When do you use "whom"?

Question

My english teacher was theaching us when to use "who" and "whom." Naturally, I had no idea what she was trying to say. Can you help me?

Answer 1

"Who" is used when it is the subject of the sentence, "whom" when it is the object (often follows words like "to" or "from"). The easy way to remember is to plug in "he" (subject form) or "him" (object form).

Watch for the -m ending "him=whom" to remember!

HE went to the store (Who went to the store)
You gave the balloon to HIM (You gave the balloon to whom?)

Answer 2

Three “easy-to-use” rules
so you'll always get it correct

Rule #1: Substitute “he/him” or “she/her”: If it's either “he” or “she,” then it's “who;” if it's “him” or “her,” then it's “whom.”

Rule #2: Every verb with a tense in a sentence must have a subject. And that word is always in the nominative case, so it's “who.” For example: In this sentence, “I decided to vote for whoever called me first”:
• “I” is the subject of “decided”
• “he” (whoever) is the subject of the verb “called.”

In the sentence, “Give it to whoever deserves it”:([You] give it to whoever deserves it.)
• “he” (whoever) is the subject of the verb “deserves.”
This rule supersedes the first rule as it relates to who” and “whom.”

Note: Related to this rule is one that says: The subject of a phrase is always attached to that phrase — no matter what. For example:
Ask whoever reads that book to answer the question.

Break down the sentence thusly:
(You) ask him (he reads that book) to answer the question.

In the phrase “he reads that book,” you cannot separate the subject “he” from the phrase to which it is attached.

If you remember these two rules — substitute “he/him” or “she/her,” and that every verb with a tense must have a subject — you should solve the “who/whom” quandary every time.

If you apply those two rules and you're still not sure, apply the all-important Rule #3.

Rule #3: Give it a sincere and honest effort to determine is it's “who” or “whom.” If it takes more than a 30 seconds to figure it out, pick the one that sounds best to the ear (read it aloud) and move on. Why? Because even grammarians are likely to squabble over which to use. But always — always — apply rules #1 and #2 before using Rule #3.

Answer 3

"Who" is the subject, "whom" is the object.

Sentences in English generally follow the order: subject verb object.

John went to the shop is John (subject) went to (acting as a verb) the shop (object). This is the most common sentence structure: a common clause.

To use a question as an example: "Who are you?" has "you" as the object. If it was reversed, you would say "you are whom".

But whom is not always at the end of the sentence. Consider:
"Who are you writing that letter to?" is better phrased "To whom are you writing that letter?".

Answer 4

ok, "who" is the accusive case, and "whom" is the objective case. Example:

WHO DID THIS? (you are accusing someone and asking who did it, accusing ppl who did it.)

Example's of WHOM:

Whom did you call?

Of whom are you speaking?

With whom did you stay?

You gave whom the book?

i hope i gave u a better understanding, it is really confusing. even my 21 year old sister did not know! (no offence, if u r 21) but i saw this thing explaining it and i gave u all the info from it.

by the way, here is something from the dictionary:

whom1 [huːm] relative pronoun

(used as the object of a verb or preposition but in everyday speech sometimes replaced by who) (used to refer to a person or people mentioned previously, to distinguish him or them from others: able to be omitted or replaced by that except when following a preposition) (the) one(s) that
Example: The man (whom/that) you mentioned is here; Today I met some friends (whom/that) I hadn't seen for ages; This is the man to whom I gave it; This is the man (whom/who/that) I gave it to.

Answer 5

Whom is the accusative case and is the direct object of a verb or follows a preposition. Examples of the latter are "of whom, by whom, in whom, to whom".

The example given earlier is wrong
"For example: In this sentence, “I decided to vote for whoever called me first”:
• “I” is the subject of “decided”
• “he” (whoever) is the subject of the verb “called.” "

"for" is a preposition so it must be "whomever". "called me first" is an adjectival clause qualifying "whomever".

In the long run, "whom" is dying and will probably not last another fifty years so it doesn't really matter unless you want to be pedantic.

Answer 6

"Whom" is the "objective" form, that is the "object" or, say, target, of some word. For example, if I say I'm trying to determine "for whom" this gift is intended, "whom" is the target of the word "for", and you wouldn't want to say "for who". On the other hand, you wouldn't say "Whom is knocking at the door?" because "Whom" has no target in that case! Whom is the "subject" and its target is the rest..."is knocking at the door".

Answer 7

if you are asking or stating something and use either the word "to" or "for" you should use whom. Have you ever asked a question and it ended in "to"...or ..."for"....then you have phrased it incorrectly.

To whom should I send this?...is better than... Who should I send this to? Avoid ending with a preposition.

Answer 8

Who is the subject form--like "I" or "he."
Whom is the object form--like "me" or "him."
So, you'd say "to whom is this going?"--and "Who is going?"
Much of the time, in real life, who is used in both cases--"whom" can sound stilted. And, using "whom" in case of "who" is really bad.

Answer 9

Use "whom" when it's the object of a sentence.
Use "who" when it's the subject. (I think... its been a while)

Answer 10

who is more so at the beginning of a sentence and whom in the middle or thats what i learned...