The Grammar Doctor

who/whom

" Who" is correct when it is a subject or a predicate noun.
SUBJECT: Who is coming to the meeting.

PREDICATE NOUN: You are who?

" Whom" is correct if it is a direct object or an object of a preposition.

Direct Object: The man whom he hit is suing.

Object of Preposition: To whom is the message directed?

Part of the confusion over " who" and " whom" arises because the words often occur in complex sentences where it is difficult to see the function of the word in the sentence.

Give the message to whoever answers the door.

(The correct word here is " whoever" because it is the subject of " answers." People tend to use " whomever" here because it comes after a preposition, but the object of the preposition is the entire clause " whoever comes to the door.")

A Final Note

If you're not sure whether to use" who" or " whom," it is always better to say " who." First of all, it is acceptable to to do so in informal writing and speaking. Most people will not even notice if you say " who" where grammatical strictness calls for " whom." However, if you say " whom" where the structure of the sentence calls for " who," it will sound strange to most people.

(See more at sentence structure.)

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