Question:medium

Read the sentence given below. A part of the sentence is underlined and split into segments (a) to (d). One of these segments may contain a grammatical error. If you find an error, select that segment. If the sentence is correct as given, select option (e), "No error".

A wise and experienced manager will assign a job to whom ever is best qualified.

Show Hint

Check what job the pronoun does inside its own clause, not the role of the whole clause in the sentence. A subject needs "whoever", not "whomever".
Updated On: Jul 20, 2026
  • A wise
  • and experienced
  • manager will assign
  • a job to whom ever is best qualified.
  • No error
Show Solution

The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

A reliable trick for whoever versus whomever is to mentally strip away everything before the pronoun and look only at the clause that follows it. Here that clause is "[pronoun] is best qualified."

Replace the pronoun with he or him to test it: "He is best qualified" sounds right, while "Him is best qualified" does not. Since "he" (a subject pronoun) fits, the matching relative pronoun must also be a subject form, which is "whoever," not the object form "whomever" or the ungrammatical split spelling "whom ever."

It is a common trap to look at the larger phrase, "to whoever is best qualified," and assume that because it follows the preposition "to" it needs the object form "whomever." But the preposition governs the entire clause, not the pronoun directly, and inside that clause the pronoun is doing the work of a subject.

So the sentence should read: "A wise and experienced manager will assign a job to whoever is best qualified." This error sits in the underlined segment "a job to whom ever is best qualified," which is option (d).
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