68 English Grammar Demystifi ed
Who,Whom,That, or Which?
Remember a few simple rules regarding the pronouns who,whom,that, and which.
Once again, some pronouns can be used as subjects, while others are objects.
Remember this when you are trying to choose between who and whom:
Who is the CEO of the company? (Who is the subject of the sentence.)Whom did you vote for in the election? (Turn the question around: You did vote
for whom in the election? You is the subject, did vote is the verb, and whom
is the object of the preposition for.)It may not be much consolation, but many, many people confuse the use of the
words who and whom. Your goal should be to use them correctly, but don’t be sur-
prised if you frequently hear and see them used incorrectly.
Here are other important rules:
- Use who and whom to refer to people: I didn’t know who you were until
yesterday. - Use that to refer to people, animals, and things: The trip that I loved took us
to Italy.
If you want to ask a question, you will at some point need to use a question pro-
noun—what, which, who, or whom. For example:
Who took my pen?What is today, Saturday or Sunday?Who knows?Whom do you ask for advice? (Notice the objective form, whom. Turn the
sentence around to distinguish between the subject and the object: You do
ask whom for advice? You is the subject and whom is the object.)Consider which question pronoun is correct in each of the following sentences:
(Who/Whom) left early?Who is correct because it is the subject of the sentence.