Who vs Whom: When to Use Who or Whom, With Examples

The rule for who vs whom is simpler than it looks. Who is a subject, like he or she, and whom is an object, like him or her. Use who for the person doing the action and whom for the person receiving it. The hard part is spotting which role the word plays, especially in questions and long sentences.

This guide gives you a quick test that works every time, examples from academic and business writing, and the tricky cases that fool careful writers. It ends with a short practice quiz and a method for checking your own drafts.

Quick Answer: Who vs Whom

The rule.
Use who when the word is the subject of its clause (who wrote the report). Use whom when it is the object of a verb or preposition (to whom it was sent).

The test.
Rephrase the clause with he or him. If he fits, use who. If him fits, use whom. Him and whom both end in m.

Formal vs informal.
Academic, legal, and business writing keeps the distinction. In conversation and casual email, who is widely accepted in both roles.

Whoever vs whomever.
Look only at the clause the word sits in. Give it to whoever needs it is correct, because whoever is the subject of needs.

Who vs Whom at a Glance

The table below sums up how who and whom differ. Each row is explained in the sections that follow.

	Who	Whom
Grammatical role	Subject (does the action)	Object (receives the action or follows a preposition)
Same case as	he, she, they, I, we	him, her, them, me, us
In a question	Who wrote this chapter?	Whom did the committee select?
In a clause	The researcher who designed the survey	The participants whom we interviewed
After a preposition	Not used directly after a preposition	to whom, with whom, for whom, many of whom
The -ever form	whoever (subject)	whomever (object)
Register	Formal and informal	Mainly formal writing
Memory cue	he = who	him = whom (both end in m)

What Is the Difference Between Who and Whom?

Who and whom are two forms of the same pronoun. Who is the subject form, and whom is the object form. English keeps this split in only a few pronouns: I and me, he and him, she and her, they and them. You already choose between he and him without thinking, and who and whom follow the same pattern.

Who does the action of a verb. Whom receives the action, or it follows a preposition such as to, for, with, or about.

Subject: The editor who reviewed the manuscript flagged three citation errors. (The editor reviewed it, so who is the subject of reviewed.)

Object: The editor whom the author recommended specializes in economics. (The author recommended her, so whom is the object of recommended.)

The He/Him Test: How to Choose Who or Whom

The fastest way to decide is to swap in he or him. The test works because him and whom both end in m.

Find the clause. Isolate the part of the sentence that who or whom belongs to. In a short question, that is the whole question.
Rearrange it as a statement. Turn a question into a statement, and put the pronoun where a pronoun would normally go.
Swap in he or him. Replace who or whom with he or him and read the result aloud.
Pick the match. If he sounds right, use who. If him sounds right, use whom.

Whom: Who or whom did the committee select? The committee selected him. Use Whom did the committee select?

Who: Who or whom chaired the committee? He chaired the committee. Use Who chaired the committee?

If he and him feel awkward, they and them work the same way. They matches who, and them matches whom.

Who or Whom in Questions

Questions cause trouble because who or whom comes first, before the verb and its subject. Answer the question in your head, and the answer tells you which form to use.

Who is presenting at the conference? He is presenting, so use who.
Whom should we invite to the panel? We should invite her, so use whom.
Who should I say is calling? He is calling, so use who.
With whom did you write the grant proposal? You wrote it with him, so use whom.

In everyday speech, many people say Who did you invite? and no one minds. In a cover letter, an academic paper, or a formal report, use whom.

Who or Whom in Relative Clauses

A relative clause describes a noun and starts with who, whom, whose, which, or that. The choice between who and whom depends only on the job the word does inside its own clause. Its place in the main sentence does not matter.

Researchers who study financial risk tolerance, such as Fisher and Yao (2017), have compared men and women. (They study it, so use who.)

The Ohio State faculty member whom you list as your advisor must sign the form. (You list him, so use whom.)

The committee member to whom I sent the draft replied within a day. (I sent it to her, so use whom.)

Here is a useful pattern. Suppose the clause already has its own subject, such as you in whom you list. Then the pronoun is usually the object, so whom is likely right. If a verb comes right after the pronoun, who is likely right. The exception is a phrase like I think slipped into the clause, covered below.

You can often drop whom from a relative clause entirely: The faculty member you list as your advisor must sign the form. That is a clean fix when whom sounds stiff.

Whom After Prepositions

When a preposition comes directly before the pronoun, use whom. Who never follows a preposition directly.

To whom it may concern
The colleagues with whom I share an office work in finance.
For whom was the scholarship named?
The applicants, many of whom work full time, asked for evening sessions.

