Who vs. Whom

®
THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE
Name: ________________________________________________________ Date: ______________
Activity: “Grammar Gets Real” • Skill: Commonly Confused Words, page 1 of 2
Who vs. Whom
Use who to refer to the subject of a sentence or
clause. (The subject is the “doer,” the person who
is doing or being something.)
Use whom to refer to the object of a sentence
or clause. (The object is the person or thing
receiving the action.)
Examples:
“Who won the race?” asked Mikey.
Examples:
“Whom did you call today?” asked Lucille.
I’m the one who walks the dog every morning.
I opened the door and, finally, there was Lisa,
whom I’d been expecting for more than an hour!
Tatiana, who is from Costa Rica, is a great surfer.
My grandpa, to whom I often turn for advice, is
very wise.
And here is a trick you can use to figure out whether to use who or whom:
He = Who
Him = Whom
If your sentence is a question, and you can answer
it with he (or she, we, I, or they) use who.
If your sentence is a question and you can answer
it using him (or her, us, me, or them), use whom.
Examples:
Who/Whom called my name?
Answer: He did.
Correct: Who/Whom called my name?
Examples:
From who/whom did you receive this gift?
Answer: I received it from him.
Correct: From who/whom did you receive this gift?
Who/Whom wants to go with Ali?
Answer: She does.
Correct: Who/Whom wants to go with Ali?
Who/Whom can I expect to be there?
Answer: You can expect them to be there.
Correct: Who/Whom can I expect to be there?
If your sentence is not a question, you can still use this trick, but instead of answering a question,
you’ll need to restate your sentence so that it uses either he or him.
Example:
Matt, who/whom lives next door to me, is my
best friend.
Restated: He lives next door to me.
Correct: Matt, who/whom lives next door to me,
is my best friend.
Example:
Dan played soccer with a kid who/whom he met at
camp last summer.
Restated: Dan played soccer with him.
Correct: Dan played soccer with a kid who/whom
he met at camp last summer.
Scholastic sCOPE activity • April 2, 2012
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Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright ©2012 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
The words who and whom are both pronouns (words that can take the place of nouns) and are
often mixed up. Here’s what you need to know to use them correctly:
Activity: “Grammar Gets Real” • Skill: Commonly Confused Words, page 2 of 2
Directions: Circle the correct boldface word in each sentence below.
1. Meryl Streep, who/whom won a Best Actress Oscar for the third time this year, is one of my favorite stars.
2. Sandra, who/whom used to babysit my sister and me, invited us to her wedding.
4. My cousin Samir, who/whom I’ve never met, is coming to visit next week.
5. I don’t know who/whom made this lasagna, but it is delicious!
6. Violet is the girl I was telling you about—the one who/whom broke her ankle during practice.
Directions: Put a check mark next to the sentence that is grammatically correct.
7. a ____ Who do I hear singing in the backyard so late at night?
2. b ____ Whom do I hear singing in the backyard so late at night?
8. a ____ My parents, both of who were sick with the flu, canceled their trip to New York.
2. b ____ My parents, both of whom were sick with the flu, canceled their trip to New York.
9. a ____ Henry, who grew up in London, has a strong British accent.
2. b ____ Henry, whom grew up in London, has a strong British accent.
10. a ____ Who should I invite to the movie on Friday—Maya or Faith?
2. b ____ Whom should I invite to the movie on Friday—Maya or Faith?
Directions: For each sentence below, fill in the blank with either who or whom. Then at the end, write your
own sentence using either who or whom.
11. Isaac, ________________ was planning to spend the afternoon at the park, moaned when he heard the forecast.
12. ________________ ate the last slice of pizza? I was saving that!
13. ________________ does Emilio want to ask to the dance on Friday?
14. Fred, ________________ looked rather pale yesterday, stayed home sick today.
15. The trip was a lot of fun for the students, many of _________________ had never been camping before.
16. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Scholastic sCOPE activity • April 2, 2012
Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright ©2012 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
3. I hope the police catch the kid who/whom stole my bike!