What's the easiest way to remember when to use who/whom and whoever/whomever?

Answer 1

Just to add my two cents...

Don't get too caught up on when to use "who" or "whom"...especially in informal speech. There is always an appropriate time and place for such "niceties"…”With whom do you think you are messing”…it just doesn’t have the same punch, does it?…but I digress, and it is important to know the rules before you break them…

The guidance others give about trying to substitute “he” for “who” and “him” for “whom” (or “she” for “who” and “her” for “whom”—my lame attempt at not being sexist!) is a good way to go. I always ask myself, “WHO is doing what to WHOM?”

There are sometimes when it gets down right confusing, so in these circumstances, I would suggest stripping the sentence down to its most basic parts (subject, verb, object) and (especially when the problem sentence is a question) switch the order of the words; e.g., “WHO/WHOM are you going to invite to the party?” could be switched to “YOU are going to invite WHO/WHOM to the party,” which when using the she/who/him/whom rule becomes “You are going to invite HER to the party?” So in this example, the correct sentence would be, “Whom are you going to invite to the party?”

And since we are on rules, I would just add the while the objective-case pronoun “whom” is used as an object…it is not typically used as a direct object as stated above, but as an indirect object…but again, I digress…

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"Whom" does NOT always follow a preposition: "You are giving whom a present?" or "You are giving away whom?"

Answer 2

I hate to get all engligh-teacher-y, but here goes...
Who or whoever is a subject. Usually at the beginning of the sentence, it's the one performing the action(verb).
"Whoever took the bike is in trouble." *whoever (took)*
"Who is going to the picnic?" *who (is going)*

Whom or whomever is a direct object. Usually at the end, it's the one recieving the action(verb). Whom also often has a preposition immediately before it (by, to, with, for, plus all the directional words - over, through, etc.) This is often your best indication. You NEVER say "to who". Think of the letter opener, "to whom it may concern:"
"I'll give my ticket to whomever needs it." *(give) to whomever*
"When I'm done with this form, to whom does it go?" *(goes) to whom."

Answer 3

about a similar i wager, no matter if that's largely posting a stupid Q or A. yet asking is better complicated in case you prefer to choose the most appropriate answer. I in reality communicate over with P/S. ( in different diverse varieties, answering will be harder, as you want to understand the reply, or study an situation)

Answer 4

"Who" is in the nominative case, and usually precedes the verb in a sentence. "Whom" is in the objective case and usually comes after the verb. It follows a preposition, i.e., to, with, for, by, and so forth.
Examples: Who is your best friend?
You are going with whom to the party?

Answer 5

I use this rule, it works almost all the time:
If you can put in "to who" then its a whom, else just who

Answer 6

How I remember it is: when asked a question, if the answer is "he", the question is "who". If the answer is "him", the question is "whom".

Answer 7

If you would use he/she in the sentence then it is "who"

If you would use him/her in the sentence it would be "whom"