Who or Whom ❓❓❓

Do I use who or whom?

This is something I see native speakers making mistakes with and something my students ask me about, so here is some information about it as it is obviously confusing.

Both words refer to people and are either question words or relative clauses markers (relative pronouns)

We use who for the subjects in a sentence or question. The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing the action in the sentence or what the rest of the sentence is about.

Who is teaching the new course ?

The teacher who is teaching the new course is a colleague of mine.

We use whom for objects in a sentence or question. The object of a sentence is the person or thing the action is happening to.
Whom is considered quite formal and it is not used as much these days as it used to be.

Whom will you recommend as a good teacher ?

The teacher whom I admire is very experienced and personable.

Whom is used after prepositions too as this is also considered an object in a sentence or question (indirect object).

To whom are you speaking ?

My friend, in whom I confide, is very trustworthy . Note : My friend, whom I confide in, is very trustworthy is also correct.

You may not hear whom very much in everyday conversation but if you would like to use it, I hope this has helped you understand how to use it correctly and to understand the difference between who and whom😊