This problem has nothing directly to do with who/whom (a distinction that the SAT does not test). You can’t just look at the single word following “by.” The object of the preposition is “them/those who did not approve it,” and the required word has to do with how it functions in this unit, which is a noun phrase headed by them/those. The relative clause “who did not approve it” modifies them/those. But “them,” as a personal pronoun, virtually always stands alone in the noun phrase. It doesn’t take modifiers like the relative clause. I won’t get into a detailed analysis of “those," as modern accounts differ from a traditional analysis and the differences aren’t to the point here. Suffice it to say that “those” isn’t a personal pronoun and doesn’t have the same restriction. > On Jan 5, 2015, at 9:34 AM, Jane Saral <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > A recent SAT "ID the error" question reads: > > Although it is widely regarded as a masterpiece now, when it was built > A B > > the Eiffel Tower was compared to a "ridiculous smokestack" by them who did > C > > not approve of it. No error > D E > > > C just sounds wrong. I would say "by those who did not approve of it." But isn't the "them/those" word the stand-alone O.P. of by, unaffected by the relative clause that follows? This does not seem to be dealing with the who/whom question; "who" is correctly the subject of "did not approve." > > So why is this an error? > > Jane Saral > 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/ > 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/