The GrammarPhile Blog

Who and Whom; Whoever and Whomever

  

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These pronouns are both interrogative pronouns (used in asking questions) and relative pronouns (used to refer to a noun in the main clause). 

• Who is going? (Interrogative.)
• Mr. Bojangles is the one who is watching. (Relative, referring to one.)
• To whom shall I deliver the FedEx package? (Interrogative.)
• Ms. Bojangles, whom I have never met, is skiing now. (Relative, referring to Ms. Bojangles.)

Who (or whoever) is the nominative form. Use who whenever he, she, they, I, or we would be substituted in the who clause. (If in doubt, mentally rearrange the clause as is done in parentheses after each of the following examples.)

• Who is managing the tournament? (She is managing the tournament.)
• Who shall I say is calling? (I shall say he is calling.)
• We will endorse whoever wins the slalom contest. (She won the slalom contest.)
• Sassafras is the one who we suspect will win. (We expect she will win.)
• We have sent this signup form to all who we have reason to believe are interested in our tournament. (We have reason to believe they are interested.)
• I will speak to whoever answers the phone. (He answers the phone

Whom (or whomever) is the objective form. Use whom whenever him, her, them, me, or us could be substituted as the object of the verb or as the object of a preposition in the whom clause. (If in doubt, mentally rearrange the clause as is done in parentheses after each of the following examples.)

• Whom did you see today? (You did see her today.)
• I will hire whomever I can find. (I can find her.)
• The candidate whom we invited to address the committee didn't show up. (We invited him to address the committee.)
• Mortimer Schnerd, whom I considered to be their best water skier, broke his arm yesterday. (I considered him to be their best skier.)
• The question of whom we should hire is at issue. (We should hire her.)
• Whom were you talking about? (You were talking about him.)
• I need a salesperson whom I can trust. (I can trust her.)
• Matilda is the nominee whom they plan to support. (They plan to support her.)