Hi all, I'm creating a handout to introduce the Direct Object Pronoun to my class. I gave it to some colleagues to proofread, and a debate started over whether "whom" or "who" should be used in the explanations. This is an excerpt of the text: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can identify the direct object by asking the question "what?" or "whom?" [...] ...a direct object can also be the person we are referring to. So, in a sentence like: "The dog chased Alice" "Alice", the person we are referring to, is the direct object. "Whom" did the dog chase? Alice. Similarly, in the sentence: "The car hit Andrew", "Andrew" is the direct object. "Whom" did the car hit? Andrew. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Several colleagues corrected me by saying the DO pronoun responds to the question "who", not "whom", and that the two examples are grammatically incorrect: they should read "Who did the dog chase" and "Who did the car hit". I understand that the use of "whom" there can sound stilted and "puffy", as one book puts it, but still, isn't "whom" in the same category as "him/her", and thus, the DO? Some of my colleagues said I was confusing DO and IO, and that "whom" was used for Indirect Objects, as in "Whom did you give it to?". I responded that the IO was actually "To whom" or "For whom", but me not being a native speaker of English, I know my credibility is "0" when it comes to language issues. So, do you have any comments, suggestions, etc., on my wording in the handout? Should I go ahead and replace "whom" to decrease negative reactions? The handout will be used in a Spanish grammar class. We would cover what the DO is in English, and how it is used, and once we have that common background knowledge, we'll see how it is used in Spanish. Thanks for any feedback you provide me with. Regards, Roberto Perez [log in to unmask] To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/