When would you use the word whom

The He/Him Test

To begin, the simplest way to determine the correct word is to replace “who” or “whom” with the same part of speech. Try another object pronoun (also called objective pronoun) or subject pronoun (also called subjective pronoun). See if you can substitute the mystery word for either “he” or “him.” When you can replace the word with “him,” you should use “whom,” another objective pronoun. When “he” fits, you should use “who,” another subjective pronoun. You can remember that “him” and “whom” go together—and end with the same letter.

Examples:

Who/whom is hungry?

He is hungry. (Subjective pronoun)

With who/whom did you argue?

I argued with him. (Objective pronoun)

You thanked who/whom?

You thanked him. (Objective pronoun)

Notice that in the second sentence we had to flip around the phrasing in order to determine which word—”he” or “him”—fit best. That’s quite common. Often, in order to replace the word, you’ll need to restate the phrase so that the subject and verb come first, followed by the object. When who/whom appears as an interrogative pronoun, try answering the question as a way of rephrasing the sentence with a subject-verb-object construction. 

Here’s another example with an interrogative pronoun:

Example: Who/whom could she ask?

Now, we’ll answer the question. 

She could ask him. 

In this example, the mystery word is acting as the object of the verb “to ask.” You would never say “She could ask he.” For that reason, “whom,” the objective pronoun, is correct.

Linking Verbs

When you use linking verbs, they describe a state of being, rather than an action. If you use a pronoun with a linking verb, you should always select a subjective pronoun. That’s a rule that has nothing to do with who/whom. It’s just one of those things that makes linking verbs special! 

It is I.

It was she.

This is he. 

Knowing that, you’ll have a much easier time choosing between “who” and “whom.” You’ll want to choose the subjective pronoun any time you see a linking verb in a sentence with only one clause. Just remember the simple trick: if you see a linking verb, choose “who” in a simple sentence. 

It is I. 

Who is it? It is who I say it is. 

It was she.

Who was it? It was who I thought. 

This is he. 

Who is this? This is who pulled the fire alarm. 

How to Use Whoever and Whomever

Use “whoever” and “whomever” the same way you would use “who” and “whom.”

Whoever/whomever knows the answer gets extra points. 

In the example above, you could substitute “he” for the mystery word. He knows the answer. He gets extra points. Once you know you’re looking for a subjective pronoun, the word “whoever” becomes the obvious choice.

Whoever knows the answer gets extra points. 

Now, we get to a more difficult use case. What if the sentence is more complicated? If you see two verbs, try to break down the sentence into parts. 

I trust whoever/whomever you hire.

In this case, you should use the objective case. Why? Well, first, you break the sentence into two sections. 

Section 1:

I trust ____.

Section 2: 

You hire ____.

In both sections of the sentence, you would use the objective case. I trust him. You hire him. Therefore, you should complete the sentence with the word “whomever.” I trust whomever you hire. However, if you broke the sentence into two parts and found that you needed both a subjective and an objective pronoun, then you would choose “whoever” instead.

Here’s an example.

I trust whoever/whomever completes the assignment.

Section 1: 

I trust _____.

Section 2: 

_____ completes the assignment.

This time, you would use both the objective case and the subjective case. I trust him. He completes the assignment. For that reason, you’d choose “whoever.” I trust whoever completes the assignment. 

The Object of a Prepositional Phrase

Sometimes you’ll find the mystery word nested in another clause, like a prepositional phrase. If that’s the case, determine whether the word is an object or a subject of a clause. For prepositional phrases, you’ll always choose “whom” because you need the mystery word to act as the object of the prepositional phrase. 

Here are some examples of how the word “whom” can be used within a prepositional phrase.

That’s the person about whom I was talking.

For whom were you named?

My aunt, with whom I traveled to Europe, turned eighty. 

The person from whom I got my car lied about the mileage. 

Those sentences may sound a bit old fashioned, but they follow the rules of proper grammar!

To recap, you should use the words “whom” and “whomever,” on the occasions when you need an objective pronoun. These words work well as the objects of phrases (like prepositional phrases) or the objects of sentences. Either way, without ever diagramming a sentence, you should be able to use the he/him test to decide whether the word “whom” is appropriate. If you’re looking at a particularly challenging sentence, try breaking it into sections to see which word fits best.

Test Your Skills

1) The last plate goes to whoever/whomever.

2) The last plate goes to whoever/whomever gets home first. 

