Who or Whom?

Subject pronouns replace the noun performing the action in a sentence. In simpler terms, "I," "she," "he," "we," and "they" are all subject pronouns.

___ gave the teacher a present today.

Object pronouns replace the noun receiveing the action in a sentence. In simpler terms, "me," "him," "her," us," and "them" are all object pronouns.

The teacher gave ___ a present today.

Who is a SUBJECT pronoun.

It should be used as the subject of a sentence.

Whom is an OBJECT pronoun.

It is used as the direct object or the object of a preposition.

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick:

If you can replace the word with "he," "she," "they," or "we," use WHO.

If you can replace it with "him," "her," "them," or "us," use WHOM.

For example, "Who is the best in class?" If you rewrote that question as a statement, "She is the best in class" makes more sense than "Her is the best in class."

Use whom when a sentence needs an object pronoun like him or her. For example, "This is for whom?" If you rewrote this question as a statement, "This is for him" makes more sense than "This is for he."

Who handed it to her?

His friend, who lives in Minneapolis, came to visit.

People who take time to be kind make the world a better place.

They are the one whom I love.

To whom am I supposed to give this Valentine?

Those flowers came from whom?