"Who found who?"

[Nightmare85_guest]

Hey guys,
In order not to forget my question until I'm at home, I will write it now.

I heard those sentences in songs (yes, I know lyrics can be wrong, but I would like to ask anyway.)

That's from "Barry Manilow - Copacabana":

There was blood and a single gun shot
But just who shot who?

That's from "Jellybean - Who Found Who":

Dont throw away the chance,
Cause it might be your last,
And I wont let you forget
2. Who, who found who?

Who ,
Who found who?

Now my question:
Why isn't it:
Who found whom?
Who shot whom?

Would these sentences be the correct versions?

P.S: A confirmation comes later (that it's my thread -> it's important to me =))

Cheers!

 

[bhaisahab]

Hey guys,
In order not to forget my question until I'm at home, I will write it now.

I heard those sentences in songs (yes, I know lyrics can be wrong, but I would like to ask anyway.)

That's from "Barry Manilow - Copacabana":


That's from "Jellybean - Who Found Who":


Now my question:
Why isn't it:
Who found whom?
Who shot whom?

Would these sentences be the correct versions?

P.S: A confirmation comes later (that it's my thread -> it's important to me =))

Cheers!

Yes "who found/shot whom" is correct, but these are popular songs, you can't expect to find good English in popular songs.

 

[Nightmare85]

*Official confirmation that it's my thread* ;-)

Thanks, bhaisahab.

Cheers!

 

[mmasny]

Is it really bad English to say so? I rarely find 'whom' even in literature. I thought it's absolutely OK to say 'who' in these cases except for legal use maybe... Or maybe I'm wrong and my choice of books is to be blamed for it?

 

[Barb_D]

No, it's not that bad. I rarely use "whom" myself unless it's immediately after a preposition. For whom, to whom, etc. Otherwise, I'm much more likely to say "who."

 

[mmasny]

Is it really bad English to say so? I rarely find 'whom' even in literature. I thought it's absolutely OK to say 'who' in these cases except for legal use maybe... Or maybe I'm wrong and my choice of books is to be blamed for it?

By the way, would you rather say "I thought it's absolutely OK" or "I thought it was absolutely OK" in this context? I am often uncertain which tense would sound better in such "genral truth" cases.

 

[Barb_D]

I would recommend keeping the tense consistent.

I thought it was okay.
I think it is okay.

You could say "I think it was okay" to refer to what you STILL think now, about something you saw, heard, did in the past. For example: How was your audition? I think it was okay. I didn't mess anything up.

 

[Tdol]

Is it really bad English to say so? I rarely find 'whom' even in literature. I thought it's absolutely OK to say 'who' in these cases except for legal use maybe... Or maybe I'm wrong and my choice of books is to be blamed for it?

'Whom' is mostly used in more formal language. Directly after a preposition is one case where it does look like an error to say 'who', but I don't hear many people saying things like 'Whom did you see?' in everyday conversation.