My aunt I live with used to have a parrot.

[GeneD]

My aunt I live with used to have a parrot.

Is there something wrong with the sentence? It's from this comedy sketch. At the end of the video the headmaster says it should be 'with whom I live'. Is 'I live with' considered incorrect by some people?

 

[Raymott]

My aunt I live with used to have a parrot.

The line is "My Aunt, who I live with, used to have a parrot". The 'who' is absolutely pivotal to the joke.

Do you get the joke? The headmaster is pointing out that every time this student has a paper to write, he gives the same answer. Whether the paper is on history, geography, or whatever, he writes about the parrot of the aunt who he lives with.
As the headmaster continues to give examples, he is getting more and more angry. In the end, he shouts, "Do you think I am some sort of Cretin?" (We think he is referring to the student's putting in the same parrot story for each assignment. He's not.)

Clue: Listen closely to ~1.40, where Atkinson pauses to let the laughter die, before saying "...who I live with".

 

[Roman55]

What they say repeatedly in the sketch is, "My aunt, who I live with,..."


This is perfectly correct, and I would take it to mean that he has one aunt and he lives with her.

 

[Raymott]

So, you see, it has nothing to do with what the average person considers correct. The joke is based on what a stern, grammatically-prescriptive headmaster expects of his students.

 

[GeneD]

Thanks.
I accidentally left out the word 'who'. And yes, I got the joke, of course. I think the joke would work without 'who', too (as in that incidentally inaccurate example of mine). Am I mistaken?

 

[GeneD]

The joke is based on what a stern, grammatically-prescriptive headmaster expects of his students.

That's exactly what I meant when I was asking if the structure 'I live with' or 'who I live with' considered incorrect by some people.

 

[Raymott]

It wouldn't work as well without 'who'. This point of prescriptive grammar is that 'whom' should be used, not 'who'. It's less likely that a pedantic teacher will correct someone for this if they don't say 'who I live with'.

 

[GeneD]

It's less likely that a pedantic teacher will correct someone for this if they don't say 'who I live with'.

Do you mean that a pedantic teacher could correct 'who I live with' but would be satisfied with 'I live with'?

 

[Raymott]

That's exactly what I meant when I was asking if the structure 'I live with' or 'who I live with' considered incorrect by some people.

It is incorrect by the prescriptive grammar of 50 years ago.
"My aunt, who I live with ..." is wrong because it should be in the objective case "My aunt, whom I live with ..." or "with whom I live".
This is still correct for many students sitting English exams; and I'm sure that many students reading this site would be expected to write "with whom" in exams.

"My aunt, who lets me live with her ..." Correct, since this is subjective case. "My Aunt lets me live with her."
"My aunt, whom I live with..." Correct. "I live with my aunt" - "my aunt" being the object of the preposition 'with'.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Without "who/whom", I think it should be "The aunt I live with", which denotes the speaker has more than one aunt.

 

[Raymott]

Do you mean that a pedantic teacher could correct 'who I live with' but would be satisfied with 'I live with'?

No, I simply mean that you'd be less likely to be lectured about the correct use of 'who'/'whom' if you've used neither of those words.

 

[GeneD]

It is incorrect by the prescriptive grammar of 50 years ago.
"My aunt, who I live with ..." is wrong because it should be in the objective case "My aunt, whom I live with ..." or "with whom I live".
This is still correct for many students sitting English exams; and I'm sure that many students reading this site would be expected to write "with whom" in exams.

"My aunt, who lets me live with her ..." Correct, since this is subjective case. "My Aunt lets me live with her."
"My aunt, whom I live with..." Correct. "I live with my aunt" - "my aunt" being the object of the preposition 'with'.

Thanks for the explanation, Raymott. This 'with whom' structure is exactly what we use in such sentences speaking or writing in Russian. That's why, I think, I tried to get used to the 'who with' structure. I just considered it more natural for English. And now it turns out that 'with whom' for English is better! Now I'm confused though. Would it sound strange in everyday speech, this 'with whom' structure?

 

[Raymott]

"With whom" would sound strange to younger people, less educated people, less obsessional people. It depends on to whom you are speaking.
It's less likely to be a problem in writing. I would never use "with who" in an academic paper, for example.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'with whom' for English is better!

I think it is more formal rather than better.

"In practice, most people never use whom like this in speech because it sounds extremely formal."—https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/who-or-whom

 

[GeneD]

I wouldn't like to be intrusive, but I'm extremely curious what structure you teachers use in your everyday speech. 'With whom'/'to whom'/etc.? Or 'who... with', 'who... to'? I mean well-educated people can still be 'less obsessional' as to the following prescriptive grammar rules. I'm just not sure which model is better to follow.

I've just noticed Matthew's reply. So there's no 'right' way of expression here; there are more and less suitable situations for both. Right?

 

[Skrej]

Now we know why Mr. Bean stopped talking. Driven to silence by prescriptive grammarians.