Which is grammatically correct: “Let he who…” or “Let him who…”












12

















  1. Let he who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.

  2. Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.











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  • What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

    – user90033
    Sep 2 '14 at 4:15
















12

















  1. Let he who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.

  2. Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.











share|improve this question

























  • What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

    – user90033
    Sep 2 '14 at 4:15














12












12








12


3








  1. Let he who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.

  2. Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.











share|improve this question


















  1. Let he who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.

  2. Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows.








word-choice pronouns grammatical-case






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edited Feb 1 '14 at 1:31









RegDwigнt

82.8k31281378




82.8k31281378










asked Sep 16 '11 at 13:19









asianboyasianboy

64113




64113













  • What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

    – user90033
    Sep 2 '14 at 4:15



















  • What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

    – user90033
    Sep 2 '14 at 4:15

















What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

– user90033
Sep 2 '14 at 4:15





What if we remove 'Let'.... as in 1. He who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows. 2. Him who believes in this prophet must speak what he knows.

– user90033
Sep 2 '14 at 4:15










5 Answers
5






active

oldest

votes


















12














To analyze this situation, it helps to separate the who clause (who believes in this prophet) from the main clause (let him/he now speak what he knows) and then analyze each clause separately.



Since let him speak now is correct, let him [who believes] speak now is also correct; and since let he speak now is not correct, let he [who believes] speak now is also not correct. Your second example is therefore the best one, grammatically speaking:




"Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows."




Ngrams shows that Let him who is also significantly more common than Let he who:



http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=Let+he+who%2CLet+him+who&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 13:56








  • 2





    @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 15:08








  • 2





    Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

    – Cerberus
    Sep 16 '11 at 16:13






  • 2





    The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

    – The Raven
    Sep 16 '11 at 17:29






  • 3





    @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 17 '11 at 1:58





















4














Ok, let's look at this in terms of grammar. After all, the question asked which sentence is grammatically correct.



First, let's get rid of some words that may be confusing the issue. "Who believes in this prophet" is describing, or defining, he/him. It is a restrictive clause. Its only purpose is to define he/him. As a restrictive clause, it is a descriptive clause. We can remove it to figure out the him/he problem.



So what is he/him in this sentence? It is the direct object of the verb "let." As with any object, he/him is answering the question "what?" (for non-people) or "whom?" (for people). This gives us "Let what?" and "Let whom?" The answer to the question is an object.



Ok, so we need an object pronoun because the word is serving as an object of "let." What are the object pronouns? They are: me, you, HIM, her, it, us, them.



Look! "Him" is an object pronoun, so if we need an object, which we do in this sentence, we use "him." As such, "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows" is correct.



But wait a second! Isn't he/him the subject of "speak"? No. If that were the case, we would use "speaks," which is the third person singular form of "speak.' The sentence would read "he...speaks," but it doesn't here.



Now, the simple, practical solution:
If we remove all the descriptive expressions from this sentence and pare it down to its roots, we get "Let HIM speak." I dare anyone to say "Let he speak" is correct.





Neil: Regarding speaker's judgment and usage: Sure, people can, and do, speak any way they choose. However, the question was about grammatical correctness. I'm not sure what "clause" you're referring to, but your example also demonstrates the point I'm making. In your example expression "They hoped for him to win," again, we see that "him" is serving as an object--in this case as the object of the preposition "for." We can ask, "For whom?" The answer will be an object.



If you need an object, whether the object of a transitive verb or the object of a preposition, your choice is "him," not "he." "He" is a subject pronoun; "him" is an object pronoun. This confuses many people, so I'll simplify: If you need the subject of a verb, use "he." If you need an object, use "him."






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  • See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

    – Neil Coffey
    Sep 17 '11 at 3:24



















2














I appreciate David Bowman's answer above, with one exception: he writes,




Isn't he/him the subject of 'speak'? No. If that were the case, we would use 'speaks,' which is the third person singular form of 'speak.




Actually, the "him" is the subject of "speak". I don't know the terminology in English, but it is akin to the accusative subject of an infinitive in Latin (if I remember correctly).



It is very common for a direct object to serve also as the subject of a following verb in its barest form (the "infinitive" in other languages, though usually without the "to" in English):




Watch me do this

Help me (to) do this

Let me do this; etc.




The "me" is the object of "watch", "help", and "let"; and the subject of "to do" (for I am the one 'doing', no?).






