'Françaises, Français': Why the French language need not be so sexist

[Emrys]

24. Add it to the pile of more or less useless facts I contributed myself above!

Old English also had a case system, like related languages such as German - nominative (naming), accusative (direct object), genitive (possessive) and dative (indirect object).

Most English users won't be aware of the remnants of cases in modern English unless they've studied formal grammar (or another language which uses them).

One remnant of the case system that's problematic for some is who/whom. Widely read people or those who've been exposed to a lot of Standard English will instinctively use the correct form in a given context, classically:

- who (nominative)
- whom (accusative)
- whom (dative)

Arguments about the "correct" usage abound, and who/who/whom can also be acceptable (and there's little more jarring/failed pretentious than somebody using "whom" inappropriately), to the extent that as English develops further, "whom" is likely to disappear (indeed, authorities like Fowler seem to entertain this possibility).