Improve your English: WHO or WHOM?

When do we use "who", and when do we use "whom"? In this English grammar lesson, I will explain the difference between these two relative pronouns and when you should use them. It doesn't matter if you're a new English learner or a native English speaker - if you're not sure whether to use "who" or "whom", I hope that this lesson will erase your doubts. It's much easier than you think.
Test your understanding with the quiz: www.engvid.com/who-or-whom/
Next, watch my video on two commonly confused verbs, BORROW and LEND: • Basic English: “BORROW...
TRANSCRIPT
Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "Who" vs. "Whom". That's right, today we are going to look at one of the most commonly confused and asked about subjects in the English language, not just by new English learners but native speakers as well. So, we're going to use some grammar terminology, but I'm also going to give you some examples that will make it very clear what the difference between these two words is. So, first I'm going to talk about how to use them in statements, and after I'm going to show you how to use them with quantifiers, and at the end I'll look at some question examples with these two. So, let's start.
First: "who" and "whom". These are relative pronouns. Now, what this means is "who" is a subject relative pronoun, "whom" is an object relative pronoun. What does this mean? Well, this means that when you use "who" in a sentence to give more information about something, you are using it to give more information about a subject. When you use "whom", you're using it to give more information about the object of a sentence. So let's look at some examples first with "who".
Number one: "I have an uncle who works for Apple." Number two: "There's someone who is waiting for you." Number three: "Tom, who's been working here forever, recently found a new job." What do they all have in common? Well, they all have a subject, a person who you're giving more information about. So, I'm going to mark things up a little bit so you can see how this works. "I have an uncle who works for Apple." Who are you giving more information about in this sentence? You are giving more information about your uncle. So you have "who", and "who" relates to an uncle. Now, this uncle is doing an action. The uncle works for Apple. So, if you have a subject, you're giving more information about the subject, and the subject is doing an action after who, then you use "who". All right? "I have an uncle who works", he works for Apple. Next: "There is someone who is waiting for you." So we have "who". Who does "who" relate to? "Who" relates to "someone", a mystery person. So there's someone who is waiting for you. Yes, we are giving more information about someone, and the someone is doing an action. So here they are waiting. So I have someone... There is someone who is waiting. They are the ones who are doing the action. Next: "Tom, who's been working here forever, recently found a new job." So we have "who", I'm just going to mark "who's", "who has" been working. And yes, we are talking about Tom. And we are saying that Tom has been working here. So if the subject of the sentence is doing the action here, then you need to use "who".
Next: "whom". Three sentences. One: "Ghandi is someone whom most people admire." Two: "That's the guy whom she married." Three: "My best friend, whom I've known for 10 years, is getting married." So, what's the difference between these sentences and the sentences with "who"? Hmm. "Ghandi is someone whom most people admire." Yes, the sentence is about Ghandi. We are talking about Ghandi in this sentence. But also important: Is Ghandi doing an action in this sentence or is he receiving an action in this sentence? Here we have: "Ghandi is someone whom most people admire." The sentence is actually talking about the people who admire Ghandi. The people are doing an action to Ghandi, and Ghandi is receiving the action in this sentence. So, here, and this is true in most cases, after "whom" you usually have someone who does the action to someone else. So: "Ghandi is someone whom most people admire."
Next: "That's the guy whom she married." We see "whom". Who does "whom" relate to? Yes, we are talking about the guy, but the guy is receiving the action. He's actually an object here, because she married him. Now, I don't mean that the man is an object and the woman is the... An object in many cases, so I don't mean any of that. But grammatically, that's the guy whom she married. The guy is receiving the action of marriage from her.
And finally: "My best friend, whom I have known for 10 years, is getting married." Here we have "whom". Who are we talking about? Okay, my best friend, yeah. But my best friend is receiving an action here. I have known my best friend. Okay? So here, I'm saying I have known my best friend. I have known him or her. Okay?

[@engvidAlex]

Check out my new video about two more commonly confused words: BORROW and LEND! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqHEkp9_i79gY5Y

[@anonyme1900]

Hello there M. Alex thanks for your help ! have a nice day

[@kaijinisthegreatest3170]

The teacher who produced this lesson should be the person whom i appreciate ....

