0

I was reading an interview with Martin Scorsese in the Times and he said the following:

But, no matter whom you make your movie with, the fact is that the screens in most multiplexes are crowded with franchise pictures.

Source

Is this proper usage? I have always heard you use "whom" when "who" would be the object of the sentence, or more colloquially when it would make sense to say "him/her" instead of "he/she". In this example, if we replace "whom" with "him" the word order doesn't make sense, so I can't figure it out. I think the larger problem is he ended the clause with a preposition, and the correct verbiage is

It doesn't matter with whom you make your movie

but that doesn't sound as good.

Zaya
  • 1,051
  • 1
  • 9
  • 18
  • 1
    You_’re making it _with them. They’re and indirect object – Unrelated Feb 09 '20 at 17:23
  • 3
    You make your movie with him, not *with he*. That's the easy way to tell whether you "should" use whom** or *who* when asking *Whom did you make your movie with?* Except nowadays few of us bother with that somewhat "dated" principle, so many younger speakers will think it's a bit weird. We just use *who* everywhere. Maybe Scorsese's just showing his age. – FumbleFingers Feb 09 '20 at 17:24
  • 2
    "But, no matter whom you make your movie with, ..." is a bit dated (especially in conversation), higher register, and otherwise fine. Few would think twice nowadays if they heard "But, no matter who you make your movie with, ..." unless it was Jeeves talking. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 09 '20 at 17:44
  • 4
    (1) If you are not a native speaker, don't bother wondering whether a native speaker made a mistake; they just taught you the wrong rule, is all. (2) There is nothing wrong with ending a clause with a preposition. Native speakers do it all the time. (3) When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, you can optionally pied-pipe the preposition with it to the front, but as you note, it doesn't sound as good. (4) If you don't pied-pipe the preposition, you don't need whom; it's never obligatory, except in a prepositional phrase. – John Lawler Feb 09 '20 at 18:11
  • 1
    We use whom, the object pronoun, because whom is the object in the clause. One way we know this is that you is busy being the subject—the subject of the verb make. Here's how to look at it: whom you make your movie with --> you make your movie with whom --> you make your movie with him – Tinfoil Hat Feb 09 '20 at 18:12
  • 1
    @Unrelated That's not what an indirect object is. – tchrist Feb 09 '20 at 18:58

0 Answers0