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 1:37






  • 1





    @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:37











  • @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:45











  • @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 13:48



















0














This is plain as day: the now ubiquitous 'Let he' construction is slopball-wrong.



It came about only from lazy journalists and preachers too timid to write or say the correct 'Let him'. 'He who is yada yada, let him ....' That's how it goes.



Soon, if we are lucky, everyone will similarly say 'Let she rip' and 'Let he play!'






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David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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    -2














    I think it's ... Let he who.



    Because what is this sentence really trying to say? It's not really about letting anyone do something. it's about who's the most legitimate person to talk about something. if someone were blocking someone's path I would say let him come up to the microphone. but in this case it's not about somebody being restricted. let is a kind of an old-school way for making a generalized proclamation, and is essentially meaningless. It's really a timeless statement. Who should get the job? He who is most qualified. Not him who is most qualified. Who is most qualified? He is. Well, give him the job already.



    But that seems to work against my point. Give him the job. But then again this is not about a physical action done in real time. This is not about letting somebody come up to the microphone. This is about the eternal question of who is most qualified, phrased in a specific way. simplify to support the timeless quality. get rid of let. he who is the most qualified should speak, now and forever. not him who is most qualified should speak now and forever.



    Sure, there maybe tricky grammar rules against my point. They fail to convince. This is, in the end, an idiomatic expression.



    He who is best qualified should speak.



    Okay now let's apply it to an immediate situation. Who should speak? That guy over there. Him.



    But that changes the whole time and place of the statement to something that isn't what we're talking about. we are not talking about picking the guy out of the crowd to step up to the mic. we are making a timeless philosophical statement.



    I am writing this on my phone and capitalization is a challenge so please forgive etc.






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    • Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

      – Hank
      Feb 8 '17 at 16:39











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    5 Answers
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    5 Answers
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    12














    To analyze this situation, it helps to separate the who clause (who believes in this prophet) from the main clause (let him/he now speak what he knows) and then analyze each clause separately.



    Since let him speak now is correct, let him [who believes] speak now is also correct; and since let he speak now is not correct, let he [who believes] speak now is also not correct. Your second example is therefore the best one, grammatically speaking:




    "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows."




    Ngrams shows that Let him who is also significantly more common than Let he who:



    http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=Let+he+who%2CLet+him+who&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 13:56








    • 2





      @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 15:08








    • 2





      Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

      – Cerberus
      Sep 16 '11 at 16:13






    • 2





      The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

      – The Raven
      Sep 16 '11 at 17:29






    • 3





      @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 17 '11 at 1:58


















    12














    To analyze this situation, it helps to separate the who clause (who believes in this prophet) from the main clause (let him/he now speak what he knows) and then analyze each clause separately.



    Since let him speak now is correct, let him [who believes] speak now is also correct; and since let he speak now is not correct, let he [who believes] speak now is also not correct. Your second example is therefore the best one, grammatically speaking:




    "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows."




    Ngrams shows that Let him who is also significantly more common than Let he who:



    http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=Let+he+who%2CLet+him+who&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 13:56








    • 2





      @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 15:08








    • 2





      Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

      – Cerberus
      Sep 16 '11 at 16:13






    • 2





      The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

      – The Raven
      Sep 16 '11 at 17:29






    • 3





      @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 17 '11 at 1:58
















    12












    12








    12







    To analyze this situation, it helps to separate the who clause (who believes in this prophet) from the main clause (let him/he now speak what he knows) and then analyze each clause separately.



    Since let him speak now is correct, let him [who believes] speak now is also correct; and since let he speak now is not correct, let he [who believes] speak now is also not correct. Your second example is therefore the best one, grammatically speaking:




    "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows."




    Ngrams shows that Let him who is also significantly more common than Let he who:



    http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=Let+he+who%2CLet+him+who&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3






    share|improve this answer















    To analyze this situation, it helps to separate the who clause (who believes in this prophet) from the main clause (let him/he now speak what he knows) and then analyze each clause separately.



    Since let him speak now is correct, let him [who believes] speak now is also correct; and since let he speak now is not correct, let he [who believes] speak now is also not correct. Your second example is therefore the best one, grammatically speaking:




    "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows."