3) He was the one who/whom took the prize. 

4) Who/whom is calling?

Answers: 1) whomever 2) whoever 3) who 4) who

Sources:

1. https://www.thoughtco.com/who-and-whom-1857114
2. https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/who-vs-whom.html
3. https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/who-or-whom-get-it-right-every-time-with-these-3-tricks
4. http://www.whitesmoke.com/janestraus_6

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The Word Counter is a dynamic online tool used for counting words, characters, sentences, paragraphs, and pages in real time, along with spelling and grammar checking.

What’s the difference between who and whom? These are two words that cause a lot of confusion, even for native-English speakers. So, it’s well worth taking a few minutes to know the difference between the two. Below, we’ve provided an easy guide on understanding the grammatical rules. We’ve also given some examples on how to use who and whom correctly. If you want to avoid mistakes in using who vs whom, read on.

Who vs whom: the grammar rules

The difference between who and whom explained

Easy tip to tell the difference between who and whom

How to use who and whom correctly: sentence examples (with an explanation)

Grammar Quiz: Who vs Whom in English language

The Advanced Who vs Whom

Grammar Quiz: Answer key

“Whom.” 

It’s one of those things you learned in English class but rarely hear in real life. Yet, just when you least expect it, “whom” appears out of nowhere.

When and why do people say “whom”? Using data on spoken and written English, we’ll show when English speakers most often use it – even in informal settings – and when you might want to consider using it too.

1. Quantity Word + “Of Whom”

Based on our research, “whom” is most often used in phrases like “all of whom,” “each of whom,” “either of whom,” etc. Here are some examples of this from our news site:

• A study on video games “looked at 3,274 people, all of whom were over 18 years old.”
• “The Faroe Islands are home to 50,000 people, most of whom live in Torshavn, the capital city.”
• A giraffe named “Forest” is “much taller than the two other giraffes at the zoo, both of whom are female.”
• A woman in Poland gave birth to six babies, “four of whom are girls.”

But how do we know that this is the most common usage ? Well, we searched through this library of American English from the past twenty years and found that “of” is, by far, the word that most often appears next to “whom.”

Then, we looked at examples from that library and also around the web and found that, most of the time, the prepositional phrase “of whom” came after a quantity-related word.

The cool thing is, “[quantity] + of whom” is also quite common in informal speech. For example, we searched through this library of TV show scripts from the six English-speaking countries, and found nearly 1200 instances of “of whom,” most of which come after a quantity-related word. Here are two examples:

• I have three sons, each of whom is the center of his own universe. (Home Improvement)
• He just wants to do a good job, unlike these two, one of whom forgot to wear shoes. (Man Up!)

So when you hear someone say “whom,” chances are, they’re using it in the structure “[quantity] + of whom”!

2. Preposition + “Whom”

The second most common way “whom” is used is with prepositions in general. If you look back at the chart above, you’ll notice that besides “of,” there are other prepositions, such as “with,” “to,” and “for.” 

This isn’t a coincidence. These days, “whom” is almost always used after a preposition. In fact, a study found that American college students were likely to use “whom” after prepositions even when it was grammatically incorrect.

Here are some examples from the internal emails of a US company (made public after a scandal):

• Please let me know with whom I should work to gather this information.
• To whom should Ken send this letter?

“[Preposition] + whom” is used in formal and informal English. For example, below are some people having an informal conversation about creativity. You’ll notice one of them uses the phrase “with whom”:

3. “To Whom It May Concern”

Finally, a specific instance of “[preposition] + whom” that we should mention is the formal greeting, “To whom it may concern.” 

This expression means “To whoever might care about this message,” and is used at the start of emails and letters. For example, if you are applying for a job and don’t know know the name of the recipient, you can use “To whom it may concern.”

Interestingly, this phrase has taken on a new life on the internet, where it has become a way to greet strangers online before telling them something they might not want to hear. The expression has even become an acronym: “TWIMC.”

TWIMC: If you don’t have anything constructive to say, you might want to check yourself. Your words are a reflection of your character. They can make you appear shades of beautiful or shades of ugly; you choose. pic.twitter.com/cx4V5zoHUP

— Alwaysshinethelight (@Alwaysshinethe1) May 10, 2019

“Whom” or “Who”?

So far, we’ve covered three common situations where English speakers actually use the word “whom.” You might be wondering if it’s possible to replace “whom” with “who” in these cases.  

