How to Remember the Difference Between “who” and “who”
Who here knows when to use “who” and when to use “whom”? Who am I writing this post for? For those of us who love someone from time to time and know that this isn’t just a fancier version of who is who.
Who and who are pronouns, but not interchangeable. “Who” is used as the subject in the sentence, and “who” is used as the object of the verb or preposition.
Who is the fastest runner in your class? I know who will be the last to arrive. Who’s ready for the weekend?
Who do you love the most? I need to decide who to invite. Who should I talk to about getting a discount?
Maybe you will remember this and you don’t need to read any more. But some of you, like me, are more likely to end up in the “I know one of them is a subject and the other an object, but now I can’t remember which is which.”
In this case , Reddit user u / AnomalousAvocado offers simple advice on how to figure out when to whom and when to whom . And since this is a trick that I personally use, I can fully support it:
Who / who is the same as he / he. If you use “who” in a sentence, mentally replace “he”. If you say “he” instead, then “who” is the correct pronoun in this case.
A few more notes
Yes, you can also do it with her / her, just the letter “m” at the end of the word and the word “who” makes it such a good mnemonic trick. You can also substitute them / them when the pronoun refers to a group or person who uses non-binary pronouns.
If you are using someone / whom in a question and are confused trying to replace him / her, rephrase that as a statement. Example: who is the bell ringing for? For him it is ringing.
If a sentence contains more than one sentence (subject + verb), only view the sentence that contains who / whom. Example: We will support whoever needs it the most. (He needs it the most.)
In general, it may seem that the word “who” is falling out of everyday use, especially in colloquial speech. When both of your children claim that they didn’t break the window, you probably ask your partner, “Well, who do you believe?” Despite the fact that by now we all know that it is “Who do you believe?”
But if you go to whom and to whom, you can do it right. Who is with me?