Comments on: Comic #8 – Sports Fans

By: Sabin

Sabin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:04:44 +0000

@Angelastic: The error in your grammar is derived from your choice to end your first sentence with a preposition (nevermind the missing comma). “Usually, you should use ‘whom’ wherever you’d use ‘him’ (or ‘her’ in non-possessive cases) if you knew about whom you were talking.” would be more correct, I believe.

You talked to whom? I talked to him.
Who talked to you? He talked to me.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
The owl grammarian.
The owl grammarian who?
Whom… whom!!!

By: stupidinventor

stupidinventor — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:53:48 +0000

Ok, thanks!
I need a grammar refresher course.

By: Angelastic

Angelastic — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:46:24 +0000

Well, I was thinking that.

Usually you should use ‘whom’ wherever you’d use ‘him’ if you knew who you were talking about. Wait, doesn’t that mean I should have said ‘whom you were talking about’, since I’d say, ‘you were talking about him’? Yet this example doesn’t stand out to me as such an obvious error. I think I’ve grammar-nerdsniped myself.

By: stupidinventor

stupidinventor — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:15:05 +0000

Oh, I’m sure everyone was thinking that…

Honestly, I just don’t have the required grammar knowledge to feel comfortable using the word “whom”.

By: C

Wed, 05 May 2010 04:28:32 +0000

Yes, in fact dorianmode is quite correct: in this case the dative/accusative case is entirely applicable.

And you just know that *everybody* was thinking that once they hit that line….

By: stupidinventor

stupidinventor — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:06:49 +0000

@eugen Thanks for checking out the site!

By: eugen

eugen — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:48:40 +0000

thanks (from Germany, via abstruse goose)

By: stupidinventor

stupidinventor — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:15:39 +0000

@tim and dorianmode Sorry for the error, I’ll try to be more grammatically correct in the future.

@berickcook Thanks for checking out the archives! Hope you like them!

By: berickcook

berickcook — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:34:15 +0000

I too have just discovered your comic via Abstruse Goose. Good stuff! Time to peruse the archives… *Whips out comment pen dramatically*

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:13:44 +0000

Yes, dorianmode is correct.