Question

fill in the blanks to complete each sentence with the appropriate word.
richard linklater, □ directs films about complicated personal relationships, faced a unique challenge in casting the actors and actresses for his film boyhood.
because the film was to be shot over twelve years, linklater could cast only people to □ the project was meaningful enough that they were willing to see it through.
although boyhood is primarily the coming-of-age story of mason, its main character, it is also a story that will move anyone □ has experienced adolescence or parenting.
(options: who, whom)

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each blank:

First Blank:

The clause “____ directs films about complicated personal relationships” modifies “Richard Linklater”. In relative clauses, “who” is used as a subject (when the pronoun is doing the action). Here, the pronoun is the subject of “directs”, so we use “who”.

Second Blank:

Wait, the second blank’s context: Wait, the options are “who”/“whom”, but the second sentence structure: “Linklater could cast only people to __ the project was meaningful enough...”. Wait, maybe a typo? Wait, no—wait, the third blank: “anyone __ has experienced adolescence or parenting”. Here, the pronoun is the subject of “has experienced”, so “who” (since “whom” is for objects). Wait, the second blank—maybe a misprint, but looking at the options and the blanks:

1. First blank: “who” (subject of “directs”).
2. Wait, the second blank—maybe the original problem has a different structure, but the given options are “who”/“whom”. Wait, the third blank: “anyone who has experienced...” (subject, so “who”).

Wait, let's re-express:

1. Richard Linklater, who directs films... (relative pronoun, subject of “directs”).
2. Wait, the second blank—maybe the sentence is “to whom the project was meaningful...” (object of “to”), but the options include “whom”. Wait, the user’s problem: the blanks are three? Wait, the image shows three blanks? Wait, the user’s text:

First blank: between “Linklater,” and “directs”.
Second blank: after “to”.
Third blank: after “anyone”.

Let’s solve each:

1. First Blank: The relative clause “____ directs films...” has the pronoun as the subject (performing “directs”), so use “who”.
2. Second Blank: The phrase “to ____ the project was meaningful” – here, the pronoun is the object of the preposition “to”, so use “whom” (since “whom” is used for objects in relative clauses or prepositional phrases).
3. Third Blank: The clause “____ has experienced adolescence...” has the pronoun as the subject (performing “has experienced”), so use “who”.

Filling the Blanks:

1. Richard Linklater, $\boldsymbol{\text{who}}$ directs films about complicated personal relationships, faced a unique challenge in casting the actors and actresses for his film Boyhood.
2. Because the film was to be shot over twelve years, Linklater could cast only people to $\boldsymbol{\text{whom}}$ the project was meaningful enough that they were willing to see it through.
3. Although Boyhood is primarily the coming-of-age story of Mason, its main character, it is also a story that will move anyone $\boldsymbol{\text{who}}$ has experienced adolescence or parenting.

(Note: The second blank uses “whom” because it is the object of the preposition “to”; the first and third use “who” because they are subjects of their respective clauses.)

Answer:

To solve this, we analyze each blank:

First Blank:

The clause “____ directs films about complicated personal relationships” modifies “Richard Linklater”. In relative clauses, “who” is used as a subject (when the pronoun is doing the action). Here, the pronoun is the subject of “directs”, so we use “who”.

Second Blank:

Wait, the second blank’s context: Wait, the options are “who”/“whom”, but the second sentence structure: “Linklater could cast only people to __ the project was meaningful enough...”. Wait, maybe a typo? Wait, no—wait, the third blank: “anyone __ has experienced adolescence or parenting”. Here, the pronoun is the subject of “has experienced”, so “who” (since “whom” is for objects). Wait, the second blank—maybe a misprint, but looking at the options and the blanks:

1. First blank: “who” (subject of “directs”).
2. Wait, the second blank—maybe the original problem has a different structure, but the given options are “who”/“whom”. Wait, the third blank: “anyone who has experienced...” (subject, so “who”).

Wait, let's re-express:

1. Richard Linklater, who directs films... (relative pronoun, subject of “directs”).
2. Wait, the second blank—maybe the sentence is “to whom the project was meaningful...” (object of “to”), but the options include “whom”. Wait, the user’s problem: the blanks are three? Wait, the image shows three blanks? Wait, the user’s text:

First blank: between “Linklater,” and “directs”.
Second blank: after “to”.
Third blank: after “anyone”.

Let’s solve each:

1. First Blank: The relative clause “____ directs films...” has the pronoun as the subject (performing “directs”), so use “who”.
2. Second Blank: The phrase “to ____ the project was meaningful” – here, the pronoun is the object of the preposition “to”, so use “whom” (since “whom” is used for objects in relative clauses or prepositional phrases).
3. Third Blank: The clause “____ has experienced adolescence...” has the pronoun as the subject (performing “has experienced”), so use “who”.

Filling the Blanks:

1. Richard Linklater, $\boldsymbol{\text{who}}$ directs films about complicated personal relationships, faced a unique challenge in casting the actors and actresses for his film Boyhood.
2. Because the film was to be shot over twelve years, Linklater could cast only people to $\boldsymbol{\text{whom}}$ the project was meaningful enough that they were willing to see it through.
3. Although Boyhood is primarily the coming-of-age story of Mason, its main character, it is also a story that will move anyone $\boldsymbol{\text{who}}$ has experienced adolescence or parenting.

(Note: The second blank uses “whom” because it is the object of the preposition “to”; the first and third use “who” because they are subjects of their respective clauses.)