Grammar Point: Who vs Whom

"Who" and "whom" are two troublesome words whose usage can even confuse nerds of language rubrics. It is not uncommon to observe many English speakers abuse these words unintentionally.

Language neo-liberals, a school of thought that puts emphasis on comprehension rather than rules, may not be budged about the distinct difference between these words. But the fact is, these words cannot be used interchangeably.

Many a people use the words interchangeably though, but it does not make it correct. It is therefore imperative to know their distinction and use them appropriately both in routine daily spoken English and in strict academic discourse setting.

"Who" and "whom" are pronouns. They belong to interrogative pronouns. Pronouns are noun replacers.

Let's consider this sentence:

"Siyyat is very beautiful." can be rewritten as "She is very beautiful." The "she", pronoun replaces "Siyyat", noun.

Interrogative pronouns are group of pronouns which ask questions. Examples, "what", "which", "who", "whom" etc. 

Let's consider these sentences:

"What is your name?"
"Which colour do you like?"

The pronouns in the above sentences ask questions, hence interrogative.

"Who" vs "Whom"

"Who" and "whom" are also interrogative pronouns but their marked difference is that the former is used to refer to "subject" and the latter, "object" of a sentence.

"Subject" and "object" of a sentence are "class-onenic" concept understood even by P1 papas and mamas. Let's take a basic revision on it.

Consider these sentences:

1. "Aleke caned the naughty boy."
2. "Adnan gave the book to the girl."

In sentence 1, "Aleke", the performer of the action is the "subject" and the receiver, "boy" of the action is the "object".

In sentence 2, "Adnan", is the subject, "book", the direct object and "girl", indirect object.

"Who" replaces the "subject" in a sentence.

Consider these comparative pair of explanatory sentences.

1. She lied.
2. Who lied?

1. Akua Donkor was in Italy.
2. Who was in Italy?

1. Hikmat ate the food.
2. Who ate the food?

Note: "She", "Akua Donkor" and "Hikmat" are the "subjects" of the sentences. And "who" replaces each subject.

"Whom" replaces the "object" in a sentence.

Consider these comparative pair of explanatory sentences.

1. She lied to the kids.
2. Whom did she lie to?

1. Akua Donkor was in Italy with John Mahama.
2. Whom was with Akua Donkor in Italy?

1. Hikmat ate her sister's food.
2. Whom is the food for?

Note: "Kids", "John Mahama" and "sister's food" are the "objects" of the sentences. And "whom" replaces each object.

Summarily, "who" is a referent to subject. It replaces nouns and key pronouns such as "he", "she" etc.

On the other hand, "whom" is a referent to object. It stands in for key pronouns such as "her", "him" etc.

More explanatory sentences:

- Who/whom kicked the ball? 
- "He" kicked the ball. So, "who" is correct.

- Who/whom should I trust?
- Should I trust "her"? So, "whom" is correct.

- We wondered who/whom the literature was about. 
- The literature was about "him". So, "whom" is correct.

- We wondered who/whom wrote the literature.
- "She" wrote the literature. So, "who" is correct.

As usual, it's time for the word game. You will form one or two short sentences. And then extract "who" and "whom" questions from it. I will start.

"Sapashini is now working with Nestlé. He visited Tamale last month with his concubine."

- Who visited Tamale?
- Whom did he come with?

Let's go!

All intellectual inputs are welcomed. Thank you!

© Hanan-Confidence Abdul