You are mistaken. (Unless you meant to be "funny", in which case you merely forgot the smiley.)
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Nope, i meant it. The poll idea i posted was driven by by a few things lately: A friend related to me a few of his annoyances with people speaking English incorrectly, who/whom included, Old Time Radio's Superman English terms and pronunciations of note, including phrases such as, "who knows whom," and my followup by reading some of the rules. So, when i read the statement, i wondered which was the correct word, and come to the (incorrect) conclusion. I posted it because techies are often notorious for exact word usage, and was hoping to be corrected if wrong. I have not been disappointed. :)
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Nope, i meant it. I even read two write-ups on it first. I might not be correct, and i'm certain i don't know all the correct terms, but i reasoned that the unknown person is the subject of the clause, regardless of the rest of the sentence.
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Sorry, no. The subject is always in the subjective case: he, she, it, we, you, they, who, whoever. It is the object which takes the objective case: him, her, it, us, you, them, whom, whomever. So “whoever it is” is correct.
Actually, in this instance it doesn’t matter whether “whoever” or “it” is the subject of the clause, because the verb to be doesn’t take an object, it takes a complement, which is always in the subjective case anyway. Hence “it is he” is correct, “it is him” is not.
Well, that’s what was (still is?) taught in traditional English grammar, which is modelled on the classical languages Latin and ancient Greek. In those languages distinctions of case are vitally important. It is debatable whether the classical rules apply to English. Hence, many English speakers say (and write) “it is him,” although pedants (like me) prefer “it is he”. Consider the following from the Gospel of John (18:4–5a) in a modern English translation (NIV):
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said.
(Note also the use of “who” in “Who is it you want?” If Jesus had used the verb to seek instead of the verb to be, it would have been “Whom do you seek?”)
But anyway, “whomever it is” just sounds wrong!
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the unknown person is the subject of the clause
Exactly. And that means "who", not "whom".
You know, it's fine to be wrong. But it's not so fine to go "correcting" someone else with your wrongness.
You've handled your corrections with grace, though, so I kudologize you for that. :-)
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