Mastering the usages of who and whom is essential for clear English grammar, especially when deciding between subjective and objective pronouns in a sentence structure.
What is the Difference Between Who and Whom?
Understanding the correct usages of who and whom comes down to identifying whether the pronoun is performing the action or receiving it.
Choose the Right Option: Practice Exercise
Test your knowledge on the usages of who and whom by choosing the correct option for each of the following sentences:
- This guide was made to serve whoever/whomever might benefit from it.
- The person about who/whom we were talking is coming this way.
- Nobody knows who/whom will be chosen.
- Nobody knows who/whom we will choose.
- Please describe the person who/whom you met earlier today.
- Stephanie, who/whom is originally from England, now speaks with a Canadian accent.
- To who/whom should we address the invitations?
- Send the invitations to whoever/whomever helped plan the party.
- Who/whom should we turn to for help?
- Who/whom did she say was her favourite?
Answers and Explanations
Review the correct usages of who and whom with the detailed answers below:
-
This guide was made to serve whoever/whomever might benefit from it.
Answer: whoever -
The person about who/whom we were talking is coming this way.
Answer: whom -
Nobody knows who/whom will be chosen.
Answer: who -
Nobody knows who/whom we will choose.
Answer: whom -
Please describe the person who/whom you met earlier today.
Answer: whom -
Stephanie, who/whom is originally from England, now speaks with a Canadian accent.
Answer: who -
To who/whom should we address the invitations?
Answer: whom -
Send the invitations to whoever/whomever helped plan the party.
Answer: whoever -
Who/whom should we turn to for help?
Answer: Whom -
Who/whom did she say was her favourite?
Answer: Who
Key Takeaways
- Use who as a subject pronoun when the person is performing the action.
- Use whom as an object pronoun when the person is receiving the action or following a preposition.
- Apply the "he vs. him" substitution trick to verify the correct pronoun choice.
Quick Practice
Drop a comment below with your own example sentence using either "who" or "whom" correctly to test your skills!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the basic rule for the usages of who and whom?
The core rule is that who acts as the subject of a verb, while whom acts as the object of a verb or preposition.
How can I easily test whether to use who or whom?
You can test the sentence by replacing the pronoun with "he" or "she" (for who) versus "him" or "her" (for whom) to see which sounds grammatically correct.