who + verb + ... ?Use this when the missing person does the action. No extra subject comes after who.
Who, Whom and Whose
B2Use who for the person doing the action, whom for the object in formal English, and whose for possession. In everyday object questions, who is often natural.
What you'll learn
- Choose who when the person is the subject of the verb.
- Choose whom for the object in formal English.
- Use whose to ask who something belongs to.
- Use whom after a fronted preposition in formal style.
- Choose the form by role: subject, object, or possession.
Structure
whom + auxiliary + subject + verb + ... ?Formal object question. The person does not do the action; the action happens to that person.
preposition + whom + auxiliary + subject + verb + ... ?When the preposition comes before the pronoun, formal English uses whom.
whose + noun + verb + ... ?Use whose before the noun to ask about the owner.
Build a sentence
Pattern
Word
WhocalledAnna
Who called Anna?
Use who when the person does the action.
When to use
Subject questions
Ask about the person who does the action: Who called? Who wrote this email? The verb comes right after who.
Formal object questions
Use whom in careful writing and formal speech when the person is the object: Whom did Lisa invite?
Everyday English
In everyday conversation, who is common in object questions: Who did Tom call? This is natural and standard in informal English.
Possession
Ask about owners with whose before a noun: Whose phone is ringing? Whose car is outside?
In contrast
vs relative-pronouns
This rule chooses question and relative forms by role: who = subject, whom = object in formal style, whose = possession. The same role check helps in relative clauses too.
Common mistakes
Wrong
Whom called you last night?
Correct
Who called you last night?
The person does the action of calling, so use who, not whom.
Wrong
To who did Maria send the package?
Correct
To whom did Maria send the package?
After a fronted preposition in formal English, use whom.
Wrong
Who's jacket is this?
Correct
Whose jacket is this?
Whose shows possession. Who's means who is or who has.
Wrong
Whom laptop is on the desk?
Correct
Whose laptop is on the desk?
For owners and belongings, use whose before the noun.
Wrong
Whom keys are these?
Correct
Whose keys are these?
The sentence asks about possession, not about an object, so use whose.
Common misconceptions
❝ If I want to sound advanced, I should use whom everywhere. ❞
Use whom only for object position in formal English. As a subject, only who is correct.
❝ Who did you invite? is wrong because object questions must use whom. ❞
In everyday English, who is normal in object questions. Whom makes the style more formal.
❝ Whose and who's are the same word with two spellings. ❞
Whose is possessive. Who's is the contraction of who is or who has.
Skills in this rule (6)
WHO_FOR_THE_PERSON_DOING_THE_ACTIONw5Use who for the person doing the action
Use who when the person is the subject of the verb. If the word after it is the verb, who is the right choice.
WHOM_FOR_THE_PERSON_RECEIVING_THE_ACTIONw5Use whom for the person receiving the action in formal English
Use whom when the person is the object of a verb or preposition in careful, formal English. In everyday English, who is often used instead, but whom is still common after prepositions and in formal style.
WHO_IN_INFORMAL_OBJECT_QUESTIONSw4Accept who in informal object questions
In everyday English, who is common in object position, especially in questions with do, did, or does. Choose whom when the style is formal or when it follows a fronted preposition.
WHOSE_FOR_POSSESSIONw5Use whose to ask about possession
Use whose before a noun to ask who something belongs to. It can also stand alone when the noun is already clear from context.
AFTER_PREPOSITION_USE_WHOM_IN_FORMAL_STYLEw4Use whom after a preposition in formal English
When the preposition comes before the pronoun, use whom: with whom, to whom, for whom. This pattern is common in formal writing and careful speech.
CHOOSE_BY_THE_ROLE_IN_THE_SENTENCEw5Choose who, whom, or whose by the role in the sentence
Pick the form by asking what role the word has: subject, object, or possession. Look at the words around it to see whether a verb, preposition, or noun follows.