How can I remember how to use "who" and "whom"?

Question

Is there any easy way -- a mnemonic, perhaps -- to help me remember how and where to use "who" and "whom"?

Answer 1

Use who whenever you would use he, and whom whenever you would say him. Who/he are subject pronouns and whom/him are object pronouns.

Answer 2

This answer came from the net: “Whom” has been dying an agonizing death for decades—you’ll notice there are no Whoms in Dr. Seuss’s Whoville. Many people never use the word in speech at all. However, in formal writing, critical readers still expect it to be used when appropriate. The distinction between “who” and “whom” is basically simple: “who” is the subject form of this pronoun and “whom” is the object form. “Who was wearing that awful dress at the Academy Awards banquet?” is correct because “who” is the subject of the sentence. “The MC was so startled by the neckline that he forgot to whom he was supposed to give the Oscar” is correct because “whom” is the object of the preposition “to.”

When thinking of using "who and whom", think of the "M" ending
"whom" as the beginning letter in the word "mother", because this question is a real "mother . . ., and you object to it. Hence, "objective mode".

If in doubt . . . use "who". Few will question. Few will care.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Jeannie is right on. If you have trouble knowing what an object is, I have a simple way of teaching it in my Jr. High class in terms they all understand. Imagine a hail-mary pass in football. The quarterback is like the subject--he is doing the action of the verb "to throw"--namely, he's passing the football. The wide receiver is like the object--he receives the action of the verb. In other words, the ball is thrown to him. The object of a sentence answers the question "do WHAT?" (Yes, I know that only applies to the direct object, but at this level students are not introduced to indirect objects and I cannot afford to confuse them any more than they already are).

Answer 4

you can remember - who are you -who do go out with-who knows what the time is--if you are writing a letter -to whom it may concern.-to whom am i talking - always start with to when using the word whom.who you can use it any which way,good luck,from mikhal in israel.

Answer 5

http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w023.html

Answer 6

who were you talking about? vs. to whom are you talking about?

Answer 7

who is singular and whom is plural