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DS1's library book "who eats who in rivers and lakes?" - annoying?

4 replies

Clary · 26/05/2009 00:20

Or am I fighting a losing battle to continue the use of the word "whom".

Maybe I should have posted in pedants' corner?!

I told DS it was wrong anyway

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isenhart7 · 26/05/2009 00:47

This is a series of books and if you look at it the author asks the question "who eats what"
which seems more appropriate to me since plants and insects are involved-it eats it then rather than he/she eats him or her.

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Clary · 26/05/2009 00:49

well yes, "Who eats whom" sounds rather canibalistic really doesn't it?

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isenhart7 · 26/05/2009 00:59

Well, actually for it to eat it-the question, I guess would have to be "what eats what" but then this author also refers to a grass carp as an animal. It's all v. strange.

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isenhart7 · 26/05/2009 01:13

Okay-he does call insect larvae animals too-i didn't see it the first time I skimmed the book. So there's a clear distinction, I think, being made between plants and animals so I can't imagine why the author would use both "what" and "who" in his text and not use "whom" in his title. I would ask the school's librarian.