Which choice best improves the underlined portion of this sentence? If the sentence is fine as is, choose (A).
I would like to thank whoever it was that wrote that piece of music: it has given me so much pleasure.
A. I would like to thank whoever it was that wrote that piece of music:
B. I would like to thank whomever it was that has written that piece of music:
C. I would like to thank whomever it might be that wrote that piece of music:
D. Whoever it was that wrote that piece of music, I would like to thank because
E. I would like to thank whoever it was that wrote that piece of music,
It might suprise you to learn that this sentence is actually fine as it is. The temptation is to change “whoever” to “whomever.” However, that would be incorrect. For a good explanation of when to use “whoever” vs. “whomever,” check out this site. The answer is (A).
source: majortests.com
