He makes friends easily with *whoever/whomever* he meets.

[z7655431]

"He makes friends easily with *whoever/whomever* he meets."
I know that "whoever" and "whomever" are both correct. But I want to know that which word is more commonly used in American and British English? Azar's grammar book says "whomever" is rare and extremely formal in American English, and you should use "whoever" (NOT whomever) when you need an object in British. Is that true? I think "whomever" is OK in British English. Am I right? Thanks!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

In American English, whomever is more correct, and whoever is more common.

Let's see what our UK friends say.

 

[GoesStation]

Whomever is rare in AmE. When it does appear, it's likely to be in a place where only whoever would be correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Whomever is rare in AmE. When it does appear, it's likely to be in a place where only whoever would be correct.

Yes, Z, GoesStation is making a joke but is exactly right. "Whomever" is correct standard American English, but it's not often used - and when it is, it's usually used incorrectly!

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, Z, GoesStation is making a joke but is exactly right. "Whomever" is correct standard American English, but it's not often used - and when it is, it's usually used incorrectly!

I wasn't making a joke, I was sharing an observation.

My advice to students of English is: never use the word whomever. It has been replaced by whoever, which is correct anywhere an old reference book might say that only whomever​ is correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I wasn't making a joke, I was sharing an observation.

My advice to students of English is: never use the word whomever. It has been replaced by whoever, which is correct anywhere an old reference book might say that only whomever​ is correct.

Well, I laughed!

If it's been decommissioned, I haven't seen the memo. I can still find it in print and online references. My dictionary calls it the objective case of whoever - whatever that means.

But I absolutely agree that whoever is elbowing it out. It's going the way of the mullet. It sounds snooty, so your advice not to use it makes good sense.

I like whoever better, too.

 

[z7655431]

How about this one?
"The author *whom/who* you criticized in your review has written a reply." (Oxford)
Between "whom" and "who", which word is more commonly used in such a case in British and American English?

 

[GoesStation]

I'd write whom,​ but I suspect I'm part of a very small AmE-speaking minority.

 

[z7655431]

Whomever is very rare in BrE.

In formal writing, 'whom' is possibly more common.

In informal writing and in speech, I suspect that most of us would use a zero relative.

"The author *whom/who* you criticized in your review has written a reply."
In British English, "whom" is more common in formal writing.

However,
"He makes friends easily with *whoever/whomever* he meets."
In British English, "whomever" is very rare.

For me, that's very surprising. It's because both "whom" and "whomever" are the objective forms of "who" and "whoever", so I think they should be in the same situation. But you just said "whom" is more common in formal writing, while "whomever" is very rare. I am so confused.

 

[GoesStation]

"He makes friends easily with *whoever/whomever* he meets."
In British English, "whomever" is very rare.

For me, that's very surprising. It's because both "whom" and "whomever" are the objective forms of "who" and "whoever", so I think they should be in the same situation. But you just said "whom" is more common in formal writing, while "whomever" is very rare. I am so confused.

Logically, whomever would be just as common as whom. Language users are notoriously careless of logic, though, and whomever​ has largely fallen out of use.

 

[konungursvia]

In short, use whom if you're writing and your audience has at least two doctorates.

 

[Raymott]

On the other hand, I used 'whomever' just a few days ago when talking with my brother-in-law. But we were talking about literature, and it was probably gamesmanship on my part. I'd draw the line at 'whomsoever' though.

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER

The OP has already received the answer.

I only wanted to share a non-teacher's opinion with my fellow non-teacher members.

1. I respectfully suggest that one use "whomever" in writing, when one has time to stop and think.

2. Mentally rearrange the sentence:

"He makes friends easily with he meets ____."

If you are at least an intermediate student, you will note that the missing word is the object of the verb "meets." And you know that the objective case [form] is "whomever." Thus: "He makes friends easily with whomever he meets."

 

[Rover_KE]

...and even if your audience has doctorates in metallurgy and oceanography it wouldn't have been part of their coursework.

The standard advice is to use 'whom' only after prepositions — and only then when you want sound formal.

[informal] 'Who did you get that car from?'

[formal] 'From whom did you get that car?'

 

[Tdol]

It's because both "whom" and "whomever" are the objective forms of "who" and "whoever", so I think they should be in the same situation.

Whom is used less than in the past, so both are to an extent in decline, but whomever has declined faster. I almost never hear it used.

 

[GoesStation]

It's true that "whom" and "whomever" were once the objective forms of "who" and "whoever". They are both used less and less, and the latter has largely vanished from most speakers' and writers' vocabulary.