A lot of people, myself included, struggle with the usage of “who” and “whom” in their language. Part of the reason for the struggle is that it has become common to use the words interchangeably. I have seen many people who have completely abandoned the word “whom” and always use “who” instead. I am also guilty of this to an extent.
Consider the below sentences –
If you are like most people you don’t find anything wrong with any of the above sentences. But sentence 2, 3 & 4 are grammatically incorrect. The correct word to use in those sentences is “whom” and not “who”.
So how do you decide which one is the correct word of the two? It is fairly simple. Without going into the complexity of grammar I will give you a simple thumb rule:
Now have a look at the five questions again.
After applying this thumb rule sometimes you will find a sentence with the word “whom” weird, but that is because you are not used to seeing the correct grammar in this regard. Sometimes the sentence may look too formal, which may prevent you from using the correct word. So I would say it depends on what context and setting you are about to use it in. If the context or setting is formal, use the correct grammar. Otherwise, go with what you feel comfortable with.
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Consider the below sentences –
- Who do you think is suitable for the job?
- Who should the job be given to?
- Who are you talking about?
- Who were you talking to last night?
- Who will pay the price?
If you are like most people you don’t find anything wrong with any of the above sentences. But sentence 2, 3 & 4 are grammatically incorrect. The correct word to use in those sentences is “whom” and not “who”.
So how do you decide which one is the correct word of the two? It is fairly simple. Without going into the complexity of grammar I will give you a simple thumb rule:
- Who is for He/She/They
- Whom is for Him/Her/Them
Now have a look at the five questions again.
- Who do you think is suitable for the job? (He/She is suitable for the job.)
- Whom should the job be given to? (The job should be given to Him/Her.)
- Whom are you talking about? (I am talking about Him/Her.)
- Whom were you talking to last night? (I was talking to Him/Her.)
- Who will pay the price? (He/She will pay the price.)
After applying this thumb rule sometimes you will find a sentence with the word “whom” weird, but that is because you are not used to seeing the correct grammar in this regard. Sometimes the sentence may look too formal, which may prevent you from using the correct word. So I would say it depends on what context and setting you are about to use it in. If the context or setting is formal, use the correct grammar. Otherwise, go with what you feel comfortable with.
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The use of Whom, which many people get confused about, actually gets a little clearer when adhering more closely to the (unfortunately less known) rule about not ending sentence on a preposition (e.g. to, about, from, etc).
ReplyDeleteWho do you think is suitable for the job? (He/She is suitable for the job.) This is OK as is.
To whom should the job be given? (The job should be given to Him/Her.)
About whom are you talking? (I am talking about Him/Her.)
To whom were you talking last night? (I was talking to Him/Her.) Granted, the preposition didn't fall at the end of the original sentence...
Who will pay the price? (He/She will pay the price.) This is OK as is.
When using To whom, Abuot whom, etc... it feels more correct to use Whom (and indeed, you'd never start a sentence with "To who", or "About who" or "From who", that sounds jarring.
what is the name of the man who/whom you are getting married to ?
ReplyDeleteWHOM as it's the object "his name is..." RIGHT?
Delete