‘Who’ vs. ‘Whom’: How to Use ‘Who’ and ‘Whom’ Properly

“Who” is a subject pronoun in the English language. Other subject pronouns include “he,” “I,” “it,” “she,” “they,” “we,” and “you.” In contrast with object pronouns, which receive the action in a sentence, subject pronouns perform the action. Whether in spoken conversation or in formal writing, the word “who” is the correct choice for a number of circumstances.

• The subject of a sentence: When “who” is the subject of a sentence, it is typically an interrogative pronoun. For example, "Who will eat these leftovers?"
• The subject of a clause surrounded by commas: For example, "Mr. Jackson, who taught at our school for 20 years, is retiring." In the clause, “who” is the subject pronoun performing the action “taught.”
• The relative pronoun in the subjective case: For example, "The person who takes risks is the person who advances.” The pronoun “who” is referring to an unknown person performing the actions of taking risks and advancing.
• The subject of the sentence in the form “whoever”: For example, "Whoever wins the raffle is going to have a great vacation in Maui." In this sentence, “whoever” is able to serve as the subject of the sentence without making it a question.

Study these example sentences to see how “who” functions as a subjective pronoun.

1. 1. “Who ended up subbing for you?”
2. 2. “I don't know who would want that job.”
3. 3. “My mom is the kind of person who doesn't take ‘no’ for an answer.”
4. 4. “Whoever the team signs is going to be a superstar.”

“Whom” is an object pronoun. Other objective pronouns include "me," "you," "him," "her," "it," "us," and "them.” In contrast with subject pronouns, which perform the action in a sentence, object pronouns receive the action. There are several instances where “whom” is the proper pronoun to use.

• The object of a verb: "My wife, whom I married 20 years ago today, is still my best friend."
• The object of a preposition: "To Whom It May Concern."
• The interrogative pronoun: “To whom are you referring?"
• The relative pronoun in the objective case: "I believe she will only hire someone whom she already knows."
• The object of a verb in the form “whomever”: "Whomever you choose will be very lucky."

Note that “whom” rarely functions as the direct object of a sentence. It is far more likely to be an indirect object, as in the sentence, "To whom did you give the cookie?" English grammar rules stipulate that "cookie" is the direct object of this sentence and "whom" is both the indirect object of the verb "give" and the object of the preposition "to."

These four “whom” examples show how the word functions as an objective pronoun in a typical sentence structure.

1. 1. "To whom do I owe this honor?"
2. 2. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls."
3. 3. "I pity whomever he picks as his dance partner."
4. 4. "Who told whom the news?"

“Who” and “whom” are the subject and object form of the same pronoun. Whether you are a professional grammarian or a novelist trying to improve your writing, you only need to remember a single rule when choosing between these two words: “who” is typically a stand-in for “she,” “he,” or “they,” while “whom” is typically a stand-in for “her,” “him,” or “them.”

If you’re unsure of which pronoun to use, try swapping out “who” and “whom” with the more familiar, analogous pronouns “they” and “them,” respectively. For example, consider the sentence, “Who will go with me?” The analogous sentence would be, “They will go with me,” not “Them will go with me,” confirming the correct choice of “who.” Similarly, try rearranging the sentence, "Whom does this concern?” The analogous sentence would be, “This concerns them,” not “This concerns they,” confirming the correct choice of “whom.”

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