who vs whom

Do you know when to use who vs. whom?

It sounds old-fashioned: To whom have you sent those letters? Modern colloquial speakers expect something more along the lines of Who did you send those letters to?

While whom may sound outdated, it is still the technically correct word in certain situations.

Let’s examine the rules and practices surrounding who vs. whom.

One of our example sentences (Who did you send those letters to?) has two problems:

  1. It ends with a preposition.
  2. It uses who where whom is the correct interrogative pronoun

It’s worth noting that many grammarians today say it’s acceptable to end sentences with prepositions. As more and more writers and speakers place prepositions at the end of sentences, the practice becomes more acceptable. Grammar follows common practice, so as usage becomes widespread, it becomes the rule.

However, we’re not here to talk about prepositions. We’re going to take a look at how to properly use the words who or whom in a sentence.


Interrogative Pronoun! Are You Kidding?

Yeah, I guess it sounds pretty high-brow, and no, I’m not kidding. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one of those grammar snobs. I do, however, believe that writers who learn the rules can better get away with breaking them. If you’re a writer, then it couldn’t possibly hurt to know what an interrogative pronoun is and how to use it in a sentence, correctly.

Plus, learning about interrogative pronouns will help you know the difference between who vs. whom.

Interrogative Pronoun

Simply put, an interrogative pronoun is a pronoun that is used in a question. You know these words: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Whence and whither are also interrogative pronouns, but I’ll spare you on those. For now.

Who Uses Whom Nowadays?

The word whom seems to have fallen out of favor, although some crotchety old uncle or anal-retentive English teacher might force it into your vocabulary at some point. For all I know, whom could still be used frequently in British English, Canadian English, or Aussie speak. It’s safe to assume that a high-profile writing assignment would require you to adhere to strict rules and use whom where it would be expected. Also, if you were writing a historical novel or perhaps a fantasy tale with a medieval flair, you’d want to know such things so your characters would have realistic dialogue.

It’s also worth noting that as you learn the correct applications of who and whom, you might acquire a taste for using these words more properly, especially in writing (but probably not so much in your speech).

What’s the Difference between Who and Whom?

First I’ll give you the technical answer, and then I’ll follow up with a trick to help you remember whether to use who or whom in your own sentence crafting.

  • Who refers to the subject of a sentence, while whom refers to the object.

Yep, it’s that simple.

Example:

I see you.

In the sentence above, I is the subject and you is the object. I always remember the subject as the giver or doer of an action and the object as the receiver of an action. In this example, I am doing the action (seeing) and you are receiving the action (getting seen). Now let’s replace the subject and object with an interrogative pronoun.

When the subject is an interrogative pronoun, use who.

Since who is the proper interrogative pronoun for representing a sentence’s subject, you could say:

Who sees you?
(I do. I see you.)

When the object of a sentence is an interrogative pronoun, use whom.

I see whom? or Whom do I see?
(I see you.)

The following sentences would be incorrect: Who do I see? Whom sees you?

Quick Trick for Remembering Who vs. Whom

Some months ago, while listening to Grammar Girl (one of my favorite podcasts), I picked up a neat little trick for remembering when to use who vs. whom. Both whom and him are pronouns that end with the letter m. So, all you do is remove the interrogative pronoun and replace it with he or him.

If you would replace the interrogative pronoun (who or whom) with him, then you should use whom:

I see whom?
I see him.

Whom did I see?
I saw him.

But if you would replace the interrogative pronoun (who or whom) with he, then you should use who:

Who saw me?
He saw me.

Grammar sure is fun.

Do you ever struggle with whether to use who or whom in a sentence? Got any tips or tricks for remembering who vs. whom? Leave a comment, and keep sticking to those grammar rules!

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