I hope that headline bothered you! It was my attempt to prove that mistakes are big attention-getters. Unfortunately, that’s the wrong kind of attention for your letters, memos, and reports to receive. If you’ve been stumped by the use of “who” and “whom,” consider this: “Who” is a pronoun that takes the place of the subject. “Whom” is the objective case of “who” and is always the object of the verb or the preposition.
Examples:
Who is responsible for updating our website? I wonder who will be awarded as Employee of the Month?
You gave the award to whom? “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” ~John Donne
If you ever find yourself in a quandary over which word to use, try a pronoun substitution. Test your choice by replacing “who” with “he.” Your question will become a statement, as in He is responsible, or He will be awarded as Employee of the Month.
If the sentence sounds odd, such as, You gave the award to he, and the objective pronoun “him” would make it sound better, you’ll know that “whom” is the right choice.
Who cares? Anyone who values professionalism!
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