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Which is correct?

  1. The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, who we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.
  2. The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, whom we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.

What is the rule?

Benjamin Marguglio
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    People who use _whom_, and who understand the traditional (learned) rules for using it, will say _whom_. People who don't use _whom_ much will say _who_. People who are not trying to be formal and stilted will not use the "accusative and infinitive" construction (which wasn't part of English until people started importing it from Latin), and will instead say _who we believe is the preeminent authority on the subject_. – Colin Fine Jul 14 '21 at 22:54
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    Does this answer your question? [Whom I am teaching?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/170065/whom-i-am-teaching) Also [Whether to use WHO or WHOM](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/116066/) and [Why is 'He is a man whom I look up to.' not quite right even though it is not wrong?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/81756/) and [Who vs whom usage](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/247878/) and [What to use :who or whom in this context](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/197793/) and plenty more. But I'd go with Colin's implied recommendation - ***Forget "whom"*** – FumbleFingers Nov 26 '21 at 18:09

1 Answers1

2

Version 2 is correct in formal writing. Take out the subordinate clause to play with it, with a different pronoun:
"We believe him to be the best choice." You could not use "he" there; objective case is required.

You could avoid the "whom", and the question, by saying "who we believe is the preeminent authority...".

Jack O'Flaherty
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