[@engvidAlex]

Nice one! Thanks for checking out the video, Kaijin.

[@gru5466]

Joe studly, you forgot to end your sentence with a period.

[@jailsonenglishteacher2403]

@Joe studly 😡

[@thiagogregory1]

@@jailsonenglishteacher2403 Why are you angry?

[@thiagogregory1]

@@gru5466 You forgot to correct his mistake. He said "capatalise" instead of "capitalise/capitalize".

[@Pilsnor]

Knowing this is like having the black belt in english

[@intheplums]

Then I feel like I'm trying to get a black belt before I've even got my purple belt. (In karate terms).

[@chaplainmattsanders4884]

😅good one

[@LL-sd2fc]

‘Quantifiers = whom’ is the best formula I’ve seen.

[@mongoliankazakhs]

This is my first time watching your video. I have never seen teacher like you who teaches more clearly and clearly. You are the teacher whom I respect.

[@gambarimas]

In my view, this is very important: Subject = the person that DOES the/an action Object = the person that RECEIVES the/an action

[@engvidAlex]

100%. This is the essence of subjects and objects.

[@HattieMcDanielonaMoon]

Remember, it's person/thing.

[@marinademorais8294]

Alex, you are such a dear teacher. You are able to make the person become self-confident as an English speaker. (Goiás, Brazil.)

[@prof.emanuelpaiva]

As a Brazilian, I enjoyed it this class because a lot of people say that WHOM isn't used actually. Some of them say that WHOM was used in the past, however, it's not true. There is a difference from one to another. Thanks a million. ❤

[@engvidAlex]

There’s a difference, but most people just use “who” regardless of the situation. “Whom” is still the one most often used with prepositions, however. :)

[@yl0540]

Simply means: whom follows with a noun But who follows with a verb

[@tikaregmi959]

Great idea!

[@dav9879]

I am going to be honest... THIS IS SO BRILLIANT!! I am studying to be teacher (of English as second language) in my country, Costa Rica (we speak Spanish), and I found these videos and this website (EngVid) like four days ago and I already suscribed to all the channels. This so helpful and amazing, thanks a lot!!

[@sobralpedro1]

What a great lesson. Thank you.

[@engvidAlex]

Any time. Thanks for checking it out.

[@carloschang168]

English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) Thank you teacher Alex for your job. You are a great teacher. I want to ask something, most of whom can be replaced for most of them?

[@drikkona]

thanks I used to say most of them it is corect ? or most of whom

[@abrahambelleh1600]

Manifold thanks for an elucidation that clears my doubt on the usage of the aforementioned words, and I hope to hearing from u again.

[@JaymoJoints]

@@abrahambelleh1600 You are trying too hard bro.

[@simplehumano8783]

This is the teacher whom i'll put all my trust to learn complicated grammar topics.

[@yangj4576]

Thank you for making this video. I'm quite struggling with "who/whom". So I took all the video lessons about it and among all, yours is pretty clear for me. You're the teacher who teaches well whom I find the lesson understandable.

[@afreenkhan9649]

a lot of doubts got cleared...thanks a ton Alex

[@fazalrehman8483]

hi

[@haroldlake1005]

The best Teacher I've ever met.

[@huacheng_2005]

Thanks a lot! You don’t have an idea of how much you helped me with my academic English lessons, I mean as you’ve said this rule doesn’t matter in spoken English, but it does matter in terms of tests for example. Thank you from the abyss of my heart. Wish you all the best Mr. Alex🙏

[@danny33541]

There's a reason why your video was the first in the search. You literally made it so clear to understand the difference between the two. Thanks.

[@domingossaviosoaresaragao3399]

Congratulations for your great explanation on who and whom Alex, for it's not easy.I guess I got it now after such a long time. I am from Brazil. I am going to go on watching your classes,ok!

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks for continuing to study with EngVid, everybody! Just a reminder that if you would like to support the website financially, you can do so at this link: www.engvid.com/support We appreciate every donation we receive, as it makes it a little easier to keep doing what we're doing. As always, thanks for clicking.

[@DemHighTimes]

is _Ghandi is someone for whom most people admire._ also correct?

