May 26 2009
Who Vs. Whom
There are two words that people get mixed up many times and those words are “whom” and “who.” Why? Because no one is really sure how to use them. But there is a method that can be learned.
Let’s start with the word “who.” “Who” is normally used as the subject of a verb or complement of a linking verb. It is referred to as a nominative pronoun. For example, take a look at this sentence: It was John who wrecked the car last night. In this sentence we have to find the verb or verbs first. With this sentence, the verbs are “was” and “wrecked.” Next find the subject of each verb. The first subject is “John,” while the second subject is “who.” In this sentence, “who” is the subject. Therefore the use of “who” is correct.
Now let’s turn our attention to the word “whom.” “Whom” is used as the object of the verb or the object of a preposition. In this case it is an objective pronoun. For example, let’s consider this sentence: You asked whom to dine with you tonight? In this sentence, the subject and verb are “You asked.” The pronoun following the verb, in the sentence, is the object of the preposition “with.” Therefore, using the word “whom” in the sentence is correct.
Be careful. When looking at the prepositional pronoun, make sure it isn’t also a subject. If the word is a subject, you would use the word “who.”
If you are still unsure, there is a way to distinguish the two. Look for the questionable word. If you can sub “he” with the pronoun, and the sentence makes sense, use “who.” But if using “him” makes sense, use “whom.”
