Who vs. whom is a common grammar question confusing many people. Although both words refer to a person, they are used in different contexts and have different roles in a sentence. In this article, we will explore the differences between who and whom, how to use them correctly, and provide examples to illustrate their usage.
Defining Who and Whom:
Before we dive into the comparison between who and whom, let’s first define what each word means:
Who: Who is a pronoun used to refer to the subject of a sentence or clause. It is used when referring to a person or people in the subjective case, that is, the person performing the action.
Whom: Whom is also a pronoun used to refer to a person, but in the objective case, that is, the person receiving the action.
Using Who and Whom Correctly:
To determine whether to use who or whom in a sentence, you need to identify the role of the person being referred to. If the person is the subject of the sentence, you should use who. If the person is the object of the verb, preposition, or infinitive, you should use whom.
For example:
Who: Who is coming to the party tonight? (Who is the subject of the sentence)
Whom: Whom did you invite to the party tonight? (Whom is the object of the verb “invite”)
Whom: To whom should I send this email? (Whom is the object of the preposition “to”)
It is worth noting that in modern English, the use of whom has become less common in casual speech and writing. Instead, using who in both subjective and objective cases is more common. However, in formal writing or situations where you want to demonstrate a higher level of language proficiency, using whom correctly can be beneficial.
Comparison of Who and Whom:
Now that we have a basic understanding of the differences between who and whom and how to use them correctly let’s compare them further in terms of their grammatical functions.
Function: Subject vs. Object
As mentioned earlier, who is used as a subject pronoun, while whom is used as an object pronoun.
Who: Who is the best basketball player on the team?
Whom: With whom are you going to the basketball game?
In the first example, who is the sentence’s subject because it is the person performing the action. In the second example, whom is the object of the preposition “with” because it is receiving the action.
Formal vs. Informal
Using whom correctly can be perceived as a sign of formal language proficiency. However, in modern English, using whom has become less common in casual speech and writing. Instead, using who in both subjective and objective cases is more common.
For example, instead of saying “To whom it may concern,” you can say “Whoever it concerns” in casual speech.
