whom

[ hoom ]

pronoun

1. the objective case of who none:

   Whom did you call? Of whom are you speaking? With whom did you stay?

2. the dative case of who none:

   You gave whom the book?

whom

/ huːm /

pronoun

1. the objective form of who , used when who is not the subject of its own clause

   whom did you say you had seen?

   he can't remember whom he saw

Usage

It was formerly considered correct to use whom whenever the objective form of who was required. This is no longer thought to be necessary and the objective form who is now commonly used, even in formal writing: there were several people there who he had met before . Who cannot be used directly after a preposition – the preposition is usually displaced, as in the man ( who ) he sold his car to . In formal writing whom is preferred in sentences like these: the man to whom he sold his car . There are some types of sentence in which who cannot be used: the refugees, many of whom were old and ill, were allowed across the border

Confusables Note

See who none.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whom¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hwām, dative of interrogative pronoun hwā who none

Word History and Origins

Origin of whom¹

Old English hwām, dative of hwā who

Example Sentences

“Nate sings with might and passion,” says Thomas Rhett, another Nashville star for whom Smith has opened on tour.

From Los Angeles Times

Then he got an offer from a Christian label in Nashville; he moved again and immediately met a woman with whom he ended up eloping.

From Los Angeles Times

Tammy Faye Messner, the mascara-laden former wife of televangelist Jim Bakker, the charismatic TV preacher with the choir-boy face with whom she appeared on their popular Christian talk-variety show until his downfall amid scandal in the late 1980s, has died.

From Los Angeles Times

“X Factor” judges Simon Cowell and singer Cheryl Cole, Payne’s ex-fiancée with whom he shared a young son, were also in attendance, as was girlfriend Kate Cassidy, who was in Argentina with Payne before he died.

From Los Angeles Times

However, Chairwoman Stabenow’s proposed Farm Bill text has already faced sharp criticism from Republican legislators, many of whom argue the bill should put more “farm back in the Farm Bill.”

From Salon