    Ngrams shows that Let him who is also significantly more common than Let he who:



    http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=Let+he+who%2CLet+him+who&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Sep 16 '11 at 14:13

























    answered Sep 16 '11 at 13:32









    DanielDaniel

    47.1k59230353




    47.1k59230353








    • 1





      I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 13:56








    • 2





      @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 15:08








    • 2





      Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

      – Cerberus
      Sep 16 '11 at 16:13






    • 2





      The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

      – The Raven
      Sep 16 '11 at 17:29






    • 3





      @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 17 '11 at 1:58
















    • 1





      I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 13:56








    • 2





      @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 16 '11 at 15:08








    • 2





      Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

      – Cerberus
      Sep 16 '11 at 16:13






    • 2





      The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

      – The Raven
      Sep 16 '11 at 17:29






    • 3





      @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

      – z7sg Ѫ
      Sep 17 '11 at 1:58










    1




    1





    I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 13:56







    I happen to agree with you, but not everyone will. There is for example, a Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 13:56






    2




    2





    @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 15:08







    @Unreason COCA results for "let [pp*] who" LET HE WHO:12, LET HIM WHO:9,LET SHE WHO:3,LET US WHO:1. Odd that this is so markedly different from the ngram.

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 16 '11 at 15:08






    2




    2





    Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

    – Cerberus
    Sep 16 '11 at 16:13





    Him preserves syntactical consistency; let that be a guide as regards style.

    – Cerberus
    Sep 16 '11 at 16:13




    2




    2





    The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

    – The Raven
    Sep 16 '11 at 17:29





    The "let he who..." construction has been codified by the King James Bible and thus it trumps grammatical concerns. That is, the speaker is drawing an allusion to the passage in question (is without sin...).

    – The Raven
    Sep 16 '11 at 17:29




    3




    3





    @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 17 '11 at 1:58







    @The Raven and whoever upvoted that comment. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." KJV

    – z7sg Ѫ
    Sep 17 '11 at 1:58















    4














    Ok, let's look at this in terms of grammar. After all, the question asked which sentence is grammatically correct.



    First, let's get rid of some words that may be confusing the issue. "Who believes in this prophet" is describing, or defining, he/him. It is a restrictive clause. Its only purpose is to define he/him. As a restrictive clause, it is a descriptive clause. We can remove it to figure out the him/he problem.



    So what is he/him in this sentence? It is the direct object of the verb "let." As with any object, he/him is answering the question "what?" (for non-people) or "whom?" (for people). This gives us "Let what?" and "Let whom?" The answer to the question is an object.



    Ok, so we need an object pronoun because the word is serving as an object of "let." What are the object pronouns? They are: me, you, HIM, her, it, us, them.



    Look! "Him" is an object pronoun, so if we need an object, which we do in this sentence, we use "him." As such, "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows" is correct.



    But wait a second! Isn't he/him the subject of "speak"? No. If that were the case, we would use "speaks," which is the third person singular form of "speak.' The sentence would read "he...speaks," but it doesn't here.



    Now, the simple, practical solution:
    If we remove all the descriptive expressions from this sentence and pare it down to its roots, we get "Let HIM speak." I dare anyone to say "Let he speak" is correct.





    Neil: Regarding speaker's judgment and usage: Sure, people can, and do, speak any way they choose. However, the question was about grammatical correctness. I'm not sure what "clause" you're referring to, but your example also demonstrates the point I'm making. In your example expression "They hoped for him to win," again, we see that "him" is serving as an object--in this case as the object of the preposition "for." We can ask, "For whom?" The answer will be an object.



    If you need an object, whether the object of a transitive verb or the object of a preposition, your choice is "him," not "he." "He" is a subject pronoun; "him" is an object pronoun. This confuses many people, so I'll simplify: If you need the subject of a verb, use "he." If you need an object, use "him."






    share|improve this answer


























    • See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

      – Neil Coffey
      Sep 17 '11 at 3:24
















    4














    Ok, let's look at this in terms of grammar. After all, the question asked which sentence is grammatically correct.



    First, let's get rid of some words that may be confusing the issue. "Who believes in this prophet" is describing, or defining, he/him. It is a restrictive clause. Its only purpose is to define he/him. As a restrictive clause, it is a descriptive clause. We can remove it to figure out the him/he problem.



    So what is he/him in this sentence? It is the direct object of the verb "let." As with any object, he/him is answering the question "what?" (for non-people) or "whom?" (for people). This gives us "Let what?" and "Let whom?" The answer to the question is an object.



    Ok, so we need an object pronoun because the word is serving as an object of "let." What are the object pronouns? They are: me, you, HIM, her, it, us, them.



