Who vs. Whom: The Him/He Trick That Never Fails
Who is the subject; whom is the object. Answer the question with he or him and you will always know which to use. Here is the trick, with examples.
'Whom' is the word people either avoid entirely or sprinkle in wrongly to sound formal. The rule underneath it is simple, and there is a trick that settles every case in a couple of seconds.
The rule
'Who' is the SUBJECT, the one doing the action. 'Whom' is the OBJECT, the one on the receiving end. Who called? (who does the calling.) Whom did you call? (the call lands on whom.)
The him/he trick
Answer the question with 'he' or 'him'. If the answer is HE, use WHO. If the answer is HIM, use WHOM. The trick is that 'him' and 'whom' both end in M, so they pair up.
"___ should I ask?" Answer: ask HIM. Him → whom. So: Whom should I ask? "___ is at the door?" Answer: HE is. He → who. So: Who is at the door?
One honest note
In everyday and even most academic writing, starting a question with 'who' where a strict grammarian wants 'whom' is widely accepted now. Use 'whom' after a preposition, where it still clearly belongs (to whom, for whom, with whom), and use the him/he trick when you want to be sure.
The Grammar Checker catches who/whom and the other formal slips, and explains the rule so it sticks.
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