[@uditvyas1]

English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) correct spelling is ' Gandhi"

[@gracetntl2203]

I love your explanations. 👍👏🇲🇽

[@JatinKumar-md9lq]

Learn English with Alex [engVid] sir Gandhi is someone whom most people admire seems correct But in passive voice, Gandhi is someone who is admired by most people seems correct to me But you said whom Clarify please

[@andersonmaddoxx7870]

Jatin Kumar I understood whom is admired by .... As we can se whom is admired still suffering the action that's why he used whom,I think. Greetings from Brazil.

[@paulinjosepha2336]

I have learned and spoken English for many years; however, i have trouble understanding the difference between Who/whom . Thank you Alex . My KZbinr Professor who is teaching me the difference between who/whom.

[@mysecretplacewithyou]

Teacher Alex! This lesson appears to have been specially made for me. I've always had trouble using these two relative pronouns. I'm kinda relieved to know even native speakers have this problem. After this lesson it's become as clear as crystal water for me when to use "who" or "whom" correctly. Thanks for that!

[@lanac.1048]

You’re literally my favorite teacher in the whole internet, Alex. Thank you for your help! Much love from Brazil xx

[@sowbs6925]

My first time to watch the first video of this wonderful teacher, i subscribed to his channel at once. Thanks, sir!

[@engvidAlex]

Welcome to my channel! I hope you find a lot of useful information! :)

[@latifadodak3039]

Gosh you're lessons are just helping me so much, especially since I'm French and since I want to be an English teacher ! Thanks for taking your time to do this, we appreciate it a lot!

[@shrikefigueredo3185]

Mr. Alex is the teacher whom we really appreciate... Thank you very much for taking the time of giving such a good explanation! You're a really good teacher. Hope I can explain as you do one day.

[@justynkajus]

Oh yes, I was so confused about when to use that who/whom. Thank you veeeeery much :)

[@dylsrose]

Thank you. We are actually learning this in class and this is really helpful before a quiz.

[@engvidAlex]

I'm glad you're finding it useful! Thanks for studying with EngVid.

[@JamesLee-xp5mc]

I highly encourage people to donate to Alex or the EngVid website. Thank you, Alex!! You've helped me a lot! Good job!

[@engvidAlex]

That's very kind of you. Thanks for the support, James! I really appreciate it.

[@umsalemalmeri1456]

I saw a lot of videos afterwards, to see if some one could provide better explanation better than yours, but no one could compete. My respect . Loved it

[@ahmadkazemi9755]

Thanks, you are the teacher whom I respect alot.

[@keouine]

a lot or better a lot

[@Anton_Blagoev]

My favorite teacher)) Could you do more shorts video approximately 6-9 min. It would be great)) But anyway thanks for you lesson. Your pronunciation the best of all teacher, it my opinion)) PS Hello from Russia))

[@adaiabarrau2507]

Gracias! Me han explicado esto como 5 profesores a lo largo de mi vida. Eres el primero que lo explica y lo entiendo perfectamente a la primera... Te has ganado mi follow al instante

[@WS-fd8on]

Dude, I am from Indonesia, we barely use English here. Just want to say that this is so useful and easy to understand. Thank you! God bless you

[@eggegggegg]

Use whomst'd've'ly'yaint'nt'ed'ies's'y'es

[@engvidAlex]

I uhh...damn.

[@shamario444]

The one English teacher who is having a seizure from reading this

[@forcyland]

oh no im the next to have a seizure

[@unidentified8973]

Something g tastes metal-*thud*

[@ado-]

Does anyone smell toast?

[@jyotigosavi2027]

Wow!this lesson is very helpful for me 😃to know different between Who and Whom thanks a lot 🙏

[@Rubarb84]

Thank you so much for this lesson!!. It helped a great deal. You are right, most native speakers do not use whom which is the main reason why I have been confused about the usage of who and whom.

[@Muraryuen]

Thanks for this lesson. Although I'm expert at speaking English, I'm focusing on whom, not who, and was confused of how to use the word "whom." But when I saw this video, I know how whom works. Your explanation is very accurate.

[@terfficsibhatu5546]

Hi, Alex I started watching ur videos couple months ago. It helps me a lot, I just want say thanks a million. Keep up for the great work.

[@engvidAlex]

That's awesome to hear. Thanks for your support! I'm happy to help!