    Look! "Him" is an object pronoun, so if we need an object, which we do in this sentence, we use "him." As such, "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows" is correct.



    But wait a second! Isn't he/him the subject of "speak"? No. If that were the case, we would use "speaks," which is the third person singular form of "speak.' The sentence would read "he...speaks," but it doesn't here.



    Now, the simple, practical solution:
    If we remove all the descriptive expressions from this sentence and pare it down to its roots, we get "Let HIM speak." I dare anyone to say "Let he speak" is correct.





    Neil: Regarding speaker's judgment and usage: Sure, people can, and do, speak any way they choose. However, the question was about grammatical correctness. I'm not sure what "clause" you're referring to, but your example also demonstrates the point I'm making. In your example expression "They hoped for him to win," again, we see that "him" is serving as an object--in this case as the object of the preposition "for." We can ask, "For whom?" The answer will be an object.



    If you need an object, whether the object of a transitive verb or the object of a preposition, your choice is "him," not "he." "He" is a subject pronoun; "him" is an object pronoun. This confuses many people, so I'll simplify: If you need the subject of a verb, use "he." If you need an object, use "him."






    share|improve this answer


























    • See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

      – Neil Coffey
      Sep 17 '11 at 3:24














    4












    4








    4







    Ok, let's look at this in terms of grammar. After all, the question asked which sentence is grammatically correct.



    First, let's get rid of some words that may be confusing the issue. "Who believes in this prophet" is describing, or defining, he/him. It is a restrictive clause. Its only purpose is to define he/him. As a restrictive clause, it is a descriptive clause. We can remove it to figure out the him/he problem.



    So what is he/him in this sentence? It is the direct object of the verb "let." As with any object, he/him is answering the question "what?" (for non-people) or "whom?" (for people). This gives us "Let what?" and "Let whom?" The answer to the question is an object.



    Ok, so we need an object pronoun because the word is serving as an object of "let." What are the object pronouns? They are: me, you, HIM, her, it, us, them.



    Look! "Him" is an object pronoun, so if we need an object, which we do in this sentence, we use "him." As such, "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows" is correct.



    But wait a second! Isn't he/him the subject of "speak"? No. If that were the case, we would use "speaks," which is the third person singular form of "speak.' The sentence would read "he...speaks," but it doesn't here.



    Now, the simple, practical solution:
    If we remove all the descriptive expressions from this sentence and pare it down to its roots, we get "Let HIM speak." I dare anyone to say "Let he speak" is correct.





    Neil: Regarding speaker's judgment and usage: Sure, people can, and do, speak any way they choose. However, the question was about grammatical correctness. I'm not sure what "clause" you're referring to, but your example also demonstrates the point I'm making. In your example expression "They hoped for him to win," again, we see that "him" is serving as an object--in this case as the object of the preposition "for." We can ask, "For whom?" The answer will be an object.



    If you need an object, whether the object of a transitive verb or the object of a preposition, your choice is "him," not "he." "He" is a subject pronoun; "him" is an object pronoun. This confuses many people, so I'll simplify: If you need the subject of a verb, use "he." If you need an object, use "him."






    share|improve this answer















    Ok, let's look at this in terms of grammar. After all, the question asked which sentence is grammatically correct.



    First, let's get rid of some words that may be confusing the issue. "Who believes in this prophet" is describing, or defining, he/him. It is a restrictive clause. Its only purpose is to define he/him. As a restrictive clause, it is a descriptive clause. We can remove it to figure out the him/he problem.



    So what is he/him in this sentence? It is the direct object of the verb "let." As with any object, he/him is answering the question "what?" (for non-people) or "whom?" (for people). This gives us "Let what?" and "Let whom?" The answer to the question is an object.



    Ok, so we need an object pronoun because the word is serving as an object of "let." What are the object pronouns? They are: me, you, HIM, her, it, us, them.



    Look! "Him" is an object pronoun, so if we need an object, which we do in this sentence, we use "him." As such, "Let him who believes in this prophet speak now what he knows" is correct.



    But wait a second! Isn't he/him the subject of "speak"? No. If that were the case, we would use "speaks," which is the third person singular form of "speak.' The sentence would read "he...speaks," but it doesn't here.



    Now, the simple, practical solution:
    If we remove all the descriptive expressions from this sentence and pare it down to its roots, we get "Let HIM speak." I dare anyone to say "Let he speak" is correct.





