Rule. Use the she/her method (or he/him) to decide which word is correct. That is, replace the who or whom with she and see if it makes grammatical sense.

 

Choose who if the personal pronoun is in the subjective case (= I, we, he, she, it, they).

Chose whom if the personal pronoun is in the objective case (= me, us, him, her, them).

 

she/he = who, whoever
her/him = whom, whomever

 

Who/Whom wrote the letter?
She/he wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct.

For who/whom should I vote?
Should I vote for him/her? Therefore, whom is correct.

 

Choosing between who and whom to open questions

Pose the question.

Who/Whom would be the best candidate?
. . . . . . .She would be the best candidate. Therefore, who is correct.

 

Choosing between who and whom (or whoever/whomever) in subordinate clauses

We all know who/whom pulled that prank.

This sentence contains two clauses: We all know and who/whom pulled that prank. We are interested in the second clause because it contains the who/whom. He pulled that prank. Therefore, who is correct.

I asked (who/whom) they plan to send to represent our local association at the national convention.

They are not sure (who/whom) will be making the trip.

Isolate the dependent clause.

. . . . . . .They plan to send . . .
. . . . . . .. . . will be making the trip.

Replace who/whom with an appropriate personal pronoun, rearranging the clause, if necessary, to make it easier to understand.

. . . . . . .They plan to send her . . .
. . . . . . .She will be making the trip.

 

Who/Whom do you think has the best ideas for teaching writing?

. . . . . . .[You think] he has the best ideas. Therefore, who is correct.

 

Practice

1. He is the man _________________________ was employed here.

2. She is the woman _________________________ we employed last year.

3. Of _________________________ were you speaking?

4. _________________________ do you think will do the work best?

5. I will vote for _________________________ you suggest.

6. _________________________ shall I ask about this matter?

7. Give the information to _________________________ requests it.

8. Tonight we shall find out _________________________ won.

9. _________________________ runs this show?

10.We intend to notify _________________________ ranks highest on the list.