A Brief Guide to 'Whom'

[Ashin Varanin]

Nobody uses 'whom' informally anymore, so why does it matter to know about this? Because even though you can use 'who' instead of 'whom' colloquially, you absolutely can't ever use 'whom' instead of 'who.' For example, 'He was angry at people whom did not follow him' would be incorrect.

When in doubt, just don't use whom at all. Err on the side of caution.

The English languages hinges on the basic relationship between a thing that acts and a thing that is acted upon. Subject, verb, object. The subject verbs the object. 'Who' refers to the subject, and 'whom' refers to the object.

Take this short 'who versus whom' quiz. Thirty seconds and you've mastered it. It'll be thirty seconds well spent.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Whom perpetrated this crime?!

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Passed.

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Alric Kuhn"] [member="Ashin Varanin"]

To whom dost thou refereth to, good friends?

(In other news, this is a good guide for differentiating the two xD)

 

[Fabula Caromed]

I was actually surprised I got one of those wrong. I feel dirty. o.0

 

[Menoetius]

How I feel after 'mastering' this.

 

[Isar]

Whom do yah thank yu r, wratin al dis nonsince.

 

[Jartani Ponds]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Just whom do you think you are? Some kind of Doctor Whom? Whom can save the Whoman race from Whomleks? Whom dare you whoming this nonsense at me.

(Forgive my whominess.)
(*silliness)

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Is it OK to admit that I subscribe to the Grammar Girl podcast?

#toolate

 

[The Traveler]

Whom, whom, whom : owl eyes:

 

[Asemir]

Whom = objective form
Who = nominative form

Basically, if you substituted the who/whom with a singular pronoun (e.g. he or she), use the who/whom that matches the pronoun.

Examples:

He gave the package to him.
He gave the package to whom?

He is the One.
Who is the One?

Writing all those academic papers drilled this into my head. Man, my professors were grammar fanatics. D: