For who or for whom?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I’m a little bit confused. Shouldn’t it be for whom, since for is a preposition?

I was RAISED; I didn’t just grow up. I was taught to say please & thank you, to have respect for my elders, lend a helping hand to those in need, hold the door for the person behind me, say excuse me when it’s needed, & to love people for who they are, not for what you can get from them! I was also taught to treat people the way I want to be treated!

Thanks for the help.

2

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Mr. Silva:

Congratulations! You want to use “who” and “whom” correctly.

I can guarantee you: most native speakers would fail a school test on the use of those two pronouns.

BUT, I think that this time, the writer of that paragraph got it right!

Let’s look at the sentence:“I love people for who they are.”

For analysis, the sentence is: I love people for THEY ARE WHO.

a. they = subject.
b. are = linking verb.
c. who = subjective complement.

i. As you know, the subjective complement refers back to the subject “they.” Since the subject is in the subjective / nominative case, then the complement must also be in the subjective case. The subjective case of “who” is “who,” not “whom”(the objective case).

So the phrase “who they are” is the object of the preposition.

As you so correctly pointed out, “whom” would be correct in a sentence such as “For whom did you buy this gift?” That is: You did buy this gift for whom? (“whom” is clearly the object of “for.”)

a. I think that many (most?) native speakers would simply ask: Who did you buy this gift for? (Of course, they are “wrong.” But if most native speakers use language in a certain way, can we say that they are wrong?)

James

3

Let’s look at the sentence:“I love people for who they are.”
For analysis, the sentence is: I love people for THEY ARE WHO.
a. they = subject.
b. are = linking verb.
c. who = subjective complement.
i. As you know, the subjective complement refers back to the subject “they.” Since the subject is in the subjective / nominative case, then the complement must also be in the subjective case. The subjective case of “who” is “who,” not “whom”(the objective case). [What a beautiful explanation!]

a. I think that many (most?) native speakers would simply ask: Who did you buy this gift for? (Of course, they are “wrong.” But if most native speakers use language in a certain way, can we say that they are wrong?) [You said it, James!]

4

Thank you all for the support.

5

Thank you, Anglophile and Mr. Silva. Have a nice day!