: It all depends. Do you need a subject or an object? A subject (who) is the actor of the sentence: “Who left the roller skates on the sidewalk?” An object (whom) is the acted-upon: “Whom are you calling?” Parents, hit the Mute button when Dora the Explorer shouts, “Who do we ask for help when we don’t know which way to go?”

You never mean: Outside of

You always mean: Outside

Why: These two prepositions weren’t meant for each other. Perfectly acceptable: “Wearing a cheese-head hat outside Wisconsin will likely earn you some stares and glares (unless you’re surrounded by Green Bay Packers fans, that is).”

The complete list

via

And yes, I know irregardless is generally considered not a word and certainly not in the context used above.

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2 thoughts on “Who vs Whom – And 23 other things we say wrong”

  1. There is another common mistake (in the USA, at least) which I find very annoying, illustrated by this headline which I saw recently:

    “Phobos: A Chip Off of Mars?”

    The “of” is redundant.

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