Before we discuss about when to use who, whom and whose we have to study first about subjects, objects and possessive.
Who, Whom or Whose
- Who= replacing subjects
- Whom=replacing objects
- Whose= replacing possessive
- She invited me to her party.
- Who invited me to their party? (She, subject)
- Whom did she invite to her party? (Me, object)
- Whose party did she invite me? (Her party, possessive) or Whose party is it?
Pattern:
- Who + Verb
- Whom + …Subject (noun/pronoun)
- Whose + Noun that belongs to somebody
Example:
She called me through our fax.
Brian blamed me for the accident.
Who + Verb
Who called me through our fax?
Who blamed me for the accident?
Whom + …Subject
Whom did she call through fax?
Whom did Brian blamed for the accident?
*If there’s no subject (you, I, Brian..etc) after whom, it must be who.
*Whom is replaces only human objects. If the object is a thing like apple, ball, book then use “what.”
Whose + Noun that belongs to somebody
I ate Daddy’s apple. Whose apple did you eat?
He stepped on aunt Mary’s plant. Whose plant did he step on?
ALL ESL 