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Understanding the difference between "who" and "whom" is essential for clear communication in both formal and informal contexts. "Who" is used as the subject of a sentence, while "whom" serves as an object. This guide covers nominative and objective cases, giving examples such as "Who is the captain of the football team?" and "To whom did you give your old skateboard?" Additionally, we provide techniques to easily determine which pronoun to use, including recognizing verbs and understanding sentence structure. Enhance your grammatical skills with our practical insights!
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Informal • Formal
Who • Nominative/Subjective case • Subject • (Predicate nominative) • Who is captain of the football team this year? • Who’s that woman in the red hat? • Who were the first Americans? • (Don’t confuse who’s with whose.)
Whom • Objective case • Direct/Indirect objects • Object of Preposition (with, to, for, from, in) • To whom did you give your old skateboard? • Whom did you give your old skateboard to?
Deciding in a question • Rephrase the question as a statement. • Decide how the pronoun is used in the sentence. • Determine the case. • Choose the correct pronoun. • Ex. (Who/Whom) is she? • Ex. (Who/Whom) will you invite to the dance?
Another way to decide • Find the verb • Do you need “who” to function as its subject? • Is there a linking verb to need “who” as a predicate nominative? • If not, then you know to use “whom.”
Examples • (Who, Whom) did you buy flowers for? • (Who, Whom) will you call to come and pick us up after band practice? • (Who, Whom) painted that beautiful picture?