[@nayelivelery6561]

mmmmmm aya hay

[@TheAmateurGuitarist]

Stumbled upon your video and subscribed to your channel. Brilliant explanation! Quick question about this variation of the original sentence that you refer to in passing. "Gandhi is someone whom is admired (by many/most people)." You say that it's correct but how? Passive/Active voice probably is not the only criteria. (Also, of course, a clause in a sentence can be in passive voice without the sentence being in passive voice and vice-versa.) A) Correct: He is known. Incorrect: Him is known. Correct: He is a man whom everyone knows. Incorrect: He is a man who everyone knows. Correct: He is a man who is known by everyone. Incorrect: He is a man whom is known by everyone. B) Correct: She is loved. Incorrect: Her is loved. Correct: She is a woman whom everyone loves. Incorrect: She is a woman who everyone loves. Correct: She is a woman who is admired by everyone. Incorrect: She is a woman whom is admired by everyone C) Correct: Alex is a teacher who is liked. Incorrect: Alex is a teacher whom is liked. Correct: Alex is a teacher whom the entire world likes. Incorrect: Alex is a teacher who the entire world likes. [ Correct: Gandhi is a person whom people talk about. = Gandhi is a person about whom people talk. Incorrect: Gandhi is a person who people talk about. = Gandhi is a person about who people talk. ] Similarly, shouldn't the correct usage be "Gandhi is someone who is admired (by many/most people.)"?

[@gabrielas.2322]

So great!! I’ve been living in USA for 8 months, and I think I’ve never seen anyone saying “whom”, and of course I didn’t use it too!! And I honestly didn’t know anything about it!! Thanks for clarifying all the rules!!

[@user-wi6ue9sn5i]

You're so a positive person and you teach very clearly. You're a teacher by nature!😊Thanks a lot!Hello from Ukraine!

[@FelipeYudi]

"Whom are they with?" Teacher! Is this question correct?

[@engvidAlex]

Yep. Think of the answer: "The person/people whom they're with..." Like I mentioned though, most people don't know this rule and will default to "who" in this question, myself included. Keep it in mind for formal writing, but don't worry about it too much in speaking.

[@gboldero1]

@@engvidAlex In a formal writing situation it's actually grammatically incorrect despite whom being grammatically correct it should be 'With whom are they?'.

[@irmaktemel7171]

@@gboldero1 It will be after 4 months but just wanted to say that it is optional to pull the prepositions in front of the relative clause. The way you mentioned is more formal but it isn’t informal to use the other one. Well i am no expert however, that’s what i was taught

[@englishiseasywithihab6067]

After "who" we usually use a verb, but after "whome" we usually use a noun.

[@szd7627]

how about if it is an adjective?

[@fedaawael3723]

@@szd7627 There will be a verb after this adjective so I think we will use " who"

[@DaniloRodriguesSantana]

I'm from Brazil too, professor Alex, as cited in the example. It is a difficult theme like you said. Thank you very much. I watched a lot of your lessons.

[@thiagovertini5701]

You are the best teacher I've ever seen!!! I really appreciate your explanation about Who and Whom. Tks Alex !

[@thedanielpinna5185]

You rock Alex! Thanks for teaching us. The brazilians love you!

[@mohamedlbassir1397]

thank you teacher .beneficial video

[@engvidAlex]

My pleasure!

[@wilfredevertsz4701]

A very pragmatic individual. At the end he is aware that it's more important to speak the English that everyone else is using. It's less important to be pedantic.

[@trappedcosmos]

Why is this so much simpler than every other explanation on the internet

[@gracechin890]

i'm really like learning English with you ,thank you teacher 👍

[@engvidAlex]

That's great to hear! Thanks for clicking!

[@ahmeddunbar386]

Grace chin practice with me if you wish

[@bonana022]

I*

[@niceice3998]

You mean "I realy like"?

[@Arheidi]

@@niceice3998 really*

[@willianramoslacerda3163]

i expected for one direct explanation on last topic and i didn't get, however, you made my consciousness lighter for teaching my english studants, i liked your video and subscribed myself, thanks for your work.

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks. I hope the content is useful!

