Who and Whom

1. Who and Whom

2. Who and whom in questions • Who and whom are pronouns that are used either to ask questions or to introduce clauses. • To use who and whom correctly in a sentence, you must understand how the word functions in the question.

3. Who is the nominative form. It is used as the subject of the verb or as a predicate nominative. • Whom is the objective form of the pronoun. It is used as the direct object or as the object of a preposition

4. Examples • Who wrote the novel? (Who is the subject) • Whom will you choose? (whom is the direct object. • With whom did you dance? (whom is the object of the preposition)

5. Who and whom is clauses • As explained in the clause unit, who, whose, and whom are often used to introduce dependent clauses. • As a part of a clause, any of these pronouns has two jobs: • 1. it introduces the clause • 2. it has a role within the clause

6. A pronoun in the nominative form (who, whoever) can act as the subject or the predicate pronoun of the clause. • Example – Galileo is the scientist who invented the thermometer. • The coach decided who would play goalie.

7. A pronoun in the objective form (whom, whomever) can act as a direct object or object of preposition. • Example – Pearl Buck is an author whom I admire.(whom is the direct object of the verb admire) • Venus was a Roman goddess for whom a planet was named. (whom is the object of preposition)

8. Practice • 1. (Who, Whom) plays the leading role in the play? • 2. (Who, Whom) will the director choose? • 3. (Who, Whom) knows how to figure skate? • 4. The student (who, whom) found my watch turned it in at the office. • 5. The President (who, whom) initiated the New Deal was Roosevelt.