Bill Jones, WHO/WHOM we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject

Question

Which is correct?

The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, who we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.

The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, whom we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.

What is the rule?

People who use whom, and who understand the traditional (learned) rules for using it, will say whom. People who don't use whom much will say who. People who are not trying to be formal and stilted will not use the "accusative and infinitive" construction (which wasn't part of English until people started importing it from Latin), and will instead say who we believe is the preeminent authority on the subject. — Colin Fine, Jul 14 '21 at 22:54
Does this answer your question? Whom I am teaching? Also Whether to use WHO or WHOM and Why is 'He is a man whom I look up to.' not quite right even though it is not wrong? and Who vs whom usage and What to use :who or whom in this context and plenty more. But I'd go with Colin's implied recommendation - *Forget "whom"* — FumbleFingers, Nov 26 '21 at 18:09

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 28 '20 at 20:49

Version 2 is correct in formal writing. Take out the subordinate clause to play with it, with a different pronoun:
"We believe him to be the best choice." You could not use "he" there; objective case is required.

You could avoid the "whom", and the question, by saying "who we believe is the preeminent authority...".

Bill Jones, WHO/WHOM we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject

1 Answers1