who and whom in questions

The choice of who or whom is determined by the pronoun’s function within the question.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Whom was responsible for creating that computer virus? Revised sentence: Who was responsible for creating that computer virus?

Who is the subject of the verb was.

When whom functions as an object in a question, it appears out of normal order, before both the subject and the verb. To choose the correct pronoun, you must mentally restructure the question.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Who did the Democratic Party nominate in 1992? Revised sentence: Whom did the Democratic Party nominate in 1992?

Whom is the direct object of the verb did nominate. Restructure: The Democratic Party did nominate whom in 1992?

Exercises:

Pronoun case (who and whom) 1

Pronoun case (who and whom) 2

Pronoun case: review 1

Pronoun case: review 2