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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Smitten 'by whom' or 'with whom'?
Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set up: A boy is infatuated with a girl, but she doesn't know; the boy informs a friend that he has a crush on a girl; the friend exclaims: "Smitten? By whom?" "Smitten? With whom?" Which is formally correct? TIA >Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. >I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >TIA If you're writing a screenplay, "formally correct" isn't the register you're looking for, unless you're writing a dialogue between a couple of pedantic English professors or aue regulars in ironic mode, or possibly a historical romance in which case "smitten" is probably an anachronism. In spoken, present-day dialogue between ordinary people, you'd be much more likely to say "Smitten? Who by?"  SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >> Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. >> I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > If you're writing a screenplay, "formally correct" isn't the register > you're looking for, You took the very words from my mouth. > unless you're writing a dialogue between a couple > of pedantic English professors or aue regulars in ironic mode, or > possibly a historical romance in which case "smitten" is probably an > anachronism. In spoken, present-day dialogue between ordinary people, > you'd be much more likely to say "Smitten? Who by?" Right. Signatureathel > Wood Avens said: >>> Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. >>> I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Right. Hmm. "Smitten" takes a "with" around here, even informally. As for the "who/whom" decision, while "whom" is the formally correct one, "who" is what one would use when speaking informally. "Whom" is dying, slowly but surely. SignatureSkitt (AmE) Boy says: I'm smitten with somebody Friend says: Who [with]? Girl says: Somebody's smitten with me Friend says: Who [is]? > Boy says: I'm smitten with somebody > Friend says: Who [with]? Or "Who is it?" > Girl says: Somebody's smitten with me > Friend says: Who [is]? Same. What's missing here is the *register* in which these people are speaking. Most of the responses seem to assume ordinary folk speaking colloquially. Such people are most likely to say either just "Who?" or "Who is it?" SignatureBob Lieblich Whom you can trust >> Wood Avens said: > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Hmm. "Smitten" takes a "with" around here, even informally. You're right. I was forgetting that the choice of preposition was the original question. > As for the "who/whom" decision, while "whom" is the formally correct > one, "who" is what one would use when speaking informally. "Whom" is > dying, slowly but surely. Signatureathel >>> Wood Avens said: >> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > You're right. I was forgetting that the choice of preposition was the > original question. Yes, I would definitely say "smitten with". SignatureLong-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions. >> Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. >> I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > anachronism. In spoken, present-day dialogue between ordinary people, > you'd be much more likely to say "Smitten? Who by?" Deffo. Or it elicits the Friends response - "Oh - you are SO the smitten kitten". SignatureJohn "Those Quakers get everywhere" Dean Oxford >Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. >I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >TIA I suggest, "Smitten? Who is she?". SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE > Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay. I'm dealing with > dialogue again. Here's the set up: A boy is infatuated with a girl, but [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Which is formally correct? This isn't "formality" in the sense of grammar: it's idiom. The choice of preposition is, in any language, highly idiomatic. But if one is smitten *by* someone, one will typically have a welt or bruise for a while thereafter, whereas if one is smitten *with* someone, deep sighs and longing glances are the more likely product. SignatureCordially, Eric Walker, Owlcroft House http://owlcroft.com/english/ |
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