With whom used on things instead of persons

Question

My native language is German. I always want to say something like:

I have this function with whom I can do this or that

is this actually possible to say?

I always thought that with whom can just be used with persons.

So the final sentence would be: I have this function with which* I can do this or that? If that is the case, can I also say I have this function with that I can do this or that. The example with with that* sounds kinda weird :D — BoJack Horseman, Oct 27 '15 at 07:42
@MaulikV Wow, never thought of that because I try to combine my German speaking patterns with my English :D That one is really simple and nice — BoJack Horseman, Oct 27 '15 at 07:49

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:55

3

The words who and whom are both pronouns.

We use who when referring to a subject in a clause. And we use Whom when referring to the object of a clause. Example:

Martha(subject) Killed Manny(object).

if we use Who and Whom in the sentence above(this might sound weird), it becomes:

Who(subject pronoun) killed whom(object pronoun)?

Who and whom are personal pronoun which means that they are always used with living beings.

So, it is not possible to say:

I have this function with whom I can do this or that

Alternatively, you can say:

I have this function to do this/that! As MaulikV said.

or

I have this function for this/that [purpose/need].

As for more information, read this somewhat similar question and this

Araucaria:

We can use who for Subjects, Objects and Objects of prepositions. We don't need to use whom for these. We can use whom whenever the relative pronoun isn't the Subject of the main verb in the relative clause.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:55

Community

1

answered Oct 27 '15 at 08:09

Usernew

3,127
3
18
41

1

We can use who for Subjects, Objects and Objects of prepositions. We don't need to use whom for these. We can use whom whenever the relative pronoun isn't the Subject of the main verb in the relative clause. (Not my downvote, btw) – Araucaria - Not here any more. Oct 27 '15 at 16:06
1

@Araucaria no problem :) – Usernew Oct 27 '15 at 16:38
@Araucaria I gave a quick basic outline of "Who" vs "Whom" :) – Usernew Oct 27 '15 at 16:50
1

Yes, agreed. However, your answer does make it sound as if who isn't used for objects and so forth :) – Araucaria - Not here any more. Oct 27 '15 at 16:52
@Araucaria Yes, agreed. However, your comment does explain that who can be used for objects, objects of prepositions. :) Thanks :D – Usernew Oct 27 '15 at 16:55
Yes, agreed. But, it would be better if you put that info in your answer. Not everyone reads the comments! – Araucaria - Not here any more. Oct 28 '15 at 11:33

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 29 '15 at 07:07

0

Whom is used to refer to a person, you can use which or you can simply say

I have this function by which I can do this or that.

answered Oct 29 '15 at 07:07

Anand Kumar

144
1
6

With whom used on things instead of persons

2 Answers2