This might be a big shock to many, but here’s this article’s headline: Whom is not a fancy version of who. That’s right, folks—they aren’t interchangeable. Join me as we dive deeper into this rarely touched topic. I’ll cover the difference and a cool trick you can use to help with that!
It’s Really Not Just a Fancy M
I had to repeat that. It’s one of the topics that get me venting. Okay. Let’s go.
In a previous post, I revealed your elementary school teachers’ biggest mistake. I wrote a (semi-controversial) article about how you don’t always say stuff like “Leonard and I”. Let’s freshen up your memory and remind you what subjects and objects are.
It’s quite a simple set of definitions: Subjects are the nouns “doing” the verbs, and objects are the nouns being affected by the verbs. Quite simple, right? In the below example, I will capitalize the subject and put the object in some bold font.
Example: One CRAB crawled over the rock.
As you may have noticed, the crab is crawling—the word crawled is the verb. The rock is being affected by the verb, as it’s being crawled on. How does this apply to who and whom?
It’s relatively easy to grasp once you have the above concept mastered. Who is for subjects; whom is for objects. See where this is going?
Example: With whom did you write that?
Example: Who wrote that?
I find it trickier to give examples with questions, so I’m presuming it’s hard for you to get it. That’s okay. When I teach this stuff to fellow students, it takes a while, so don’t feel discouraged or dumb!
Who is the subject. It’s writing. But whom is also writing, so why is it the object? And this is where I find people getting confused.
While whom is technically writing, the sentence never connects the verb directly to it, so it’s not a subject. It doesn’t really seem like it’s being affected by the verb, but it’s more grammatically related to the preposition, with. It’s tricky. I know.
To Whom It May Concern, a Trick!
We all love an easy way out, don’t we? Think about other subjects and objects. Think about what you already have as second nature. He, she, her, and him! She and he are subjects, and him and her are objects! What can you do? Replace who/whom and see if you’re correct.
Example: I know who did it!
I know he did it!
Example: To whom it may concern…”
It may concern him.
You may need to alter the sentence a bit more than the first example (as we did in the second). It makes it easier to digest until you’ve got the hang of the rules and will be able to write and speak just like you do with she, he, him, and her!