Phrases like many of whom, some of whom, and all of whom are common in academic writing, and they always take whom. When the preposition moves to the end of a question, formal writing still calls for whom (Whom did you send it to?). In conversation, Who did you send it to? is normal.

Whoever vs Whomever

Whoever and whomever follow the same rule as who and whom. The catch is that they often start a clause that is itself the object of something else. Ignore the rest of the sentence and test only the clause.

Give the extra copies to whoever needs them. (Whoever is the subject of needs.)

Invite whomever you like. (You like them, so whomever is the object of like.)

Whoever finishes the survey first will receive a gift card. (He finishes it, so use whoever.)

The preposition before whoever is the trap. To whomever needs it looks right because of to, but the verb needs still needs a subject.

Tricky Cases That Fool Careful Writers

Who I think, who you said, who we believe

Phrases such as I think, you said, and we believe often sit between the pronoun and its verb. Cover them up and test what is left.

The candidate who I think is strongest has published twice. (Cover I think: he is strongest. Use who.)

The candidate whom I think we should hire has published twice. (We should hire him. Use whom.)

Using whom to sound formal

The most common who/whom error in professional writing is using whom where who belongs. Writers reach for whom because it sounds formal. Whom shall I say is calling? and the manager whom we believe is responsible are both wrong. In each, the pronoun is the subject of a verb (is calling, is responsible).

Who vs that for people

Who is the standard choice for people. That is also grammatical for people in restrictive clauses (the students that passed), and many editors accept it. In formal and academic writing, who is the safer choice. For the related rule on that and which, see the guide to which vs that.

Whose vs who's

Whose is the possessive form, as in the author whose article was accepted. Who's is a contraction of who is or who has, as in who's presenting next?Whose has no separate subject and object forms, so the he/him test does not apply.

Is Whom Still Correct? Formal and Informal Usage

Whom is used less in speech than it once was, and who now often appears in object positions in casual English. Formal writing is different. The AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style both keep the traditional distinction in formal writing.

A practical approach is to match the setting. Use the correct form in journal articles, dissertations, grant proposals, legal and business documents, and cover letters. In casual email and dialogue, who is fine. If a correct whom sounds stiff, rewrite the sentence instead.

Drop the pronoun.The advisor whom you list becomes the advisor you list.
Name the person.Whom did the board appoint? becomes Which candidate did the board appoint?
Make the person the subject.Ask whom the grant should go to becomes ask who should receive the grant.

Who vs Whom in Academic and Business Writing

Who and whom errors are small, but readers in formal settings notice them. A dissertation committee, a journal reviewer, or a hiring manager may read them as signs of a rushed final proofread.

Research papers.Participants who completed both waves of the survey were included in the analysis.Participants, most of whom were graduate students, completed the survey online.
Acknowledgments.I thank my advisor, without whom this dissertation would not have been possible.
Business correspondence.Please send the contract to the person who signed the original agreement.To whom should we address the invoice?
Cover letters.I am writing at the suggestion of Dr. Lee, whom I met at the Ohio State career fair.

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Why Who and Whom Are Hard for Non-Native English Writers

Writers whose first language handles relative clauses differently face a different challenge with who and whom. These patterns come from the structure of the first language, not from a lack of skill.

Korean and Japanese. Both languages place the describing clause before the noun and use no relative pronoun at all. Writers must choose among who, whom, which, and that with no first-language equivalent. Many simply use who for every person, which is often correct.
Chinese. Chinese also places the describing clause before the noun, linked with 的, and has no relative pronoun to inflect. Choosing between who and whom becomes a separate step that is easy to skip.
German. German marks case on question words (wer, wen, wem) and relative pronouns, so the subject and object idea is familiar. The harder part is tracking the pronoun inside long clauses, where verb placement differs from German.

An editor who works with multilingual writers fixes these patterns while keeping your meaning. Editor World offers ESL editing with native English editors from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Common Mistakes With Who and Whom

Using whom as a subject.Whom is responsible for the budget? should be Who is responsible for the budget?
Using who after a preposition.The reviewer to who I replied should be the reviewer to whom I replied.
Letting a preposition decide whoever.Send it to whomever asks should be send it to whoever asks.
Missing the real verb.The analyst whom we believe made the error should be the analyst who we believe made the error.
Mixing who and that in one passage.The authors who submitted early and the authors that submitted late reads better with who in both places.
Forcing whom into casual writing.Whom are you bringing to the reception? is correct but stiff in a friendly email. Who are you bringing? fits that setting.

Test Yourself: Who or Whom?

Choose who, whom, whoever, or whomever for each blank. The answers and reasons are in the right-hand columns.

