WHO vs WHOM vs WHOSE: How to Use them Correctly

Who vs Whom vs Whose. In this lesson, we will learn the difference between commonly confused words Who, Whom and Whose and how to use them correctly.

WHO vs WHOM vs WHOSE

Difference between Subjects, Objects and Possessives

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.

When to Use Who vs Whom vs Whose

1. ‘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 made the birthday cake?
• Who is in the bathroom?
• Who is going to the market this afternoon?

2. ‘Whom’ is an object pronoun like ‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘us’. We use ‘whom’ to ask which person received an action.

• Whom are going to ask to Mary’s party this evening?
• Whom did they choose as a team leader?
• Whom did he blame for the accident?

3. “Whose” is a possessive pronoun like ‘his’, and ‘our’. We use ‘whose’ to find out which person something belongs to.

• Whose bag is this?
• Whose cell phone keeps ringing?
• Whose dog is barking outside?

WHO – WHOM – WHOSE | Image