Smitten 'by whom' or 'with whom'?
C. M. Burns
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
Wood Avens
wrote:
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?"
--
Katy Jennison
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @
Athel Cornish-Bowden
> On Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:08:59 -0500, "C. M. Burns" <m...@privacy.net>
> wrote:
>
>> 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
>
> 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.
--
athel
Skitt
> Wood Avens said:
>> "C. M. Burns" wrote:
>>> 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?
>>
>> 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.
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.
--
Skitt (AmE)
jgharston
Friend says: Who [with]?
Girl says: Somebody's smitten with me
Friend says: Who [is]?
Athel Cornish-Bowden
> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>> Wood Avens said:
>>> "C. M. Burns" wrote:
>
>>>> 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?
>>>
>>> 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.
>
> 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.
--
athel
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
>Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay.
I suggest, "Smitten? Who is she?".
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE
John Dean
Deffo. Or it elicits the Friends response - "Oh - you are SO the smitten
kitten".
--
John "Those Quakers get everywhere" Dean
Oxford
annily
Yes, I would definitely say "smitten with".
--
Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia,
which may or may not influence my opinions.
Robert Lieblich
>
> 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?"
--
Bob Lieblich
Whom you can trust
Eric Walker
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.
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/