Who (pronoun) Guides, Tutorials

The corresponding interrogative pronouns for non-sentient beings are what and which, and the relative pronouns are that and which, though that and which are sometimes used in contexts where who might be a more suitable choice.

In etymology, it represents the expected outcome of Old English hwâ. It is cognate with Latin quis and GreekThe Greek language ( /Elini'k{/) is an Indo-European language which has existed from around the 14th century BC in the Cretan inscriptions called Linear B. Mycenaean Greek of this period is distinguished from later Classical or Ancient Greek of the 8th ce ποιος.

1 Case forms

Traditionally, who has the case forms whose, representing the genitive caseThe genitive case is an adjectival form of a noun that shows some sort of relationship between itself and what it describes. In a general sense, this genitive relationship may be thought of as one thing belonging to, being created from, or otherwise deriv, and whom, both the accusativeThe accusative case of a noun is, generally, the case used to mark the direct object of a verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of (some or all) prepositions. The accusative case exists (or existed once) in all the Indo-European la and the dative caseThe dative case is a grammatical case for nouns and/or pronouns. The dative generally marks the indirect object of a verb. Other uses include possession, as in Vulgar Latin and, to a lesser extent, Classical Latin; also, in Classical Greek, which has lost. See also declension in EnglishThe English language once had an extensive declension system similar to modern German or Icelandic. Old English distinguished between the nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, and instrumental cases. Declension fell into disuse during the Middle Engli.

Whom is obsolescent in colloquial English. Formal Queen's English grammar prescribes that "who" is a subjective pronoun, and that "whom" is the corresponding objective pronoun. However, in informal English (and increasingly more so in some formal situations as well, especially in American English), "whom" is dying in most dialects; "who" has become far more common than "whom" for both subject and object forms. The attempt by prescriptive grammarians to preserve and foster the use of whom has sometimes led to hypercorrection, such as in the following sentence:

2 Rules for Determining Who vs. Whom

To determine whether who or whom should be used in a sentence, recast the sentence in non-interrogative form and determine whether you would use he or she (nominatives) or him or her (accusatives and datives) instead of who or whom. For this sentence, this yields:

I shall say she is calling.
*I shall say her is calling.

Since the latter sentence is a solecism, this sentence calls for who rather than whom. But:

Whom did you call

yields:

*You called she.
You called her.

indicating that whom is appropriate for this question.

Basically, whom is used whenever there is no verb to be in an inflected form referring to it. Thus:

He was the man whom we later learnt to be a constable.
He was the man who we later learnt was a constable.
He was the man whom we thought a constable.
Whom will you give this? (will refers to you, not whom) (this sentence may sound somewhat old fashioned because in it, whom directly represents the dative case; perhaps the following forms might be preferred: "Whom will you give this to?", or "To whom will you give this?")
Who will come?

Also, whom is the form used whenever there are prepositions involved, since these always take the dative or accusative case:

To whom have you been talking?
For whom have you taken these marvellous photographs?
With whom are you going to the cinema?
We have been discussing plans with them, of whom we have grown rather fond these days.
We have been discussing plans with them, whom we have grown rather fond of these days.

The same rule applies to declined pronouns whomever and whomsoever.

Especially when placing the preposition at the end of a sentence, whom is often replaced with who, even in more than informal, hence including written, English:

To whom do I owe this? = Whom do I owe this to? = Whom do I owe this?
- Who do I owe this to?

However, one should remember that placing a preposition at the end of a sentence is considered to be poor English. It is, therefore, correct to place the preposition at the beginning in the above question.

Remember the famous quote of Winston Churchill:

"Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which we will not put"

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Home > Who (pronoun)

1 Case forms

2 Rules for Determining Who vs. Whom

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