Lisa Adams Resources: Prickly Pronouns

Prickly Pronouns

Chapter Three: Who vs. Whom

In this section, we're going to address the terrible "who/whom" conflict. But you'll be happy to know that, since you've come this far, it's not going to be terrible for you at all.

In fact, "who" and "whom" work just like "I" and "me," "he" and "him." Who and whoever are subject pronouns, and whom and whomever are object pronouns.

Who broke my window?

Brian, to whom I owe my life, is squeamish.

I'm painting a picture for whomever I marry.

Wendy knew that whoever spoke up would be in trouble.

Memory trick

The memory trick for "who" and "whom" is closely related to the memory tricks for "I" and "me." There's just a slight difference.

"Who," "whom," "whoever" and "whomever" often begin dependent clauses. So when you're considering which of these pronouns to use, you have to look only at that particular clause. This means that sometimes you have to drop the rest of the sentence. So here's how you do it:

I hoped to find the man (who, whom) claimed to be my brother.

First, you drop everything in the sentence until you reach the pronoun:

(who, whom) claimed to be my brother.

Next, you replace the "who" with "he" and "whom" with "him":

He claimed to be my brother.
Him claimed to be my brother.

Clearly the first sentence is correct. "He" is a subject pronoun, and so is "who," so you need to use "who."

I hoped to find the man who claimed to be my brother.

Let's try another one:

My coworkers went to China to meet with the expert (who, whom) their supervisor had recommended.

So, you drop the first part of the sentence:

(who, whom) their supervisor had recommended.

Next, you replace "who" and "whom" with "he" and "him" (you can also use "she" and "her"):

He their supervisor had recommended.
Him their supervisor had recommended.

Hmmm...neither of those sentences works. When this happens, move "he" and "him" to the end of the sentence and try again:

Their supervisor had recommended he.
Their supervisor had recommended him.

Ah! The second sentence is right. "Him" is an object pronoun, thus we need to use another object pronoun: "whom." Therefore, the entire correct sentence is:

My coworkers went to China to meet with the expert whom their supervisor had recommended.

Other times, you may have to move the pronouns to the middle of the sentence—just place them wherever they sound natural.

Sometimes a "who" clause will fall in the middle of the sentence:

The question of (who, whom) jumps highest was not answered.

As usual, you'll drop the first part of the sentence:

(Who, whom) jumps highest was not answered.

Then you'll substitute "he" and "him" (or "she" and "her"):

He jumps highest was not answered.
Him jumps highest was not answered.

The last part of the sentence—"was not answered"—is getting in the way. So you can drop that too:

He jumps highest.
Him jumps highest.

The first sentence is correct. Therefore the correct sentence is:

The question of who jumps highest was not answered.

One more. Let's look at two similar sentences:

You should go out with (whoever, whomever) treats you best.
You should go out with (whoever, whomever) you like best.

Now let's drop the first part of the sentences:

(Whoever, whomever) treats you best.
(Whoever, whomever) you like best.

Now let's add "he" and "him":

He treats you best.
Him treats you best.

You like he best.
You like him best.

In the first example, "he" works. But in the second example, "him" works. As similar as these sentences appear, they require different pronouns. The correct sentences should read:

You should go out with whoever treats you best.
You should go out with whomever you like best.

Do you understand why this works? In the first sentence, "whoever" serves as the subject of its clause. In the second sentence, "whomever" serves as the object of its clause. Just remember to look carefully at the clause in question, and you'll choose correctly!

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