'The person whom I ask for help is clever'

Question

Does 'whom' work here?

The person whom I ask for help is clever.

I don't think it does: ask for has already an object.

This is why nobody should ever use whom. What good does it do you to use it, even if you use it right, when nobody can tell whether it's right or not? Who always works, as it would here. — John Lawler, Aug 02 '20 at 22:56
Nothing is wrong with the word "whom". The sentence is just a peculiar expression. Consider, "He whom I ask is clever." It just sounds very forced. — R Mac, Aug 02 '20 at 23:56

Will Crawford · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-03T01:51:46.080

1

The person you're asking is the direct object of ask, and the help is an indirect one, so whom is the correct (objective) case.

However, I would - even though whom is perfectly correct - counsel leaving it out altogether and just writing one of:

depending on which you mean.

edited Aug 03 '20 at 01:51

answered Aug 03 '20 at 00:38

Will Crawford

Had forgotten the direct object. This shed light on my question. – Schwale Aug 03 '20 at 01:39

1 Answers1