When I look up a word in the dictionary, I often see other words on the same page and get intrigued by them and their meanings. Sometimes I spend several minutes or more just reading the dictionary. Some find this odd, but it's just who I am. I love words.
Recently, I discovered that the word thesaurus comes from a Greek word that means treasure chest. We tend to use the same set of words repeatedly, while ignoring the vast array of synonyms we could be using. When I'm preparing a Bible lesson, I sometimes research the Greek or Hebrew meanings of words. That opens up an even larger treasure store of words.
That's the way I see the entire English language--as a vast treasure of words.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Who vs. Whom
The other day I saw a bumper sticker, in the shape of the paw, that said "Who rescued who?" Can you figure out why this is wrong?
People often get confused when deciding between who and whom. This is how I remember it: If you can replace the word with "him," it should be whom. If not, it should be who. Using the bumper sticker as an example, the implication is that the owner rescued the dog, but the dog also rescued the owner. So we would say, "he saved him." Since the first one is "he," that is correct to be who. But the second is "him," so that should be whom. In other words, "Who saved whom?" Hope this makes sense. If not, leave a comment on the blog and we'll discuss it more.
People often get confused when deciding between who and whom. This is how I remember it: If you can replace the word with "him," it should be whom. If not, it should be who. Using the bumper sticker as an example, the implication is that the owner rescued the dog, but the dog also rescued the owner. So we would say, "he saved him." Since the first one is "he," that is correct to be who. But the second is "him," so that should be whom. In other words, "Who saved whom?" Hope this makes sense. If not, leave a comment on the blog and we'll discuss it more.
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