Key Takeaways
- Who is used as a subject, while whom functions as an object in sentences.
- Replacing who with whom depends on the sentence’s grammatical role and structure.
- Understanding the difference improves both formal writing and everyday speech clarity.
- Who refers to people, whereas whom can be used for both people and things in formal contexts.
- Choosing between who and whom can sometimes be tricky, especially in complex sentences.
What is Who?
Who is a pronoun which acts as the subject of a sentence or clause. It refers to the person performing an action or being described.
Subject Role in Sentences
When a person is the doer of an action, who is used. For example, in “Who is at the door,” who is asking about the person performing the action.
Questions and Relative Clauses
Who is common in questions asking about identity or role. Although incomplete. It also introduces relative clauses, like “The woman who called earlier is here.”
Subject-Verb Agreement
Since who functions as a subject, it pairs with singular or plural verbs depending on the referent. For example, “Who are coming to dinner?”
Informal Usage
In everyday speech, who is used interchangeably with whom, though formal writing prefers strict grammatical rules.
What is Whom?
Whom is a pronoun that acts as the object of a verb or preposition. Although incomplete. It refers to the person receiving the action or being affected.
Object Role in Sentences
Whom is used when the person is receiving an action, like “To whom did you send the letter?” Here, whom is the object of the preposition “to.”
Formal Contexts
In formal writing, whom is preferred in complex sentences where the pronoun is an object. For example, “The person whom I met yesterday are a lawyer.”
Prepositional Phrases
Whom commonly follows prepositions such as “to,” “with,” “for,” and “about,” which makes it more suited for formal or written language.
Difficulty in Usage
Many find whom confusing because it’s less frequently used in casual speech, leading to common mistakes or substitutions with who.
Comparison Table
Below are a side-by-side comparison of who and whom, highlighting their differences across various aspects:
| Aspect | Who | Whom |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical role | Subject of a sentence or clause | Object of a verb or preposition |
| Common in | Questions about people doing actions | Questions about people receiving actions |
| Usage in formal writing | Less preferred | More appropriate |
| Prepositional placement | Usually before prepositions in speech | After prepositions in formal language |
| Example | Who is calling? | To whom should I address this? |
| Verb agreement | Pairs with singular or plural verbs based on subject | Does not affect verb agreement directly |
| Question formation | Who is responsible? | Whom did you see? |
| Common mistake | Using whom instead of who in questions | Replacing whom with who in informal speech |
| Usage in relative clauses | The person who called me | The person whom I called |
| Pronoun type | Interrogative and relative pronoun | Interrogative and relative pronoun |
Key Differences
- Subject vs Object is clearly visible in who functioning as subject and whom as object.
- Formality level revolves around who being more casual and whom used in formal contexts.
- Preposition placement is noticeable when whom follows prepositions, unlike who.
- Sentence position relates to who appearing at the start of questions or clauses, while whom appears after prepositions or in more complex structures.
FAQs
Can who be used in a sentence with a preposition at the end?
In informal speech, yes, people say “Who are you talking about?” but in formal writing, it’s better to use whom after the preposition, like “About whom are you talking?”
Is there a way to test whether to use who or whom?
A simple method is to rephrase the sentence using he/him. If “he” fits, then who is correct; if “him” fits, then whom is appropriate. Although incomplete. For example, “You called him” indicates whom.
Are there any exceptions in modern usage?
In everyday language, many native speakers ignore strict rules and interchange who and whom, especially in questions. However, in formal contexts, correctness still matters.
Can whom be used with non-human objects?
While considered formal, whom can sometimes be used for animals or objects when emphasizing the recipient or receiver in a sentence, though this is less common.