[@rahultyagi2005]

Great

[@qwertyqwerty1955]

I love this video ! I watched it because I want to know when to properly use who and whom. True, most people misuse these terms. However, if one is speaking to an English teacher, such as yourself, he/she will come acrosee as more educated. Thank you for explaining this.

[@gani1203]

For me alex is one of the best teachers his accent is very clear and easy to understand. Thank you alex for your videos I've learned a lot.

[@rosangelabernardino2121]

Hi, I'm from Brazil. Thanks a lot. Excelent lesson! 👏🏼😀

[@elifuller4862]

Excellent*

[@BeatrizAlves-kt3jq]

Eu também👍

[@esamalkhateeb5356]

Thx man I’m a teacher and I was having problems and everything is clear now

[@engvidAlex]

No problem. There is slightly more to it, but I hope this clears up a lot of confusion.

[@nejlaradpour2893]

Hi, Alex You are great. I’v had problem with using relative pronouns since now, but after watching your video I recognize the different between subject and object relatives and using verb and noun after them. I appreciate you🙏💐

[@bhuvaneshwariwari5478]

I know the teacher who explains clearly... That credit goes to you sir... Thanks Mr. Alex.. I'm your big fan

[@caiquedias5772]

Shout out from Brazil! o/

[@ChineloBelico]

Boa!

[@samueo7033]

eu recomendaria não traduzir, mas sim, formar frases ou até mesmo repetir as frases do vídeo para melhor entendimento, é um método que uso

[@mahsaseddigh593]

The students, most of whom watch this video, admire the teacher! The teacher whom I follow teaches clearly and consisely.

[@camilag4243]

what an EXCELLENT explanation, very clear and very straight to the point. I have always watched your videos because you are one of the best teachers on youtube. Greetings from Colombia and THANK YOU so much for erasing our doubts!

[@michelesilvestri3672]

Alex, the teacher who write Gandhi in a wrong way ....😊😊😊

[@danss1980]

Chirley OLiveira : Beautiful Chirley, who made a mistake and whom I'm correcting now, was supposed to say "make a mistake" instead of "wrong" (that is an adjective, actually). Lol! Cheers! ;-)

[@jumperontheline]

Daniel SS The only mistakes Michele (don't know who Chirley is) made were: 'write' should have been 'writes' (or actually 'wrote', since we don't know that he always spells it incorrectly, it may only have been on this occasion) and 'a wrong way' should have been 'the wrong way'.

[@jumperontheline]

Daniel SS However, I would say he 'spelled it incorrectly', as writing is not necessarily the same as spelling, ie: it could refer to handwriting or grammar.

[@jumperontheline]

Daniel SS '... whom I'm correcting now ...' should be '... whom I am now correcting ... ' : )

[@jumperontheline]

Daniel SS Also: '... should have said ... ' rather than '... was supposed to say ...'

[@misadventurousguy3859]

Sadly no one use the word "whom" in 2018 anymore !

[@mthiyagaraja8770]

The teacher who taught this lesson is one whom made the students well understood about this lesson. .

[@ishmael4489]

Great explanation! I wanted the learn the difference because I'm learning German and they have separate words for who and whom ('Wer' and 'Wen') and I always just say 'who'. It turns out learning German is teaching me my own language!😅 Thanks for the video.

[@fabiolima6034]

I loved the class. I loved your channel. I'm already addict on it. Congratulations for the explanation. You're a really great teacher! Thanks Alex and EngVid!

[@cfvmj]

hello teacher, there are many people from Brasil who want to learn English. A huge hug.

[@vitorhugocanhotinha]

Mr Alex, the teacher whom everyone loves, because, he is who teaches english very well!

[@claudiodeluka2128]

Very Clear! Thanks for your help. For the first time I could understand the difference between them.

[@leonelseifert3538]

I have learned much more watching classes all in English like yours and you do that amazingly thanks!

[@KkhyberEmir]

Alex is someone whom I admire the most in the entire universe.

[@juliocesarlimadesousa9109]

Great explanation, Alex. I got it now. Thanks a lot! I'll watch this lesson again on Engvid. Bye!

