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  1. Programming skills are an important criteria for whom we choose to hire.

  2. Programming skills are an important criteria for who we choose to hire.

Which one is grammatically correct?

I'm guessing it's the second, but I have no idea. But there is also for whom the bell tolls.

herisson
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Thomas Baert
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    Programming skills are an important criterion* for which we choose to hire.* – Anonym Mar 08 '15 at 10:20
  • On second thought, both sentences are correct if you mean to say that programming skills highly influence your decision on whom you hire; the former is more formal, the latter less so, and that is all. Criteria, however, is the plural form of singular criterion. – Anonym Mar 08 '15 at 10:27
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    Programming skills are an important criterion by which we choose who(m) to hire. (whom and who both work - whom sounds a bit pompous) – Armen Ծիրունյան Mar 08 '15 at 10:27
  • This question has been asked ALREADY. – Blessed Geek Mar 08 '15 at 10:28
  • The sentence is ambiguous. To whom is programming skills important? The employer or the programmer being hired? If you're not sure about which one to choose, always use "who" it's never wrong. – Mari-Lou A Mar 08 '15 at 11:30
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    Avoid ambiguity and doubt: "Programming skills are an important criteria in those we choose to hire" – anongoodnurse Mar 08 '15 at 11:33
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    The sentence expresses the idea poorly and in a verbose manner. Let's hope the code is more concise than the prose. The person we hire must have good programming skills. – TimR Mar 08 '15 at 12:55
  • @medica: The criteria cannot be "in those". They can be "in our choice of whom to hire." – TimR Mar 08 '15 at 12:57

2 Answers2

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A good rule for contemporary English is never use "whom". It's dead, and it sounds stuffy and old-fashioned to use archaic forms. In the sentences you ask about, I'd write "whoever". Also, you need to use the singular form "criterion".

Greg Lee
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  • I don't think this is a good rule at all. "whom" may sound stuffy to some but not to others, and it is correct to use "whom" when the syntax calls for an object. – TimR Mar 08 '15 at 12:53
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The word who can only be used when it is the subject of a verb. That might sound confusing, but it just means it is like the words I, he, she, we, and they. Just like who, each of these words can only be the subject of a verb. The difference with who is that some people are unsure when to use who and whom. Well, confusing that pair is no different from confusing these pairs: I/me, he/him, she/her, and they/them.

M_Griffiths
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