Welcome to the first in a series of articles tackling some of the most common problem areas of the English language. Here, Five Seas’ senior language consultant Sebastian Owen gives an overview of the correct usage of ‘who’ and ‘whom’.
Always a tricky area, who/whom is particularly tough for native English speakers who may not have grown up learning the intricacies of English grammar rules and must instead rely on their instincts. There are a few simple tips, however, that can make life a lot easier.
Often, the first step is simply to rely on what sounds right. In informal settings, using whom – even where grammatically correct – can be tortured and unnecessary. If unsure, my advice is to always plump for who. Where who or whom are used incorrectly, the former is significantly easier on the ear.
Grammarians will tell you that who is a subject pronoun, while whom is an object pronoun. In other words, who denotes the subject of the verb; it is the person or thing the information is about. Whom is used to signify the object of the verb. In many sentences, however, identification of the subject and object can be tough.
The ‘m’ test:
A simple cheat is to think of replacing who/whom with he/they or him/them. If the sentence is a question, think of whether you would use he/they or him/them in the answer. Where the correct replacement is him or them, whom should be used (note that all three words end in the letter m). Otherwise, who is correct.
Let’s look at some examples:
Who wrote this article? – Could be answered “He wrote this article” (no ‘m’, therefore who is correct).
Whom will I be following? – “You will be following him” (him ends with an ‘m’, as does whom, which is correct)
The fans argued as to who would win the fight. – “They thought he would win”
The Smiths are the family with whom I stayed last year. – “I stayed with them”
Watch your tense:
Watch out, however, for sentences where the verb has a tense. For example: “Fred, entering the church, decided to marry whoever he saw first.” The verb saw comes with the tense modifier first, and whoever is the subject of this verb. The nominative case will always be the subject, so always use who. In this case, “the ‘m’ test” does not apply.
Phrasing:
“Tell whoever breaks the photocopier to come to my office.” Here, the sentence can be broken down as follows: Tell him (he that breaks the photocopier) to come to my office – ‘he’ is the subject so, using the ‘m’ test, whoever is correct.
Who cares?
Finally, as I said at the start, don’t get too caught up in this. Check if the verb comes with a tense, do the ‘m’ test, and if you’re still not sure just use who and don’t worry about it. You’re more likely to be correct, and even if wrong it sounds less grating.
Posts
