Whom for immaterial subjects

Question

I've got a weird question. Here is the sentence:

"Inky the shy Blue ghost, whom goes about in the room without a precise purpose"

Is it correct to use "whom" in this context ? The fact that the "ghost" has a distinct name leads me to believe we can use it instead of "that". But my, the thought is staggering.

Please tell us where you read this sentence. P.S. Why is "Blue" capitalized? — Mari-Lou A, Feb 09 '18 at 11:30

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 09 '18 at 11:27

I know of no variety of English in which that sentence is grammatical, but not because of the animacy, but because "whom" (where it is used) must be the object of the verb. A grammatical version of your sentence would be "Inky the shy Blue ghost, who goes about in the room without a precise purpose"

To answer the question I think you meant to ask, whether you can use "who" for a ghost or not is entirely up to whether you regard ghosts as people or not. That is a question of metaphysics, not of language.

Thanks Colin. Shame on me I fell again on the 'whom/who' trap :-( — Francesco Marchioni, Feb 09 '18 at 11:38

Whom for immaterial subjects

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