[@keouine]

Alex is a great teacher. He knows what he's talking about. I wondered whether he'd get to using whom when who is correct. I just read an article on MSNBC and the journalist overwhomed. "He (Carville) took particular aim at Bernie Sanders whom WRONG he fears could lead the party to defeat in November." Reason. he fears is a parenthetical, remove it and who becomes the obvious choice.

[@caiolobato7992]

teacher Alex, you're the best, i saw a bunch of videos about the difference between "Whom x Who", included from brazilian teachers (I'm brazilian), but just here, I could really learn it. thanks a lot. {I apologize for my poor English}. I just'd like to say thank you.

[@engvidAlex]

Any time. Thanks for checking out the video, Caio.

[@fnstation]

I watched soooo many vids on this and this is the most clear I've ever seen

[@peterarinze9855]

Alex, who is one of the best teachers on KZbin, is an incredibly talented teacher. You're that teacher whom I admire his teaching method! Thanks a million for this amazing lesson; it's really helpful. Kindly point it out if there's any mistake in my use of 'WHO, WHOM' in my comments above.

[@joaoandre7488]

Thank you Teacher. This lesson it was very helpful for me, and I understood how to use Who, and Whom in different situations. I usually follow your lesson for learn more and more. Thank you again .

[@duns37]

You are a teacher who explains very clearly:-) Thaks a lot, Alex!

[@alirhimi5455]

Thanks Alex, that was one of the most useful lesson I've ever seen.

[@Itsameow]

Thank you for clarifying that, I needed to be sure.

[@jeandamascenenizeyimana8655]

I admire your talent in teaching. I gave you ten out of ten in this very good lesson. May God bless you.

[@mortezamozafari3956]

You are the person who is teaching amazing And you are the person whom I learned a lot from

[@baxtiyaratakishiyev9851]

I love what you do,thanks for really good prononciation. I hope videos like this help me and other perdons who began learning English to understand it better

[@khadimez4698]

You've cealred my mind on this topic youpiiiii I finally get it now ☺️so thanks for that teacher Alex 😊

[@quickly2593]

Awesome! I'm not a native speaker and my English teacher has never explained this question! Now I understand! Appreciate!

[@ekenedavid6576]

I truly appreciate your lesson. You have cleared my confusion. God bless you Sir

[@firdausinadya2880]

Thank you, Alex. Your explanation is so clear and easy to understand :)

[@paulocesaralvarengaalvaren9881]

MY GOD. Mr. ALEX, YOU ARE THE BEST TEACHER I HAVE MET, YOU EXPLANATIONS ARE SO CLEAR. OTHERWISE I'M SURE, ALL THE TEACHER FROM ENDVIG ENGLISH COURSE ARE AWSOME, CONGRATULATIONS !!

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks, Paulo Cesar! I appreciate your enthusiasm. Haha.

[@emmasworld9037]

Best video on this grammar point on KZbin! Thank you

[@raghukakinada9332]

Thanks a lot. That was a really useful lesson for me for I have always been confused between who and whom.

[@bigtagmusic6398]

You are best english teacher that I ever seen in KZbin. Thank you so much.

[@lorawasilisa6367]

Thank you Alex. It was very helpful information. I'm philologist and know, how important it is. Thank you very much.

[@souqnarn]

Hi, thank you for the video. I'm sharing this video with my students since I have a hard time explaining who vs. whom to my ESL students.

[@loyalram4363]

I hesitate to admit this, but I am getting an MA in History next semester, and I needed this video. Thank you.

[@guillermoalvarezlabastida4628]

Teacher Alex! You're great and I want to express my gratitude for these incredible videos.

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks Guillermo. That's very kind!

[@medstudent271]

you are the person who explain well the lessons and whom I really respect , keep going ( i hope that this sentence is grammatically correct 😅)

[@radiofail]

I got that right off the bat! finally...

[@flavio-comunidadejudaicaec1500]

English is not easy, but is very important to listen and pay attention all the time in teacher that speak clear. Thanks

[@fernandorosillocorrales6331]

Great class. I understood it very well. Thanks a lot for this amazing class. You explained it very well. Now I know how to use who and whom. Great job teacher👍👍👍

[@ThomasCorfield]

Thank you . Finally, clarity. I corrected several people at work today. It felt fantastic.

[@mariamora7258]

Excellent explanation, really clear and good examples. Thank you!