Who/Whom?

The One-Minute Journalist 2 -- Who/Whom?

Raja, with _______ (who/whom) I discussed the matter this morning, said it was a good idea to serve coffee to the people attending the meeting.

Who? whom? er... both sound ok. who whom, who whom ...

Your eighth-standard teacher told you:
he, she, it, they - use who.
him, her, them, us - use whom.
We all forgot that rule the minute we walked out of the examination hall.

Don't worry.

Just remember, whom ends in an m. mmmm. Him ends in an m, mmmm.

When in doubt, break up the sentence.

Raja with ______(who/whom) I discussed ... I discussed the matter with Raja.
I discussed it with him.
You wouldn't say I discussed it with he. You would say I discussed it with him. mmmm. So, whom. Raja, with WHOM I discussed the matter ...

What happens when it's a woman? Same story.You'd say I discussed it with her. Not I discussed it with she. her/him. mmmm. whom

Cheers,
G. Krishnan

Read Aloud -- OMJ 1

The One-Minute Journalist-1 Read Aloud

Read Aloud!

Reading aloud helps you catch mistakes in the copy.

Press your ear gently with one finger and you'll notice that your voice is quite loud, yet doesn't disturb your neighbour. Parts of the brain relating to both the visual and auditory areas are involved when you read aloud. It'll help you iron out glitches in the tone. You'll know whether the sentence is simple or complicated. Does it sound the way you would talk to your friend (no, don't use slang in the copy)? Does it make you sleepy? Chances are it's doing the same to the reader.

Introduction

In December 2003, I began emailing a brief newsletter called The One-Minute Journalist to a dozen young reporters at The Hindu, a leading English-language newspaper in India.

Soon, the email began circulating in cyberspace. I then began sending it out to some 500 editorial staff at the paper.

English usage, well-written stories, an interesting turn of phrase ... anything that will make us all better writers and copy editors will form part of the newsletter.


G. Krishnan