“Who” and “Whom” are relative pronouns. It is a category of pronoun that staples together different parts of a sentence. Let us study these pronouns in detail:
“Who” is a subject relative, which means that it is used to give more information about the subject. For e.g.
“Whom”, on the other hand, is an object relative, which means it gives more information about the object of the sentence. For e.g.
How to choose between the two?
A simple way to decide is to replace the subject/object in the sentence with the following: “he/she” or “him/her” and read it out loud. The sentence that sounds more natural, will be the right guess.
Do it yourself!
Use the “who/whom” rule given above to guess the correct answer.
- …ate my sandwich?
- He said, “They are mine and I will choose with … I share them.”
- The mailman … I know very well, rushed past me in a hurry.
- The girl …sat beside him was his daughter.
- Here lives an old man with …I would like to converse.
This is one of the most confusing grammar topics that students often struggle with. The explanation here, however, is so simple, it should help students understand the concept clearly behind Who or Whom.