Practice
Who and whom: choose by the pronoun's job
Sign in to saveUse who for the person doing the action. Use whom for the person receiving an action in formal English. In everyday speech and writing, who is common in both positions.
Choose who or whom by identifying whether the pronoun is the subject or the object, then match the form to the level of formality you need.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
To whom should I send the form? /tə huːm ʃʊd aɪ send ðə fɔːm/
The short answer
Choose who when the pronoun does the action. Choose whom when the pronoun receives the action or follows a preposition in formal English. For an everyday question, who is often the natural choice even when it is the object.
Whom did the committee appoint?
Why it works: The committee performs the action. Whom names the person who receives it, so it is the formal object form.
4 more examples
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Who presented the proposal to the board?
Who is the subject of presented. It names the person who did the presenting.
Not this:
Whom presentedthe proposal to the board? What changes: The pronoun does the action, so standard English uses the subject form who. -
To whom should I send the signed form?
Whom is the object of the preposition to. This form suits a formal written question.
Not this:
Who should I send the signed form to? What changes: This everyday version places the preposition at the end and uses who. -
The analyst who explained the figures answered questions afterward.
Who is the subject of explained inside the relative clause. The analyst did the explaining.
Not this:The analyst
whom explainedthe figures answered questions afterward. What changes: The relative pronoun is the subject of explained, so use who. -
The candidate whom the panel interviewed accepted the offer.
The panel is the subject of interviewed. Whom is the formal object in the relative clause.
Not this:The candidate
who the panel interviewedaccepted the offer. What changes: Who is a common everyday alternative when it is the object of a relative clause.
Read the full guide
First find the verb in the clause that contains who or whom. Ask whether the pronoun performs that verb's action or receives it. Then decide how formal the situation is. This order prevents a familiar problem: choosing by how the question begins instead of by the pronoun's job in its own clause.
Find the pronoun's job in its clause
Do not choose from the first word of the sentence. Find the smaller clause that contains who or whom, then find its verb. The subject performs the action. The object receives it.
Who approved the schedule?
Who is the subject of approved. The person named by who performed the approval.
Whom did the director approve for the role?
The director is the subject of approve. Whom is the formal object of that verb.
In the question Who sent the invoice?, does the pronoun do the action or receive it?
Who does the action. It is the subject of sent.
Use who for a subject
Who is the standard form when it stands for the person who acts, speaks, decides, arrives, or has a state. This use is the same in conversation, business writing, and formal documents.
Who is responsible for the final review?
Who is linked to the state is responsible. It is the subject of the clause.
The colleague who raised the question has left.
Who is the subject of raised in the relative clause. The colleague raised the question.
Choose the subject form: Who or whom will lead the discussion?
Use who because the pronoun will lead the discussion.
Use whom for a formal object
In formal grammar, whom is used when another person performs an action on the person named by the pronoun. This often appears in formal questions and careful relative clauses. It is correct, but it can sound more formal than the situation requires.
Whom should we notify about the change?
We is the subject of notify. Whom is the person who would receive the notification.
The author whom the publisher contacted replied the same day.
The publisher contacted the author, so whom is the formal object in the relative clause.
Try the he-or-him check: would you say They selected he or They selected him?
You would say They selected him, so whom fits in formal English: Whom did they select?
Handle prepositions in formal and everyday English
When a preposition comes directly before the pronoun, formal English normally uses whom. Everyday English often puts the preposition at the end and uses who. Both patterns can be clear when the register suits the audience.
For whom was the training session arranged?
Whom is the object of for. This word order is formal.
Who was the training session arranged for?
This is a natural everyday version. The preposition for comes at the end.
Which version is more likely in a formal letter: To whom should I write, or Who should I write to?
To whom should I write is the more formal version. Who should I write to is suitable for ordinary communication.
Choose a natural alternative when whom feels too formal
You do not need to force whom into an ordinary message. Use who in an everyday object question, move the preposition to the end, or revise the sentence with a direct noun. The aim is a clear sentence that fits the situation.
Who did you speak with after the presentation?
Who is the usual everyday choice here, even though the pronoun is the object of with.
Which contact should receive the document?
This revision avoids the who-or-whom choice by naming the role directly.
How can you make Whom are you waiting for? sound more casual?
Use Who are you waiting for? It is natural in everyday English.
Before you go
Remember this
Use who for the subject of a clause. Use whom for an object in formal English, especially after a preposition. In less formal English, who often replaces object whom, and moving a preposition to the end can make the sentence sound more natural. Check the pronoun's job in its own clause before choosing.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Who and whom: choose by the pronoun's job"
What is the basic difference between who and whom?
Who is the subject form for the person doing an action, as in Who presented the proposal to the board? Whom is the traditional formal object form for the person receiving an action, as in Whom did the committee appoint?
Who presented the proposal to the board?
How does the he-or-him check help with who and whom?
Replace the unknown person with he or him in a short answer. If he fits, use who. If him fits, whom is the formal choice. For example, The analyst who explained the figures answered questions afterward because you can say He explained the figures.
Whom presented the proposal to the board?
Is it acceptable to use who instead of whom?
Yes. Who is widely used for an object in everyday English. The candidate who the panel interviewed accepted the offer is natural in ordinary writing, while whom is the more formal object form in the same relative clause.
Whom did the committee appoint?
When should I use whom after a preposition?
Use whom after a preposition in formal English. To whom should I send the signed form? has a formal tone. In everyday English, you can usually move the preposition: Who should I send the signed form to?
Who did the committee appoint?
Can whom be the subject of a clause?
No. Use who when the pronoun performs the action. In The analyst who explained the figures answered questions afterward, who is the subject of explained. Whom is used for an object role in formal English.
To whom should I send the signed form?