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if you can replace a word with "he" or "she," then it is the subject of the sentence and you should use "who." If you can replace the word with "him" or "her," it is the object and you should use "whom."

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Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
 
I'm pretty sure you use whom when it follows a preposition.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Whom is the objective. Who is the subjective. If someone is doing something, they're a who. If someone is having something done to them, they're a whom. A good test is the "he/him" (or she/her) test. Make the question a statement (turn it around.) For example, to find out whether you've got the person you want on the phone, you want to know whether to ask "Who am I speaking to?" or "To whom am I speaking?" So, turn it around: "I am speaking to he" or "I am speaking to him"? In this case, it's obviously "him", therefore, whom. (If it turns out "he", it's a "who", "him", it's a "whom".)

But in casual usage, "who" is most often used even when it really should be "whom", and no one really minds much.
 

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Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
 
Indirect objects!
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Slowpokes.
 

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Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
 
You use "whom" when you want to sound snooty or like you know the rules of English better than the person you are addressing (or rather, to whom your remarks are addressed). Example: "Whom do you think you are?"

You use who when you want to show anger or overt contempt. Example: "Who do you think you are?"
 

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Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
 
Thanks everyone.

Bob
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
lol

In that case, Bob, you'd use "whom" to show that you want to sound snooty but don't know how.
 

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Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
 

 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Him: To whom are you referring?
Me: I'm referring to her.
Her: Whom, me?
 

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Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
 
Whom's on first!
 

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Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 
Every time you use whom incorrectly, God kills a kitten.

Please, think of the kittens.
 

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Posted by aretee (Member # 1743) on :
 
JonBoy
 

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Posted by Starr R (Member # 8361) on :
 

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Please, think of the kittens.

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Jon Boy's comments always crack me up.
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Hmmm...
 

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Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
 
Simpler than your explanation, Dagonee:

Who - subject; whom - object.
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Whom do my Royal Subjects think they are, throwing rotten tomatoes at my golden carriage as I tour their bucolic hovels?


Works for me!
 

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Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
 
Actually, it should be who in that case. "it is he", not "it is him", "I am he", not "I am him" so "who do my Royal Subjects think they are".

Ha!
 

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Posted by firebird (Member # 1971) on :
 
No comma. Just the way I was taught.

But ... one of English's strengths is it's ability to remain comprehendible even when it is spoken or writen badly. One of the reasons it has survived and thrived for so long.

It'll always change and adapt ... so I'm not too mcuh of a stickler!
 

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Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
 

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But ... one of English's strengths is it's ability to remain comprehendible even when it is spoken or writen badly.

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Simpler than your explanation, Dagonee:
Who - subject; whom - object.

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