We wondered who/whom the book was about. [a] [b]
In the given sentence, "who" and "whom" can both be used, depending on the intended meaning.
- If the question is referring to the subject, you would use "who":
"We wondered who the book was about." (e.g., Who is the book about? The subject of the book.)
- If the question is referring to the object, you would use "whom":
"We wondered whom the book was about." (e.g., Whom is the book about? The object of the book.)
It's important to note that in many cases, the use of "whom" has become less common in informal speech, and "who" is increasingly used as a universal pronoun for both subject and object.
To determine if you should use "who" or "whom" in the sentence "We wondered who/whom the book was about," follow these steps:
1. Identify the subject and the verb in the clause. In this case, the subject is "we" and the verb is "wondered.”
2. Reorder the clause into a complete question. In this case, the question would be "Who/Whom was the book about?"
3. Answer the question using the correct pronoun. If the answer is "he" or "she," use "who." If the answer is "him" or "her," use "whom."
4. Apply the chosen pronoun to the original sentence. In this case, if the answer is "he" or "she," then use "who." If the answer is "him" or "her," then use "whom."
Therefore, in the sentence "We wondered who/whom the book was about," the correct pronoun to use is "whom."