In “To whom it may concern,” replacing “whom” with “who” would sound unnatural, since the phrase is a fixed expression. But what about in the other two cases?

1. Quantity + “Of Whom”

“Whom” in this case cannot be replaced with “who.” In fact, Lexico.com (a website run by Oxford University Press) calls this the “obligatory whom.”

✕ I have three sons, each of who is the center of his own universe.
✕ A woman in Poland gave birth to six babies, four of who were girls.

However, “whom” here can be replaced with another word – “them” – as long as the rest of the sentence is rephrased without the verb “to be.”

• I have three sons, each of them the center of his own universe.
• A woman in Poland gave birth to six babies, four of them girls.

2. Preposition + “Whom”

Sentences that use the “[preposition] + whom” structure can be rephrased with “who” as long as the preposition is moved after the verb (or the object of the verb).

• Please let me know who I should work with to gather this information.
• Who should Ken send this letter to?

In fact, “who … [preposition]” is more common than its whom counterpart in both informal and formal English. However, “[preposition] + whom” is still often used in informal contexts, because, well, English speakers sometimes think it flows better!

Final Word of Advice

We hope you now have a better idea of when the word “whom” is actually used. As a final tip, just remember that “whom” is almost always used after a preposition in modern English.

Do you want to practice having formal discussions in English? Or want someone to check an email you’ve written in English? Sign up for an Engoo account and get one free lesson with a tutor of your choice.

Asked by: Kelli Sipes

Score: 4.1/5
(26 votes)

General rule for who vs whom:

How do you use whom in a sentence examples?

Examples of “whom” in a sentence:

How do you use who in a sentence?

Who sentence example

Who vs whom in a question?

If the preposition is at the end of the question, informal English uses “who” instead of “whom.” (As seen in “Who will I speak with” above.) … However, if the question begins with a preposition, you will need to use “whom,” whether the sentence is formal or informal. (As in “With whom will I speak?”)

Who or whom would you recommend?

The commonly repeated advice for remembering whether to use who or whom is this: If you can replace the word with he or she or another subject pronoun, use who. If you can replace it with him or her (or another object pronoun), use whom.

23 related questions found

Who and whom are two words that sound very much alike. However, that similarity just makes when to use who vs. whom all the more confusing.

Main Who vs. Whom Takeaways:

• Who and whom are both pronouns.
• When you’re referring to the subject of the sentence, use who.
• Confirm you’re using the correct pronoun by replacing who with she/he/they.
• When your’re referring to the object, use whom.
• Confirm you’re using the correct pronoun by replacing whom with her/him/them.
• Sometimes you may have to break the who or whom rule to make your content more readable. Or, to prevent awkward and unnatural phrasing.

In this super easy guide, we’ll show you a few simple tricks to remember the difference and use both pronouns like a pro, every time. Also, you’ll see both in action with tons of who vs. whom examples. Don’t forget to test your skills with our quick quiz at the end of this article.

How Do You Use Whom?

You should use whom to refer to the object of a verb or a preposition. Here’s a quick and easy trick to be sure whom is the correct pronoun to use: Replace whom with him or her. If the sentence still makes sentence and is grammatically correct, thenyou know whom is the correct choice.

On the other hand, if he or she sounds better, then you should use who instead. You can remember this trick by associating the “m” in him with the “m” in whom. Another clue is to look for a preposition. For example, whom usually follows a preposition.

How Do You Use Whom in a Sentence?

Here are examples of how to use whom in a sentence:

Remember: The “m” in him goes with the “m” in whom. If you can answer the question with him, then use whom.

What’s the Difference Between Who’s and Whom?

Aside from spelling, who’s and whom have different functions in a sentence. To begin with, who’s is a contraction. Meaning, it’s a two-word term joined together by an apostrophe. It could mean who is or who has. On the other hand, whom is a pronoun and often acts as the object of a verb or preposition.

Here are some examples of how to use who’s in a sentence:

Who vs. Whom: They/Them?

Just like you can use he/him to confirm whether to use who/whom, you can also use they/them. This is because who and whom can represent singular pronouns like he and him as well as plural pronouns like they and them. For plural pronouns, replace who with they. If the sentence is still grammatically correct, then you know that who is the correct pronoun. Conversely, if them sounds better, then you know that whom is the correct pronoun to use.

Remember: If you can replace who or whom with he/she/they, then you should be using who.

Who vs. Whom Example Sentences?

