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I put together a document with my findings in order to help whomever keeps working on this.

I understand that "whomever" should be used as an object, whereas "whoever" as a subject. But in the sentence above it seems to be acting as both: object for help ("help whomever") and subject for keep ("whomever keeps"). In this case, is the sentence above correct?

Also, would it be correct to use "whoever"? Argument would be the same, that it's used both as subject and object.

Eduardo Bezerra
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2 Answers2

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It’s the clause as a whole (whoever keeps working on this) that is the object. Whoever is the subject of that clause. So it should be whoever, not whomever.

Xanne
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    Thers's a clash of functions. The "who(m)ever" expression is not a clause but an NP in a fused relative construction. I agree that it is the object of "help", but within the relative clause fused "whomever" functions as aubject. – BillJ Nov 19 '20 at 11:30
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    If it were this simple, you would also write to help they who keep working on this or I who keep working on this? I think the real answer to this question might be a bit more complicated than it seems at first. – oerkelens Nov 19 '20 at 12:34
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    Not understanding this seems to be a common cause of incorrect overuse of "whom" in US English. In British English, "whom" is virtually obsolete except for set phrases like "To whom it may concern". – alephzero Nov 19 '20 at 19:54
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    @oerkelens In your example "they" or "I" (which should be "them" or "me" of course) are the direct objects of the main clause, and "who keep working on this" is an adjectival clause (with "who" as its subject) describing the direct object. If you change the sentence to "to help John and Mary who keep working on this" is should be clear that "whom" makes no sense. – alephzero Nov 19 '20 at 19:58
  • Time to start decluttering. This question is a multi-duplicate. Answering such is unscholarly. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 20 '20 at 19:26
  • I agree, @EdwinAshworth, about decluttering, although I think a search function that directs people to questions well-answered is more important than getting rid of clutter. – Xanne Nov 21 '20 at 01:32
  • If you agree, delete. And D-V and C-V. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 21 '20 at 11:54
  • No, @EdwinAshworth, someone has to pick the duplicate. It is a reasonable question. A search for “whomever” has 175 hits. And the OP has not replied to the question whether the suggested possibilities answer his/her/their/its question. – Xanne Nov 21 '20 at 22:21
  • If you're going to claim this as a better / more apt answer, you should at least sdd a supporting reference. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 22 '20 at 16:31
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There is no clash of functions. In the sentence ,"I want to help whoever arrives first","who" is the subject of its own clause, and is in the subjective case. In this sentence, "whomever" would be incorrect.

The complete clause "whoever comes first" is the object of the verb help in the main clause.

KillingTime
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roger
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