Sunday, April 20, 2008

How to use 'whom' in English correctly

The use of 'whom' usually poses problems to students of English.
In this post, I would like to show readers how to use 'whom' correctly.

1 'whom' is used to ask for the object in a sentence.

Example 1

Statement: He gave a present to John.

Question: To whom did he give a present?

Example 2

Statement: I scolded her yesterday.

Question: Whom did you scold yesterday?

2 'whom' is used in front of preposition in a compound sentence.

Example 1

He is my friend. I usually discuss things with him.

He is my friend with whom I discuss things.

Example 2

The teacher is here. You gave your address to her yesterday.

The teacher to whom you gave your address yesterday is here.

3 'Whom' replaces the object in a compound sentence.

Example 1:

The man is my uncle. You saw my uncle just now.

The man whom you saw just now is my uncle.

Example 2:

The lady is an air hostess. You met the lady in the lobby.

The lady whom you met in the lobby is an air hostess.

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