1. Is Many of Whom Correct?

Yes, the phrase many of whomis correct to use whom instead of who. This is because you should use whom to refer to object of a verb or preposition. Since of is a preposition, whomis the correct pronoun to follow it. Another way you can confirm if whom is correct is to replace it with another pronoun like him, her, or them. If the sentence is still grammatically correct, then whom is correct.

2. Who or Whom I Worked With?

The ideal answer is with whom I worked. Whom goes with the object of the verb or preposition in a sentence. Since this phrase contains the preposition with, the most correct way to craft this sentence is using whom. Test if whomis correct by replacing it with him. Does the sentence still make sense? Then whom is the best pronoun to use.

3. Who I Live With or Whom I Live With?

Whom I live with or with whom I live are the correct ways to phrase this. The rule is that who refers to the subject of the sentence while whom refers to object of the verb and or the preposition. Here, we have the preposition with and the verb live. Both of these refer to the person you live with, not the subject of the sentence (I). For this reason, whom is the correct pronoun. Confirm this by rewriting the sentence to use the pronouns him/her/them. If the sentence is still correct, then you know that whom is the correct choice.

4. Who I Admire or Whom I Admire?

Here, the correct answer is whom I admire.This is because we use whom to refer to the object of a preposition or verb. In this phrase, there is no preposition. However, there is a verb: admire. Whom is the object of this verb. In other words, whom receives the action of you admiring. You can confirm that whom is correct because you can replace it with him and the sentence is still grammatically correct.

5. Who I Hate or Whom I Hate?

For this example, whom I hate is the correct phrasing. This is because whom usually refers to the object of a preposition or a verb. We don’t have a preposition in this phrase. But, we do have the verb hate. What’s more, whom is receiving the action of hate. This makes whom the object of the hate.

Since whom is used for the object of a verb, we know that whom is the correct choice here. Confirm this by replacing whom with her or him. If the sentence is still grammatically correct, then whom is the right pronoun to use. If not, then you should use who.

6. Who or Whom Did You See?

Even though you often hear who did you see in everyday conversations, the most grammatically correct answer is whom did you see. Whom refers to the object of the preposition or verb in a sentence. This sentence doesn’t have a preposition, but it does have a verb: see. What’s more, this verb refers to the person you saw (the object), and not you (the subject).

Usually, who refers to the subject. Since whom refers to the object of a verb, it’s the correct pronoun to use in this sentence. One way to confirm this is to rewrite the sentence using him or her. If the sentence is still correct, then you confirm that whom is the correct pronoun.

7. Who or Whom I’ve Never met?

The correct phrasing here is whom I’ve never met. The reason is that whom typically refers to the object of a sentence’s preposition or verb. In other words, whom receives the action.

On the other hand, who usually refers to the subject. This phrase doesn’t feature a preposition, but it does have the verbs have and met. Have is a linking verb, so it’s not showing any action.

However, met is an action verb and is acting on whom. As a result, whom receives the action. The verb met refers to the object (whom) and not the subject (I). Therefore, we know that whom is the correct pronoun. Verify this by rewriting the sentence to substitute whom with she or he.

8. Who We Miss or Whom We Miss?

Whom we miss is correct, not who we miss. Who refers to the subject whilewhom refers to the object of the preposition or verb. We is the subject.

However, the verb miss doesn’t refer to the subject we. Instead, it refers to the person you miss. This means that the person you miss is an object of the verb miss. For this reason, whom is the correct pronoun to refer to the person you miss.

Test this by rewriting the sentences to replace whom with the pronouns him, her, or they. Is the sentence still grammatically correct? If it is, then the correct answer is whom. If it’s not, then you should use who instead.

9. Who or Whom I Love so Much?

The correct way to phrase this whom I love so much,not who I love so much. We know that whom is correct because this pronoun refers to the object of a preposition or verb. We may not have a preposition, but we have the verb love. This verb refers to the person being loved (object), and not the I, or the person doing the loving (subject).

Since who refers to the subject while whom refers to the object of the verb, whom is correct. Check that whom is the correct pronoun by rewriting the sentence with him,her, or them. If the sentence is still grammatically correct with one of these other pronouns, then you know whom is correct. However, if he, she, or they fit better, then you know who is correct.

10. Who or Whom Wants Ice Cream?

Who wants ice cream is the correct way to phrase this sentence. The best way to confirm that who is the correct pronoun is to replace it with he/she/they. Does the sentence still make sense? Is it still grammatically correct? If yes, then you know who is correct. If no, then you should use whom.