    Neil: Regarding speaker's judgment and usage: Sure, people can, and do, speak any way they choose. However, the question was about grammatical correctness. I'm not sure what "clause" you're referring to, but your example also demonstrates the point I'm making. In your example expression "They hoped for him to win," again, we see that "him" is serving as an object--in this case as the object of the preposition "for." We can ask, "For whom?" The answer will be an object.



    If you need an object, whether the object of a transitive verb or the object of a preposition, your choice is "him," not "he." "He" is a subject pronoun; "him" is an object pronoun. This confuses many people, so I'll simplify: If you need the subject of a verb, use "he." If you need an object, use "him."







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Sep 17 '11 at 5:36

























    answered Sep 17 '11 at 0:47









    David BowmanDavid Bowman

    1,70396




    1,70396













    • See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

      – Neil Coffey
      Sep 17 '11 at 3:24



















    • See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

      – Neil Coffey
      Sep 17 '11 at 3:24

















    See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

    – Neil Coffey
    Sep 17 '11 at 3:24





    See my comment to the above answer: although it looks logical, in effect what you're doing here is making your argument fit the circumstances. It's perfectly within the bounds of what English does in other cases for a word outside the clause to govern the choice of he/him.

    – Neil Coffey
    Sep 17 '11 at 3:24











    2














    I appreciate David Bowman's answer above, with one exception: he writes,




    Isn't he/him the subject of 'speak'? No. If that were the case, we would use 'speaks,' which is the third person singular form of 'speak.




    Actually, the "him" is the subject of "speak". I don't know the terminology in English, but it is akin to the accusative subject of an infinitive in Latin (if I remember correctly).



    It is very common for a direct object to serve also as the subject of a following verb in its barest form (the "infinitive" in other languages, though usually without the "to" in English):




    Watch me do this

    Help me (to) do this

    Let me do this; etc.




    The "me" is the object of "watch", "help", and "let"; and the subject of "to do" (for I am the one 'doing', no?).






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 1:37






    • 1





      @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:37











    • @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:45











    • @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 13:48
















    2














    I appreciate David Bowman's answer above, with one exception: he writes,




    Isn't he/him the subject of 'speak'? No. If that were the case, we would use 'speaks,' which is the third person singular form of 'speak.




    Actually, the "him" is the subject of "speak". I don't know the terminology in English, but it is akin to the accusative subject of an infinitive in Latin (if I remember correctly).



    It is very common for a direct object to serve also as the subject of a following verb in its barest form (the "infinitive" in other languages, though usually without the "to" in English):




    Watch me do this

    Help me (to) do this

    Let me do this; etc.




    The "me" is the object of "watch", "help", and "let"; and the subject of "to do" (for I am the one 'doing', no?).






    share|improve this answer





















    • 1





      Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 1:37






    • 1





      @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:37











    • @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:45











    • @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 13:48














    2












    2








    2







    I appreciate David Bowman's answer above, with one exception: he writes,




    Isn't he/him the subject of 'speak'? No. If that were the case, we would use 'speaks,' which is the third person singular form of 'speak.




    Actually, the "him" is the subject of "speak". I don't know the terminology in English, but it is akin to the accusative subject of an infinitive in Latin (if I remember correctly).



    It is very common for a direct object to serve also as the subject of a following verb in its barest form (the "infinitive" in other languages, though usually without the "to" in English):




    Watch me do this

    Help me (to) do this

    Let me do this; etc.




    The "me" is the object of "watch", "help", and "let"; and the subject of "to do" (for I am the one 'doing', no?).






    share|improve this answer















    I appreciate David Bowman's answer above, with one exception: he writes,




    Isn't he/him the subject of 'speak'? No. If that were the case, we would use 'speaks,' which is the third person singular form of 'speak.




    Actually, the "him" is the subject of "speak". I don't know the terminology in English, but it is akin to the accusative subject of an infinitive in Latin (if I remember correctly).



    It is very common for a direct object to serve also as the subject of a following verb in its barest form (the "infinitive" in other languages, though usually without the "to" in English):




    Watch me do this

    Help me (to) do this

    Let me do this; etc.




    The "me" is the object of "watch", "help", and "let"; and the subject of "to do" (for I am the one 'doing', no?).







