Look Good in Print

This text will refresh your memory or introduce you to the common writing rules for Standard American English. It addresses the 22 most common errors found in writing. Applying and using the fundamentals of good writing will ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and achieves your intended purposes.

02A: SYNTAX AND WORD CHOICE

5. Use Who and Whom Correctly

Figuring out the correct use of who and whom can give you a brain cramp. Although the use of "whom" is in decline, skilled writers correctly use who v. whom and whoever v. whomever. You already have the tools to understand this idea: "who" and "whoever" stand in for subjects; "whom" and "whomever," for objects.

The main complication arises when "who(m)ever" functions as both the object and the subject in the same sentence. Here’s an example:

"Give your most charming sales pitch to who(m)ever answers the phone".

The pronoun is the object of the preposition "to," and the subject of the clause "who(m)ever answers the phone". In such instances, the subjective case wins. Use "whoever".

Now consider this sentence:

"It doesn’t matter; give the leftover t-shirts to whomever".

In this example, "whomever" is the object of the preposition "to" and thus belongs in the objective case.

This MCom video further clarifies the correct use of who and whom.