addressed to

Status
Not open for further replies.

Nightmare85

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
German
Home Country
Germany
Current Location
Germany
Hello,
Is it okay to ask:
To whom was it addressed?
Or is it maybe better to ask:
Whom was it addressed to?
(A guy said something and you don't know whom he meant.)

I know that:
Whom are you talking to. :up:
is better than:
To whom are you talking. :-|

Same as:
Whom are you talking about. :up:
rather than:
About whom are you talking. :-|

Cheers!
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Hello,
Is it okay to ask:
To whom was it addressed?
Or is it maybe better to ask:
Whom was it addressed to?
(A guy said something and you don't know whom he meant.)

I know that:
Whom are you talking to. :up:
is better than:
To whom are you talking. :-|

Same as:
Whom are you talking about. :up:
rather than:
About whom are you talking. :-|

Cheers!
I would say them like this:
To whom was it addressed?
or:
Who was it addressed to?

Who are you talking to?
or:
To whom are you talking?

Who are you talking about?
or:
About whom are you talking?
 

Nightmare85

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
German
Home Country
Germany
Current Location
Germany
Thanks. :)

Interesting.
Would you also say:
Who did you see? (you saw someone.)
Who saw you? (someone saw you.)
There is a clear difference between these two sentence.
So maybe there is no need to ask:
Whom did you see?

But bhaisahab, this doesn't mean that my three sentences (from post #1) would be wrong if I used whom instead of who, does it?
It's just an option, isn't it?

Cheers!
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Thanks. :)

Interesting.
Would you also say:
Who did you see? (you saw someone.)
Who saw you? (someone saw you.)
There is a clear difference between these two sentence.
So maybe there is no need to ask:
Whom did you see?

But bhaisahab, this doesn't mean that my three sentences (from post #1) would be wrong if I used whom instead of who, does it?
It's just an option, isn't it?

Cheers!
I agree with bhai. The grammar of "whom" is changing.
It is still common to use "whom" after a preposition.
"To whom are you talking?"
But it's rare these days to use "whom" as the first word of a question - even though it's right in traditional grammar.
* "Whom are you talking to?" Becoming obsolete.
"Who are you talking to?" Correct, by usage.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top