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Feb 1 '14 at 11:41









    Janus Bahs Jacquet

    29.2k569126




    29.2k569126










    answered Feb 1 '14 at 1:29









    Kevin ReynoldsKevin Reynolds

    311




    311








    • 1





      Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 1:37






    • 1





      @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:37











    • @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:45











    • @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 13:48














    • 1





      Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 1:37






    • 1





      @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:37











    • @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      Feb 1 '14 at 11:45











    • @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

      – virmaior
      Feb 1 '14 at 13:48








    1




    1





    Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 1:37





    Yet this is wrong. Yes, the him will do the speaking, but that's not the active verb here. Think about the construction a little more in Let him speak the verb is let so the question is who is doing the permitting (i.e., letting), and the answer is not the him who is going to be speaking. Thus, him speak is a type of subordinate clause. The same thing happens in watch me. I don't watch me. An implied subject you gets the command

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 1:37




    1




    1





    @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:37





    @virmaior, it is not wrong, actually. It is perfectly true that him in ‘let him speak’ is the object of ‘let’, but the subject of ‘speak’. The fact that ‘that he speaks’ has been reduced to an infinitive construction here does not change the subject of the verb. The subject of ‘let’ is implicitly ‘you’, but that is irrelevant to the subject of ‘speak’, which is what Kevin’s beef was.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:37













    @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:45





    @Kevin, I have taken the liberty of editing your answer to add paragraphs and clarity. Also, I don't know the term for this in English grammar, either; but within Chinese grammar, the construction is known as a pivotal sentence, and the object-cum-subject is the pivot.

    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Feb 1 '14 at 11:45













    @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 13:48





    @JanusBahsJacquet fair enough. I see what you are saying.

    – virmaior
    Feb 1 '14 at 13:48











    0














    This is plain as day: the now ubiquitous 'Let he' construction is slopball-wrong.



    It came about only from lazy journalists and preachers too timid to write or say the correct 'Let him'. 'He who is yada yada, let him ....' That's how it goes.



    Soon, if we are lucky, everyone will similarly say 'Let she rip' and 'Let he play!'






    share|improve this answer








    New contributor




    David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.

























      0














      This is plain as day: the now ubiquitous 'Let he' construction is slopball-wrong.



      It came about only from lazy journalists and preachers too timid to write or say the correct 'Let him'. 'He who is yada yada, let him ....' That's how it goes.



      Soon, if we are lucky, everyone will similarly say 'Let she rip' and 'Let he play!'






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.























        0












        0








        0







        This is plain as day: the now ubiquitous 'Let he' construction is slopball-wrong.



        It came about only from lazy journalists and preachers too timid to write or say the correct 'Let him'. 'He who is yada yada, let him ....' That's how it goes.



        Soon, if we are lucky, everyone will similarly say 'Let she rip' and 'Let he play!'






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.










        This is plain as day: the now ubiquitous 'Let he' construction is slopball-wrong.



        It came about only from lazy journalists and preachers too timid to write or say the correct 'Let him'. 'He who is yada yada, let him ....' That's how it goes.



        Soon, if we are lucky, everyone will similarly say 'Let she rip' and 'Let he play!'







        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer






        New contributor




        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        answered 22 mins ago









        David MoranDavid Moran

        1




        1




        New contributor




        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.





        New contributor





        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.






        David Moran is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.























            -2














            I think it's ... Let he who.



            Because what is this sentence really trying to say? It's not really about letting anyone do something. it's about who's the most legitimate person to talk about something. if someone were blocking someone's path I would say let him come up to the microphone. but in this case it's not about somebody being restricted. let is a kind of an old-school way for making a generalized proclamation, and is essentially meaningless. It's really a timeless statement. Who should get the job? He who is most qualified. Not him who is most qualified. Who is most qualified? He is. Well, give him the job already.



            But that seems to work against my point. Give him the job. But then again this is not about a physical action done in real time. This is not about letting somebody come up to the microphone. This is about the eternal question of who is most qualified, phrased in a specific way. simplify to support the timeless quality. get rid of let. he who is the most qualified should speak, now and forever. not him who is most qualified should speak now and forever.



            Sure, there maybe tricky grammar rules against my point. They fail to convince. This is, in the end, an idiomatic expression.



            He who is best qualified should speak.



            Okay now let's apply it to an immediate situation. Who should speak? That guy over there. Him.



            But that changes the whole time and place of the statement to something that isn't what we're talking about. we are not talking about picking the guy out of the crowd to step up to the mic. we are making a timeless philosophical statement.



            I am writing this on my phone and capitalization is a challenge so please forgive etc.






            share|improve this answer


























            • Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

              – Hank
              Feb 8 '17 at 16:39
















            -2














            I think it's ... Let he who.



