YOUR ???? QUESTIONS

Here is a chance for you to have your questions answered by Doctor English. Today’s question is:

When do I use Who or Whom?

There is much confusion about when to use who or when to use whom. The basic rule for the use of “who” and “whom” is simple - “who” is the subject form of the pronoun and “whom” is the object form. “Who was eating that sandwich at lunchtime?” is correct because “who” is the subject of the sentence.

If you are having difficulty identifying the subject or object, you can try a little trick – “he/she” can replace “who” and “him/her” can replace “whom”. Try this if you are unsure which to use.

However, keep in mind that it is now becoming less common to hear people use “whom” and often times even native speakers do not use it in the grammatically correct form.

Thank you for sending your questions. If you have any further queries, please email Doctor English at drenglish@vec.ca.