Monday, January 10, 2011

Who Looks Like The Idiot?

I'm not one of those grammatically capable people. And if you've read any of my previous posts you are probably thinking, don't we know it. It's not an ambition of mine to be good at it, even though maybe I should be better than I am. Especially since I will purposely avoid using sentences where I fear my grammar is so bad, I would offend my grade school teachers.

That out of the way, my boss sent me an email this morning to ask: "Do you know whom this person is?" The person in question is not important, what is, is his usage of the word "whom." I think it's wrong. Just going to put it out there. I think it should be: "Do you know who this person is?"

I had nowhere to turn, so naturally, I turned to Google. When I put in "Do you know whom this person is?" Google brought up search results with the note: did you mean... "Do you know who this person is?" because that is the results were showing you, moron. Thankfully, they don't call you a moron when they show you other result options otherwise I would get that A LOT.

Now I'm not saying Google is a credible source, but I'm feeling a little more comfortable with my position on this issue.

The second part of my vent... I thought it was a pretty presumptuous way to ask it. I mean, why couldn't he just ask: "Do you know this guy?" If we were a company where people could actually communicate with voice instead of email, he wouldn't be walking over spouting "Do you know whom this person is?"

Does he need to show me his superiority, his higher degree of education, his bigger bank account by acting like he is all refine? And I'm the idiot who would say, "Anyone hear of this dude?"

6 comments:

  1. Frankly, if my boss can't walk up to my cubicle and ask me who the hell this person is then he's not a good boss to begin with. He sounds like a damn moron to me.....I'm enjoying your posts....keep them coming.
    And Amy, one more thing.....whom the hell is your boss anyway?

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  2. Thanks Chad! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the posts. I really appreciate the support!

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  3. Truthfully, your grammar and punctuation in your posts are stellar compared to most. Trust me, you're in good shape. :)

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  4. Thanks Lola! That makes me feel better! :)

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  5. I don't know if it's a foolproof method for telling when to use who vs whom, but I've seen it several places -- would you reply with "he" or "him"?
    "No, I don't know who him is." No? Then in this case, "whom" is not appropriate.

    (Assuming this approach is correct, good call.) :)

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  6. Thanks Contessa! The he/him rule sounds like a good one to use. I think it's a keeper!

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