            Because what is this sentence really trying to say? It's not really about letting anyone do something. it's about who's the most legitimate person to talk about something. if someone were blocking someone's path I would say let him come up to the microphone. but in this case it's not about somebody being restricted. let is a kind of an old-school way for making a generalized proclamation, and is essentially meaningless. It's really a timeless statement. Who should get the job? He who is most qualified. Not him who is most qualified. Who is most qualified? He is. Well, give him the job already.



            But that seems to work against my point. Give him the job. But then again this is not about a physical action done in real time. This is not about letting somebody come up to the microphone. This is about the eternal question of who is most qualified, phrased in a specific way. simplify to support the timeless quality. get rid of let. he who is the most qualified should speak, now and forever. not him who is most qualified should speak now and forever.



            Sure, there maybe tricky grammar rules against my point. They fail to convince. This is, in the end, an idiomatic expression.



            He who is best qualified should speak.



            Okay now let's apply it to an immediate situation. Who should speak? That guy over there. Him.



            But that changes the whole time and place of the statement to something that isn't what we're talking about. we are not talking about picking the guy out of the crowd to step up to the mic. we are making a timeless philosophical statement.



            I am writing this on my phone and capitalization is a challenge so please forgive etc.






            share|improve this answer


























            • Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

              – Hank
              Feb 8 '17 at 16:39














            -2












            -2








            -2







            I think it's ... Let he who.



            Because what is this sentence really trying to say? It's not really about letting anyone do something. it's about who's the most legitimate person to talk about something. if someone were blocking someone's path I would say let him come up to the microphone. but in this case it's not about somebody being restricted. let is a kind of an old-school way for making a generalized proclamation, and is essentially meaningless. It's really a timeless statement. Who should get the job? He who is most qualified. Not him who is most qualified. Who is most qualified? He is. Well, give him the job already.



            But that seems to work against my point. Give him the job. But then again this is not about a physical action done in real time. This is not about letting somebody come up to the microphone. This is about the eternal question of who is most qualified, phrased in a specific way. simplify to support the timeless quality. get rid of let. he who is the most qualified should speak, now and forever. not him who is most qualified should speak now and forever.



            Sure, there maybe tricky grammar rules against my point. They fail to convince. This is, in the end, an idiomatic expression.



            He who is best qualified should speak.



            Okay now let's apply it to an immediate situation. Who should speak? That guy over there. Him.



            But that changes the whole time and place of the statement to something that isn't what we're talking about. we are not talking about picking the guy out of the crowd to step up to the mic. we are making a timeless philosophical statement.



            I am writing this on my phone and capitalization is a challenge so please forgive etc.






            share|improve this answer















            I think it's ... Let he who.



            Because what is this sentence really trying to say? It's not really about letting anyone do something. it's about who's the most legitimate person to talk about something. if someone were blocking someone's path I would say let him come up to the microphone. but in this case it's not about somebody being restricted. let is a kind of an old-school way for making a generalized proclamation, and is essentially meaningless. It's really a timeless statement. Who should get the job? He who is most qualified. Not him who is most qualified. Who is most qualified? He is. Well, give him the job already.



            But that seems to work against my point. Give him the job. But then again this is not about a physical action done in real time. This is not about letting somebody come up to the microphone. This is about the eternal question of who is most qualified, phrased in a specific way. simplify to support the timeless quality. get rid of let. he who is the most qualified should speak, now and forever. not him who is most qualified should speak now and forever.



            Sure, there maybe tricky grammar rules against my point. They fail to convince. This is, in the end, an idiomatic expression.



            He who is best qualified should speak.



            Okay now let's apply it to an immediate situation. Who should speak? That guy over there. Him.



            But that changes the whole time and place of the statement to something that isn't what we're talking about. we are not talking about picking the guy out of the crowd to step up to the mic. we are making a timeless philosophical statement.



            I am writing this on my phone and capitalization is a challenge so please forgive etc.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Feb 8 '17 at 16:31

























            answered Feb 8 '17 at 16:11









            LionRampantLionRampant

            11




            11













            • Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

              – Hank
              Feb 8 '17 at 16:39



















            • Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

              – Hank
              Feb 8 '17 at 16:39

















            Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

            – Hank
            Feb 8 '17 at 16:39





            Do you have any sources to support your opinions?

            – Hank
            Feb 8 '17 at 16:39


















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