Who vs. Whom

Use Who and Whoever for subject pronouns.

Use Whom and Whomever for object pronouns.

All usually occur in subordinate clauses.

In the play, Glengarry Glen Ross, first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado, which  goes to the guy who sells the most real estate. Second prize is a set of steak knives.

In the subordinate clause who sells the most real estate, who refers to the subject the guy.

Mrs. Brown trapped me in the elevator and said, “Do you honestly think, Trevor, that you can parade around the house in that apron, in front of whoever has the urge to look at you?”

Use whom or whomever when they function as the object in a subordinate clause.

Buy a digital camera and photograph Chuck Norris and Vin Diesel, whom you shall shoot during their  four-night stay in Prague’s five-star Hip Hop Hotel.

The subordinate clause is whom you shall shoot during their four-night stay in Prague’s five-star Hip Hop Hotel. The subject is you and the verb is shall shoot.

Sometimes, whom is the object of a preposition.

The Filipino O.R. nurse, with whom I had a fling after I broke my vertebrae and ended up in the ICU, was married to an Italian saxophonist who had no inkling of his wife’s infidelities.

Exercises:

Correct each of the following sentences:

1. The 2010 New York Yankees featured nine evil morons whom sold dope to children.

2. Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anne Hathaway are three actresses whom collectively have enough talent to barely fill my left nostril.

3. On October 18, 1999, the cover of Sports Illustrated featuring Rams QB Kurt Warner, proclaimed “Whom Is This Guy?”

4. Who in God’s name told you that your damn $2.25 subway fare guarantees anything other than a crowded subway car and the opportunity to get assaulted?