whichever and whoever

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have one question to ask:

The prize will be given to whichever of them writes the best composition.

My question is : Can I use whoever instead of whichever?

I am looing forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Mister Micawber]

Yes, you can. I would reserve 'whichever' for a limited number of contestants.

[jiang]

& :

Dear Micawber,
Thank you very much for your explanation. The problem is that this is a multiple choice sentence and "whichever" and "whoever" are among the four choices. That's why I got confused. For a single sentence without any context I can't decide how many contestants enter for the contest.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

Yes, you can. I would reserve 'whichever' for a limited number of contestants.

[HCaulfield]

I think you should go with whichever because of the 'of them' part. I don't think I ever heard or read 'whoever of them'...

[jiang]

Dear HCaulfield,

Thank you very much for your reply. Now I see.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Originally Posted by HCaulfield

I think you should go with whichever because of the 'of them' part. I don't think I ever heard or read 'whoever of them'...