What’s more, use who to refer to the subject of the sentence. Another way we know that who wants ice cream is correct option is because the subject of the sentence is who.

11. Is it “Who to Ask” or “Whom to Ask”?

The grammatically correct way to phrase this is whom to ask. The phrase to ask really means should I ask. Whenever we need a pronoun that refers to the subject, we use who.

However, when we need one that refers to the object of a preposition or a verb, we use whom. Here, the implied verb shouldrefers to implied subject I. So, now we need a pronoun to go with the verb ask.

Sincewhom refers to the object of the verb and not the subject, we know that whom is the correct pronoun. An easy way to confirm this is to rephrase the sentence using him/her/them. These work as substitutes for whom while he/she/they work for who.

12. Who to Follow or Whom to Follow?

Although the majority of people would probably say who, whom to follow is correct. This is because the phrase to follow actually means should I follow. Therefore, the implied verb should refers to implied subject I.

Since we use who to refer to the subject, we can rule out who. Instead, we use whom to refer to the object of the preposition or verb. Specifically, we need an object for the verb follow. This is why whom is the correct answer.

Easily verify this is by rephrasing the sentence using him/her/them. You can use these pronouns as substitutes for whom and the existence will remain correct. Similarly use he/she/they for who.

13. Who Should you Invite to the Party?

Even though most people would use who, the grammatically correct way to phrase this sentence is Whom should you invite to the party. The trick to know with certainty that the answer is whom is to rephrase the sentence using him/her/them. This is because we use whom to refer to the object of a preposition or verb, and these pronouns can substitute whom.

Conversely, we use who to refer to the subject of the sentence, and he/she/they can substitute who. In this example, the verb shouldrefers to the subject you. However, we need an object for the verb invite. Therefore, whom is the best fit.

Whom: Death of a Pronoun

Many modern grammarians consider whomto be a dying word.

It wouldn’t be the first pronoun to fall out of use, either. Others that have gone before it include thy, thine, ye, and thee. Although they may still show up in religious writing, they’ve fallen out of common use.

Although whom and whomever still have a place in formal writing, they are no longer common in spoken English. Many publications have also ceased using them. Instead, they opt to rephrase sentences to include easier-to-digest pronouns such as him, her, and them.

Who vs. Whom Recap

Who and whom are both pronouns. Depending on your sentence structure, you can easily determine which one to choose.

Ask yourself the following:

• Are you referring to the subject of the sentence? If so, use the pronoun who.
• Is the object of the sentence what you’re referring to? If so, use the pronoun whom.

Here’s a trick that you can use if you get stuck. When deciding on whom vs. who, think of it as him vs he.

• If you can answer the question with “he,” you’ll want to use who—no “m” at the end!
• However, if you can answer the query with “him,” you’ll want to use whom. They both have an “m” at the end!

But wait! What if you’re talking about a lady instead of a gentleman? No worries—we only used “he” or “him” because it makes it easier to highlight the “m” connection. While “whom“or“him” is a quick and memorable mnemonic device, the same idea applies to “she” or “her.”

• If you can answer the question with “she,” you’ll want to use who.
• On the other hand, if the answer to the question is “her,” you’ll want to use whom.

Ready to Dominate This Who vs. Whom Quiz?

Read More: ??‍♀️ Whoever vs. Whomever: The Easiest Guide on When to use Which Pronoun

The question of when to use the word ‘whom’ is such a common issue that correcting people has become comic shorthand for pedantry; however, it really isn’t as complicated as sitcom writers would have you believe.

Both ‘who’ and ‘whom’ are pronouns used to identify or enquire about a person or persons. The thing you need to know when using them is the distinction between the ‘subject’ and ‘object’ of a sentence.

Who (Subject)

‘Who’ is a subject pronoun, meaning it typically refers to the active thing or person in the sentence:

The man who sold the world to Tony was called David.

Here, the word ‘who’ is correct because it refers to the subject of the sentence (‘the man’). It could also be used in a question, to which the answer would involve identifying the subject:

Who sold the world to Tony? David did.

Whom (Object)

‘Whom’ is an object pronoun and usually applies to the thing or person being acted upon in a sentence:

The person to whom David sold the world is called Tony.

The word ‘whom’ is used here because it refers to the recipient of the action, placing ‘Tony’ in the role of object. As above, this could be phrased as a question:

To whom did David sell the world? He sold the world to Tony.

