Quick Grammar Tip: 'Who' or 'Whom'

Quick answer

If the answer to the question is:

• I
• he
• she
• we
• they

the word should be 'who'.

Example:

Who kicked Benjamin?
I kicked Benjamin.

However, if the answer to the question is:

• me
• him
• her
• us
• them

the word used should be 'whom'.

Example:

Whom did Benjamin kick?
Benjamin kicked him.

Long answer

'Who' is actually a subject (the noun that does the action) and that is why it corresponds to pronouns that are subjects (I, he, she, we, they).

'Whom' is an object (the noun that the action is done to). Hence its correspondence to pronouns that are subjects (me, him, her, us, them).

'You' and 'it' are used as both subjects and objects. Thus, it is of no help to cue you in whether to use 'who' or 'whom'. Tough luck there.

However, the usage of 'whom' is slowly losing ground. It is not uncommon these days to see even published writers (especially younger writers) using 'who' when they should be using 'whom'. As the English language further evolves, it may not be surprising if one day we do away with 'whom' completely but until that day happens, it is good to know the difference between 'who' and 'whom' so that you know what the correct answer is should you encounter it in an English test.