Who vs. Whom: Usage Rules and Examples

Who and whom are forms of the same pronoun. Who is the subject form, and whom is the object form. In formal English, use who for the person performing a clause’s action and whom for the person receiving an action or completing a preposition.^[1]

The choice depends on the pronoun’s job inside its own clause. It does not depend on whether the person is important, whether the sentence is a question, or where the pronoun appears in the full sentence.

Who vs. Whom: Usage Guidelines

Use who when the pronoun is the subject of a verb. The subject performs the action or occupies the subject position with a linking verb.^[2]

• Who called the repair shop?
• Who needs the revised schedule?
• Who is ready to begin?
• I know who submitted the request.
• The editor asked who was available.

In the first example, who performs called. In “Who is ready?”, who is the subject of is. The linking verb does not describe an action, but it still needs a subject.

Use whom as the object of a verb in formal prose. The object receives the verb’s action.^[3]

• Whom did the committee select?
• Whom should we notify?
• She is the colleague whom the director praised.
• We could not remember whom Maya had invited.
• Tell me whom you trust with the keys.

Questions can hide the object behind an auxiliary verb. In “Whom did the committee select?”, committee is the subject, select is the main verb, and whom is the person selected. Rearranging the sentence as “The committee selected whom?” makes the roles easier to see.

Use whom after a preposition in formal constructions, such as to whom, for whom, with whom, and about whom.^[1]

• To whom should the invoice be sent?
• For whom was this seat reserved?
• With whom did the consultant meet?
• The person about whom you asked has arrived.

Everyday English often moves the preposition to the end and uses who instead: “Who should the invoice be sent to?” and “Who did the consultant meet with?” Object who is common in casual speech, while whom remains associated with formal contexts, especially immediately after a preposition.^[2] Neither choice needs to be treated as a universal correction without considering register.

Pronoun job	Formal form	Replacement	Example
subject of a verb	who	he, she, they	Who answered? She answered.
subject of a linking verb	who	he, she, they	Who is prepared? He is prepared.
object of a verb	whom	him, her, them	Whom did you call? You called her.
object of a preposition	whom	him, her, them	With whom did you travel? I traveled with them.

The same distinction applies in statements and embedded questions. “I wonder who approved it” uses who because that person performed the approval. “I wonder whom they approved” uses whom in formal prose because they is the subject and the missing person received the approval.

How Who and Whom Differ in Complex Sentences

The most reliable method is to examine only the clause that contains who or whom. Find that clause’s verb and subject, then decide whether the pronoun fills the subject or object position.^[1]

Consider “We hired the applicant who interviewed first.” The relative clause is “who interviewed first.” The applicant performed interviewed, so who is correct. Now compare “We hired the applicant whom you interviewed first.” Inside the relative clause, you performed interviewed and the applicant received the action. Formal prose therefore uses whom.

The nearby noun does not decide the form:

• She thanked the volunteer who had stayed late.
• She thanked the volunteer whom the coordinator had assigned.
• We chose a guide who knows the trail.
• We chose a guide whom everyone trusts.

In each pair, the first pronoun is the subject of its clause. In the second, another subject appears—coordinator or everyone—and the pronoun is the object.

A clause can contain more than one verb. Match the pronoun to the verb it belongs with. In “Who do you think will lead?”, who is the subject of will lead. The words do you think form a surrounding clause and do not turn who into an object. By contrast, “Whom do you think the board will choose?” contains the board as the subject of will choose, so formal usage treats whom as its object.

The replacement test offers a quick check: if he, she, or they fits, choose who; if him, her, or them fits, formal usage favors whom.^[1]

• Who designed the poster? She designed it.
• Whom did Ravi consult? Ravi consulted her.
• Who do they say is responsible? They say he is responsible.
• Whom do they say the manager promoted? The manager promoted him.

When the sentence is a question, answer it before applying the test. “Who/whom did Ava recommend?” becomes “Ava recommended him,” which points to whom in formal prose. “Who/whom recommended Ava?” becomes “He recommended Ava,” which points to who.

Do not apply the test to an unrelated part of the sentence. In “Give the pass to whoever arrives first,” the whole clause “whoever arrives first” follows the preposition to, but whoever is the subject of arrives inside that clause. Clause structure controls the internal form.

Compound objects follow the same pattern. “The invitation was sent to Marco and me” becomes “To whom was the invitation sent?” A person’s name beside the pronoun does not change the pronoun’s grammatical role.

How to Choose Between Who and Whom

Use this process when the answer is not immediately clear:

1. Isolate the clause containing the blank.
2. Find the main verb in that clause.
3. Identify the verb’s subject.
4. Choose who when the blank is that subject.
5. Choose whom when another subject performs the action and the blank receives it.
6. Choose whom after a fronted preposition in formal prose.
7. Consider who for a natural conversational object construction, particularly when the preposition appears at the end.

Here are the steps in action. For “Who/whom should I ask?”, the relevant clause is “I should ask ___.” The subject is I, and the missing person receives ask. Formal prose favors “Whom should I ask?” In ordinary conversation, “Who should I ask?” is common and natural.^[2]

For “Who/whom should answer?”, the relevant clause is “___ should answer.” No other subject performs answer, so choose “Who should answer?” Using whom merely because the sentence sounds formal would be incorrect; whom should never serve as the subject.^[4]

Correct these sentences for formal prose:

• “Whom prepared the budget?” → “Who prepared the budget?”
• “To who was the package addressed?” → “To whom was the package addressed?”
• “The analyst whom found the error called us.” → “The analyst who found the error called us.”
• “Who did the panel nominate?” → “Whom did the panel nominate?”
• “Whom do you believe will win?” → “Who do you believe will win?”
• “She is the person who we contacted.” → “She is the person whom we contacted.”

The last two examples show why word order alone fails. In “Who do you believe will win?”, who performs will win. In “the person whom we contacted,” we performs contacted, and whom receives that action.

Choose the form that fits both grammar and audience. A contract, academic paper, or formal letter may retain distinctions that conversation often relaxes. Avoid replacing conversational object who mechanically when the result sounds needlessly stiff, but preserve whom after a fronted preposition when the surrounding prose is formal.

Practice:

1. ___ left the package at reception?
2. With ___ are you traveling?
3. ___ did the editor nominate?
4. I know ___ prepared the final chart.
5. The engineer ___ we consulted approved the plan.
6. ___ do you expect will call first?
7. For ___ was the additional copy printed?
8. The neighbor ___ owns the red bicycle moved away.
9. ___ should we ask about the reservation?
10. She wondered ___ the supervisor had selected.

Formal answers:

1. Who is the subject of left.
2. Whom completes the preposition with.
3. Whom is the object of nominate; editor is the subject.
4. Who is the subject of prepared.
5. Whom is the object of consulted; we is the subject.
6. Who is the subject of will call inside the embedded clause.
7. Whom completes the preposition for.
8. Who is the subject of owns.
9. Whom is the formal object of ask. Conversational who is also common.
10. Whom is the object of selected; supervisor is the subject.