Who or Whom?

The difference between ‘who’ and ‘whom’ is often overlooked, but in formal or academic writing it’s still important to aim for perfection. Remember:

Who = Subject

Whom = Object

Essentially, ‘who’ is used if asking about or describing someone responsible for an action (‘the man who sold the world’) and ‘whom’ is used if enquiring about or describing the recipient of an action (‘the man to whom the world was sold’).

One good tip is to check whether a ‘who/whom’ question can be answered with ‘he’ or ‘him’: ‘him’ and ‘whom’ are both object words that end in ‘m’, so questions which can be answered with ‘him’ should be framed with ‘whom’.

For example, the question ‘Who tripped you?’ would be answered with ‘He tripped me’ since the tripper is the subject of the sentence.

On the other hand, the question ‘Whom did you trip?’ would be answered ‘I tripped him’ because ‘whom’ refers to the object of the sentence; responding ‘I tripped he’ would not make sense.

Did this article help you?

A lot of people have trouble on when to use the words who and whom. Mixing these words up can be relatively easy, and, if you confuse them too frequently, it can cause your writing to look sloppy.

So, in this post we’ll talk about the grammatical functions of who vs. whom as well as give you a few tricks to easily determine which word to use and when.

Now, to begin, both who and whom are pronouns, which means they are words used as substitutes for nouns. But even though they are both pronouns, they are used different in a sentence. Let’s take a look at each word.

When to Use Who

When do you use who? When who is used in a sentence, it takes the nominative form. That simply means that it acts as the subject of the sentence. For instance,

• Who ate the pizza?
• He ate the pizza.

In this example, who is acting as the subject of the sentence in the same way that he is.

When to Use Whom

When do you use whom? When whom is used in a sentence, it takes the objective form. That simply means that it acts as an object, either of a verb or preposition. For example,

• You called whom?
• You called him?
• I deliver the pizza to whom?
• I delivered the pizza to him.

In both of these examples, the word whom is acting as an object.

In the first set, the word whom is acting as the object of the verb “call.” Whom did you call? I called him. It describes the person you called.

In the second set, the word whom is acting as the object of the preposition “to.” To whom did you deliver the pizza? I delivered the pizza to him. It describes the person to whom you delivered the pizza (to him).

Problem Sentences

Now, determining the case (nominative or objective) of these words can sometimes be tricky because who and whom so often find themselves in the form of a question.

This makes their true function within the sentence hard to see unless you sort the words into a standard subject-verb-object sentence. To help with this, I suggest changing sentences like the following ones into “I should say who is calling?” to make them easier.

• Wrong: Whom should I say is calling?
• Correct: Who should I say is calling?

By changing these sentences into the form “I should say who is calling?” you can more clearly see identify the subject, verb, and object.

Another problem that arises when determining the proper case is when the pronoun serves a function (for example, nominative) in a clause that itself serves a different function (for example, objective) in the main clause.

In situations like these, the pronoun’s function within its own clause determines its case. For example,

• WRONG: Give it to whomever wants it.
• CORRECT: Give it to whoever wants it.
• WRONG: Whoever you choose is fine by me.
• CORRECT: Whomever you choose is fine by me.

In the first example above, the entire clause “whoever wants it” is the object of the preposition “to.” But, in the clause itself, “whoever” serves as the subject, and that function determines the case.

Similarly, in the second sentence “whomever” is the object of “choose” in the clause, so it must be in the objective case even though the clause itself serves as the subject of the sentence.

Tricks to Remember

Now that you know the functions of whom vs. who within a sentence, I can show you an easy trick that can speed up the process of determining their cases.

If you still don’t know when to use who or whom, try simply substituting the words he/him in the clause where the whom or who appears. If “him” sounds better than “he” in the clause, use “whom” because “him” and “whom” both end in and “m” For our above examples,

• Wrong: I should say him is calling.
• Correct: I should say he is calling.

“Him” does not work in this sentence which means that “he” or “who” is the correct choice.

Summary

In short, who and whom have specific functions in a sentence, and it’s important to use each word correctly.

• The word “who” acts as the subject of a sentence.
  • Who ate my pizza?
• The word “whom” acts as the object of a verb or preposition.
  • Whom are you calling?
  • To whom are you talking?
• You can substitute he/him for who/whom if you are having difficulties in determining their function within a sentence.