Grammar Isn't Quite so Tough When You Break it Down!

While English grammar can seem to us like a labyrinth of arbitrary rules and endless possibilities for error, the truth is that 90% of all grammar errors fall into just 20 types. This means that if you can identify and correct just twenty types of errors, you will be able to write papers that are at least 90% error-free!

Of course, some errors can take time to truly master, such as errors in tense and number (a fancy word for singular vs. plural), particularly if English is not your native language. Nonetheless, becoming familiar with these error patterns is a big step toward successfully eliminating them. With that in mind, the Writing Center offers the following link to the

Dartmouth Writing Program’s website:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/grammar.shtml

This website identifies and defines the twenty most common errors.

"Grammar Scares Me" Part I: Who vs. Whom

The choice between who and whom may be the most scary of all pronoun issues.




Use this method from The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need to help calm your fears:

1. First, remember to look only at the clause associated with who or whom. Sometimes there is only one clause and sometimes there are independent and dependent clauses.
   


2. Next, scramble words in the clause (if you have to) so that the words form a statement, not a question.
   


3. Now, substitute either he or him for who or whom. This will tell you whether to use who or whom. Use the mnemonic he=who, him=whom (the final m helps you remember the association).
   


4. Be on the lookout for predicate nominatives (sometimes called a predicate noun, it renames the subject). After you scramble the words, if you have a linking verb rather than an action verb, use he (who) instead of him (whom).
   
   

Let's try it!

• (Who, Whom) pounded on the door last night?
  

In this sentence, no scrambling is necessary since you can substitute he and have a perfectly good sentence: He pounded on the door late last night. Since you used he, you would use who in the original sentence.

• (Who, Whom) were you meeting in the dark?
  

Scramble the words to make a statement; then, substitute he or him, and you have the statement "You were meeting him in the dark last night." Since you used him in the new sentence, you know to use whom in the original sentence.

• Dr. Frankenstein worried about (who, whom) the monster would be paired with during the Haunted Competition.
  
  

This sentence has two clauses, but you're only concerned with the clause that contains the who/whom question. Take the words after about, scramble them to make a statement, substitute he or him, and you have, "The monster would be paired with him during the Haunted Competition." Since you used him, you would know that the original sentence would use whom.

Now, ease your fears with these practice exercises!

1. We helped the man who/whom was lost in the woods.
   


2. She is the woman who/whom I told you about.
   


3. I don't like people who/whom aren't compassionate.
   


4. You will work with our senior engineers, who/whom you will meet later.



5. Who/whom did the Democratic Party nominate in 1992?