Sentence	Answer	Why
___ wrote the methods section?	Who	He wrote it.
To ___ should I address the cover letter?	whom	It follows the preposition to.
The participants ___ we interviewed in Seoul spoke fluent English.	whom	We interviewed them.
The engineer ___ designed the system now leads the team at Siemens.	who	She designed the system.
Give the extra copies to ___ wants them.	whoever	It is the subject of wants.
The candidate ___ I think deserves the award is Dr. Kim.	who	Cover I think: he deserves the award.
___ did the board appoint as chair?	Whom	The board appointed her.
The researchers, many of ___ work at Max Planck institutes, signed the letter.	whom	It follows the preposition of.

How to Proofread for Who and Whom

A quick check catches most errors before anyone else sees your draft. It takes a few minutes, even in a long document.

Search your draft. Use Find to locate every who, whom, whoever, and whomever.
Bracket the clause. Mark where each pronoun's clause starts and ends.
Cover interrupting phrases. Hide phrases like I think or we believe before you test.
Run the he/him test. Rephrase the clause as a statement and swap in he or him.
Rewrite if it sounds stiff. If whom is correct but awkward, drop it or restructure the sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Who and Whom

When should I use who vs whom?

Use who when the word is the subject of its clause, the person doing the action, as in who wrote the report. Use whom when the word is the object of a verb or follows a preposition, as in whom the committee selected or to whom it was sent. If you can replace the word with he, use who. If him fits, use whom.

What is the easiest way to remember who vs whom?

Use the he/him test. Rephrase the clause as a statement and replace the pronoun with he or him. If he sounds right, use who. If him sounds right, use whom. Him and whom both end in m, which makes the pairing easy to remember. They and them work the same way if he and him feel awkward.

Is it who or whom after a preposition?

Use whom directly after a preposition: to whom, with whom, for whom, and many of whom. Who never follows a preposition directly. When the preposition moves to the end of a question, formal writing still uses whom, as in "Whom did you send it to?" In conversation, "Who did you send it to?" is widely accepted.

Is "To whom it may concern" still correct?

Yes. "To whom it may concern" is grammatically correct, because whom follows the preposition to. It is also impersonal, so many readers see it as dated in cover letters and business email. When you can find the name of the person or team you are writing to, address them directly instead, such as "Dear Hiring Committee."

Is it whoever or whomever?

Look only at the clause the word belongs to. Use whoever when it is the subject of its own verb, as in "Give it to whoever needs it." Use whomever when it is the object, as in "Invite whomever you like." A preposition before the clause does not change the answer, because the verb inside the clause still needs a subject.

Should I use who or whom after phrases like I think?

Cover the phrase and test what remains. In "The candidate who I think is strongest," removing I think leaves who is strongest, so who is correct. In "The candidate whom I think we should hire," the pronoun is the object of hire, so whom is correct. Interrupting phrases such as we believe or you said work the same way.

Can I use who instead of whom?

In casual speech and informal writing, yes. Who is now common in object positions, and few listeners notice. In formal writing, such as academic papers, legal documents, business reports, and cover letters, use whom where the grammar calls for it. Major style guides, including the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style, keep the distinction in formal writing.

Is whom becoming outdated?

Whom is used less in everyday speech than it once was, but it is not outdated in formal writing. Readers of dissertations, journal articles, and professional documents still expect it after prepositions and in object positions. If whom sounds stiff, you can often rewrite the sentence to avoid it, for example by dropping the pronoun from a relative clause.

Can I use that instead of who for people?

That is grammatical for people in restrictive clauses, as in the students that passed the exam, and many editors accept it. Who is the more common and safer choice in formal and academic writing. Whichever you choose, use it consistently within a document so similar sentences do not switch between who and that.

What is the difference between whose and who is?

Whose is the possessive form of who, as in the author whose article was accepted. The contraction spelled with an apostrophe means who is or who has, as in asking who is presenting next. Whose has no separate subject and object forms, so the he/him test does not apply. If you can expand the word to who is, use the contraction.

Related Grammar Guides

For another pair that depends on clause type, read which vs that, which explains restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses and when to use commas.

If you mix up words that sound alike, the guide to principal vs principle covers the difference with memory tricks and examples.

For a wider checklist, common grammar mistakes and how to fix them covers subject-verb agreement, comma splices, modifiers, and other errors editors see most often.

For punctuation between clauses, see colon vs semicolon.

Reviewed by the Editor World editorial team under the direction of Patti Fisher, PhD, founder. Editor World has provided 100% human editing by native English editors since 2010. About Editor World