Who or Whom? Simple Rules to Choose the Correct One

The words who and whom confuse many people, including native speakers. But with a few simple rules, you can choose the correct one with confidence.

Subject or object?

The key is to understand whether the word is the subject or the object. Who is a subject; whom is an object.

Who as a subject (the person doing the action):

• Who is going to the party?
• Who ate the cake?

Whom as an object (the person receiving the action, or after a preposition):

• To whom did you give the gift?
• Whom did they hire as the new manager?

The easy trick: he or him?

If you're not sure, answer the question with he or him.

• If the answer uses he, use who: Who is going to the party? → He is going.
• If the answer uses him, use whom: To whom did you give the gift? → I gave it to him.

In relative clauses

Look at the job the word does inside its own clause:

• Tell me who is responsible for the project. (who is the subject of is responsible)
• He hired the candidate whom we interviewed yesterday. (whom is the object of interviewed)

Is whom still used?

Whom is becoming less common in everyday spoken English, and many people say Who did you see? in informal conversation. However, whom is still expected in formal writing, especially after prepositions: to whom, with whom, for whom.

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