1. Who vs. Whom Who- Substitutes for the subject. Who can be used only for subjects and subject complements. Example: Who let the dogs out? Example: All of the school bullies want to take on a big guy who they know will not hurt them.

2. Who vs. Whom Whom- can be used only for objects. Whom substitutes for objective pronouns (him, her) Example: The tutor whom I was assigned to was very supportive. Example: Whom did he question? Example: Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

3. Who vs. Whom Trick and Tip When you have to make a who/whom decision, read the sentence twice. The first time, replace who with “he/she.” The second time, replace who with “him/her.” If the sentence sounds correct with “he,” use who. If correct with “him,” use whom.

4. The She/He-Him/Her Method Replace the Who or Whom in a sentence with she or her and see if it’s grammatically correct. Choose Who if the personal pronoun is in the subjective case: I, we, he, she, it, they Choose Whom if the personal pronoun is in the objective case: me, us, him, her, them *Note: whoever and whomever follow suit

5. Examples Who/Whom wrote the letter? Replace who with she: She wrote the letter Replace whom with her: Her wrote the letter. The correct pronoun is Who. She works in the sentence.

6. More Examples of Who vs. Whom: For who/whom should I vote? Should I vote for him/her? Should I vote for he/she? So, we know that whom is correct. Remember: whom is replaced with him or her.

7. And….more…. Try another: Who/Whom would be the best candidate? She would be the best candidate. Her would be the best candidate. Therefore, Who is the answer.

8. Try some more: We all know who/whom pulled the prank. Try it out: She pulled the prank. Her pulled the prank Therefore, who is the answer. I asked who/whom they plan to send to the new island. What is the answer?

9. Keep going! Who will be making the trip. They are not sure who/whom will be making the trip. Again, reconstruct the sentence: Her will be making the trip. She will be making the trip. Therefore, the sentence reads: They are not sure who will be making the trip.

10. And, more……. Who/Whom do you think has the best ideas for learning grammar? Turn the sentence around: You think…..has the best ideas for learning grammar. You think he/him has the best ideas for learning grammar. You think he has the best ideas….(correct)

11. Fill in the blanks with either who or whom: 1.She is the girl_____was employed here. 2. He is the man_____we employed last year. 3. Of______were you speaking? 4. _______do you think will do the work best?

12. Your turn! Now write five correct sentences using who and five correct sentences using whom.