Tutoring English, you’re bound to be asked when to use who vs when to use whom.

“Whom do you love?”  asked George Thorogood.  Actually, I think he asked “Who do you love?”  However, he should have used whom.

Whom is for object, whereas who is for subject.  Therefore, the following are correct:

Who loves you?

Whom do you love?

With whomever you discuss who and whom, remember the distinction:  whom for object, who for subject.  However, in a complicated sentence, the object of one verb can be the subject of another.  If it’s a subject, use who – even if it’s also an object of another verb or preposition.

Give the copies to whomever you like.

Give the copies to whoever asks for them.

In the second sentence, the “who” asks for the copies, making that person the subject of “asks”.  Therefore, use “who” rather than “whom”.

How do you tell object and subject apart?  With verbs, the subject does the action, while the object receives the action.  With prepositions, the object follows the preposition.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.