The distinction between who and whom is often overlooked in modern writing and speech, but understanding the difference can enhance clarity and precision. These pronouns are used in different grammatical cases: who is nominative (used as a subject), and whom is objective (used as an object).
Who
Definition:
Who functions as a subject in a sentence, referring to the person performing an action or being in a state.
Examples of use:
Who left the party last?
Who is responsible for this project?
Who will be attending the meeting?
Whom
Definition:
Whom functions as an object, either of a verb or a preposition, referring to the person receiving the action.
Examples of use:
Whom should the invitation go to?
Whom did you see at the concert?
The professor called on whom she thought would have the answer.
Advanced example:
Consider the sentence:
“The gift must be returned by whoever bought it.”
In this case, the entire clause “whoever bought it” is the object of the preposition by, but whoever remains in the nominative case because it is the subject of the clause “whoever bought it.”
Tip for correct usage:
To determine whether to use who or whom, substitute a personal pronoun (he, she, him, her, they, them) into the sentence:
If he, she, or they fits, use who.
Example:
Who is the junior senator from that state?
Substitution:
She is the junior senator from that state.
If him, her, or them fits, use whom.
Example:
The outcome could depend on whom.
Substitution:
The outcome could depend on them.
To summarize, use who when referring to the subject of the sentence and whom when referring to the object. Though this distinction can sometimes be tricky, applying simple substitution tests can help maintain grammatical accuracy and polish your writing or speech.
