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To Understand How To Use Who Whose and Whom

The document discusses the differences between and proper uses of the relative pronouns "who", "whom", and "whose". "Who" is used as a subject pronoun to ask which person performed an action. "Whom" is used as an object pronoun to ask which person received an action. "Whose" is used as a possessive pronoun to indicate which person something belongs to. Examples are provided to illustrate the different uses of each pronoun. The document also discusses when to use "which", "that", and "where" as relative pronouns or adverbs.

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260 views6 pages

To Understand How To Use Who Whose and Whom

The document discusses the differences between and proper uses of the relative pronouns "who", "whom", and "whose". "Who" is used as a subject pronoun to ask which person performed an action. "Whom" is used as an object pronoun to ask which person received an action. "Whose" is used as a possessive pronoun to indicate which person something belongs to. Examples are provided to illustrate the different uses of each pronoun. The document also discusses when to use "which", "that", and "where" as relative pronouns or adverbs.

Uploaded by

danilyn bargasao
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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To understand how to use 'who', 'whom' and 'whose' you first have to understand

the difference between subjects, objects and possessives.

The subject does the action:


He likes football.
She goes to university.
They enjoy travelling.

The object receives the action:


The employees respect him.
I know her.
The sailors waved to us.

Possessives tell us the person something belongs to:


His car is new.
I like his latest novel.
We returned to our hotel.

'Who' is a subject pronoun like 'he', 'she' and 'they'. We use 'who' to ask which
person did an action or which person is in a certain state.
Who wrote that letter?
Who is the manager?
Who is going to prepare dinner?

'Whom' is an object pronoun like 'him', 'her' and 'us'. We use ‘whom’ to ask which
person received an action.
Whom are you going to ask to the party?
Whom did they choose as team captain?
Whom did they summon?

'Whose' is a possessive pronoun like 'his', and 'our'. We use 'whose' to find out
which person something belongs to.
Whose phone is this?
Whose is this umbrella?
Whose car is blocking the drive?

1. _ directed this film?


Whom
Who
Whose

2. _ will he ask to the party?


Whom
Who
Whose

3. _ car is parked in front of the entrance?


o Who
o Whose
o Whom

4. From _ did you get the information?


who
whom
whose

5. We’re driving to the city. _ wants to come with us?


Whose
Who
Whom

6. I have no idea _ said that about you to me.


whom
who
whose

7. Do you know _ wife that is?


whom
who
whose

8. I would love to meet the author _ wrote this book.


who
whose
whom

9. _ were you referring to in your e-mail?


Whose
Who
Who

Examples:

Who made the birthday cake?


Who is in the kitchen?
Who is going to do the dishes?
"Whom" is an Object Pronoun
"Whom" is an object pronoun like "him," "her" and "us." We use "whom" to ask
which person receives an action.

Examples:
Whom are you going to invite?
Whom did he blame for the accident?
Whom did he hire to do the job?
"Whose" is a Possessive Pronoun
"Whose" is a possessive pronoun like "his," "her" and "our." We use "whose" to
find out which person something belongs to.
Examples:

He doesn't know who the boss of the company is.- subject of the indirect question
I don't care whom you invite. - object of the indirect question
She isn't sure whose car that is. - "Whose" shows possession of car.
"Who," "Whom" and "Whose" in Adjective Clauses

Whose can be used for people, animals or things:

The man whose daughter won the tournament is a tennis coach.

A dog whose owner lets it run loose may cause an accident.

The tree whose branches shade my kitchen window is an oak.

Which is used for animals in general or things.

Bridget visited the park with her dog, which likes to chase squirrels.

Jason bought the top hybrid car, which will help him save on gas.

That can be used for people, animals or things.

The musician that won the award is Canadian.

The car that Jason bought runs on electricity and gas.

The dog that is chasing the squirrels belongs to Bridget.

Lisa wore the shoes that she bought in Italy.

(What shoes? The ones that she bought in Italy. The clause identifies the shoes.)

Which is used in a non-essential clause modifying an animal or a thing.

Lisa wore her best leather shoes, which she bought in Italy.

(What shoes? Her best leather ones. The clause is not needed to identify the shoes,
so it is non-essential.)

Who vs. whom

The relative pronoun who may cause confusion because it has both a subject form
(who) and an object form (whom). The key to choosing between these forms is to
see what the pronoun is doing in its own clause
Use who if the pronoun is the subject of the verb in the dependent clause.

The people who just boarded the plane are in a rock band.

(The pronoun is subject of the verb boarded.)

Use whom if the pronoun is the object of the verb in the dependent clause.

The cousin whom we met at the family reunion is coming to visit.

(The pronoun is object of the verb met.)

'Who' - 'whose' - 'whom' - 'that' and 'which' - are relative pronouns.

'Where' is a relative adverb.

There is often confusion about the use of who, whose, whom, that, which or where.

- We use who when referring to people or when we want to know the person.

The person who answered the phone was very helpful.

Who ate all the chocolates?

We use which to refer to a thing or an idea, and to ask about choices.

My car, which is 20 years old, isn't worth much.

Which size would you like, small, medium or large?

We use that for both a person and a thing/idea.

It should be noted, however, that who is preferred when referring to a particular


person.

When that is used it usually refers to classes or types of people.

This is the style that I want to use.

The car that belongs to the company is the red one over there.

He is the kind of person that/who can be trusted.

I want to speak to the person who (not that) called me this morning.

The person who (not that) borrowed the dictionary should return it as soon as
possible
Whose refers to ownership.

Whose dictionary is this?

There's the girl whose car was stolen.

Whom:

When who is the object of a verb, whom can be used instead, but it is formal and
rather old-fashioned.

In modern speech, we use who, or we leave out the pronoun.

To whom did you wish to speak? (formal)

Who would you like to speak to? (modern speech)

You are referring to a person who no longer works here.

The person to whom you are referring no longer works here.

The person (who) you are referring to no longer works here.

Whom is always used when it is preceded by quantifiers such as all of, both of, few
of, many of, several of, etc.

For example:

She addressed the spectators, most of whom remained seated.

The mayor welcomed the boys and girls, all of whom wore their school uniform.

He greeted the soldiers, many of whom were injured.

Where (relative adverb) refers to places and locations.

Where is the station please?

That's where I spent my childhood.

Examples of use

I know a woman. She speaks 6 languages.

- I know a woman who speaks 6 languages.

I know a woman. Her husband speaks 6 languages.

- I know a woman whose husband speaks 6 languages.


I spoke to a person yesterday.

- The person to whom I spoke yesterday (formal)

The person I spoke to yesterday (informal)

I live in a house. It is 200 years old.

- I live in a house which/that is 200 years old.

That's the hotel. We stayed there last year.

- That's the hotel where we stayed last year.

That's the hotel that we stayed in last year.

- That's the hotel in which we stayed last year.

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