Use relative pronouns: who and whom
Key Notes:
A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause that describes a noun or pronoun.
The relative pronouns who and whom give information about people.
To figure out whether to use who or whom, restate the relative clause with a personal pronoun. If the clause uses a subject pronoun (he, she or they), use who. If the clause uses an object pronoun (him, her, or them), use whom.
The woman who lives next door grows tomatoes in her garden.
She lives next door.
Peter, whom you met yesterday, has four younger brothers.
You met him yesterday.
Learn with an example
➡️ Complete the sentence with the best relative pronoun.
When Richard opened the magazine, he saw photographs of the environmentalists ______ he had seen gathering data in the forest.
- The dependent clause gives information about people. You can restate the dependent clause with the object pronoun them, so use the relative pronoun whom.
- When Richard opened the magazine, he saw photographs of the environmentalists whom he had seen gathering data in the forest.
- The dependent clause can be restated as ‘He had seen them gathering data in the forest.’
➡️ Complete the sentence with the best relative pronoun.
Computing pioneer Charles Babbage famously collaborated with Ada Lovelace, _____ some historians call the first computer programmer.
- The dependent clause gives information about a person. You can restate the dependent clause with the object pronoun her, so use the relative pronoun whom.
Computing pioneer Charles Babbage famously collaborated with Ada Lovelace, whom some historians call the first computer programmer. - The dependent clause can be restated as ‘Some historians call her the first computer programmer.’
➡️ Complete the sentence with the best relative pronoun.
Saint Margaret, after _____ Margaret Island in the Danube River was named, was a thirteenth-century nun who lived in a convent on the island.
- The dependent clause gives information about a person. You can restate the dependent clause with the object pronoun her, so use the relative pronoun whom.
- Saint Margaret, after whom Margaret Island in the Danube River was named, was a thirteenth-century nun who lived in a convent on the island.
- The dependent clause can be restated as ‘Margaret Island in the Danube River was named after her.’
➡️ Complete the sentence with the best relative pronoun.
University of North Carolina scientists ________ study the effects of ageing argue that a combination of genetic and environmental factors control the speed of the ageing process in humans.
- The dependent clause gives information about people. You can restate the dependent clause with the subject pronoun they, so use the relative pronoun who.
- University of North Carolina scientists who study the effects of ageing argue that a combination of genetic and environmental factors control the speed of the ageing process in humans.
- The dependent clause can be restated as ‘They study the effects of ageing.’
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