_ Who or Whom? The correct use of who_ and _whom_ in
questions may seem like a lost battle, still joined only by
punctilious English teachers, but the correct usage remains
important in formal writing. Even careful speakers have not yet
surrendered the distinction either! After reading this article, you
will feel more comfortable using the distinction of "who" and
"whom" correctly.
!! Steps !!
* Understand the difference between _who_ and _whom_. Both who and
whom are pronouns. However, "who" is used as the _subject_ of a
sentence or phrase, to denote who is doing something (like he or
she). On the other hand, "whom" is used as the _object_ of a verb,
to denote whom has something done to it (like him or her). While a
preposition (at, by, for, in, with, etc.) often comes before
"whom", this is not always the case, so the key question is to ask
"who is doing what to whom". What follows is a quick way to
determine which pronoun to use in a particular question.
Use _whom_ when referring to the object of a verb.
* To whom it may concern:
* To whom did you talk today?
* Whom does Sarah love?
Use _who_ when referring to the subject of a sentence or phrase.
* Who brought the paper inside?
* Who talked to you today?
* Who went to dinner?
* Who ate the cake?
Ask yourself if the answer to the question would be _he_ or _him_.
If you can answer the question with _him_, then use _whom_. It's
easy to remember because they both end with "m". If you can
answer the question with _he_, then use _who_.
* Example: A suitable answer to the question, "To [*who* or *whom*]
did the prize go?" is, "It went to him." (It is improper to say
"It went to he.") The correct pronoun for the question is _whom_.
* Example: A suitable answer to the question, "[*Who* or *Whom*]
went to the store?" is, "He went to the store." (It is improper to
say "Him went to the store.") The correct pronoun for the question
_who_.
When trying to decide whether _who_ or _whom_ is correct, simplify
the sentence. Where other words in a complex sentence might throw
you off track, simplify the sentence to include just the basic
subject, verb, and object. It helps to move the words around in
your head to identify the word relationships. For example:
* "Marie Antoinette and her ladies-in-waiting only invited people to
their party [*who* or *whom*] they considered to love parties as
much as they did." The simplified mental version becomes: "*whom*
they considered."
* "Marie Antoinette prevented her mother from knowing [*who* or
*whom*] she invited to the Petit Trianon." The simplified mental
version becomes: "[*who* or *whom*] she invited." Then, you could
rearrange it again to say: "she invited *whom*", clarifying that
she did something to (invited) _whom_.
* The distinction between _who_ and _whom_ is less important in
informal spoken language than it is in formal written language.
It's possible that the distinction might someday erode away
altogether. For now, though, it is important to keep the
distinction clear in written language.
!! Video !!
!! Tips !!
* Ask yourself "who did what to whom?"
* It is possible to write around problems involving _who_ and
_whom_, but the result is almost always clumsy. If you write "To
which person did the prize go?" because you can't remember that
_whom_ is the correct pronoun for such a question, you will have
avoided a grammatical error at the expense of elegance.
* Here's a useful mnemonic for remembering about objects and
subjects; If you say "I love you", then "you" is the object of
your affection and the object of the sentence. "I" is the subject.
"[Whom or Who] do I love?" is "Whom do I love?" because the
answer, "you", is an object.
* Learning another language can help greatly. In most languages,
using "who" in the place of "whom" can cause great confusion. A
great example of this is German or Spanish.
!! Warnings !!
There is much confusion and misuse on this topic. Just as correctly
using _whom_ may make others think that you are intelligent, misusing
it may make you seem pompous. Never use _whom_ as a subject pronoun.
This is as incorrect as using _who_ where _whom_ is required. Many
people will mistakenly believe that you are trying to be formal.
* "Whom are you?" is wrong. It is meant to be "Who are you?"
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing
* How to Use English Punctuation Correctly
* How to Speak Well and Confidently
* How to Ask a Question Intelligently
* How to Improve Your Grammar
!! Sources And Citations !!
* http://ask.yahoo.com/20021113.html – research source
* http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/who.html – research source
* Patricia T. O'Connor, _Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to
Better English in Plain English_, pp. 6-8, (1996), ISBN
1-57322-625-4 – research source
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