The he or him test
| Sentence | Answer it | Right word | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| ___ left the lights on? | He left them on. | Who | He is a subject pronoun, so who. |
| To ___ should I send this? | Send it to him. | whom | Him is an object pronoun, and it follows to. |
| ___ did you invite? | I invited her. | Whom | Her is an object, so whom. |
| The girl ___ won the race is my cousin. | She won the race. | who | Inside its own clause, the word is the subject of won. |
| The coach, ___ everyone respected, retired. | Everyone respected him. | whom | Inside its clause, the word is the object of respected. |
Whoever and whomever
The same test works, but only inside the small clause where the word sits. In Give the prize to ___ finishes first, the clause is ___ finishes first. Answer it: he finishes first. So write whoever, even though to comes before it, because the word is the subject of finishes.
Worked examples
Example 1: a question
Problem (Who / Whom) are you going to the movies with?
- Turn it into a statement and answer it: I am going with him.
- Him means the object form.
- In formal writing, move the preposition to the front: With whom are you going to the movies?
Answer Whom are you going to the movies with? (casual speech often says who)
Example 2: a clause in the middle
Problem The author (who / whom) I met at the library signed my book.
- Find the small clause: ___ I met at the library.
- Rearrange it: I met ___ at the library. I met her.
- Her is an object, so whom.
Answer The author whom I met at the library signed my book.
Common mistakes and fixes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Using whom to sound formal when the word is a subject | Whom is calling? is wrong. Test: he is calling, so who. |
| Letting a word like to decide | Look at the word's job inside its own clause, as in to whoever finishes first. |
| Being tricked by I think in the middle | The student who I think won is right: ignore I think, and he won. |
| Mixing up who's and whose | Who's means who is. Whose shows ownership: Whose bag is this? |
Practice
Five who or whom questions
___ left the lights on in the gym?
- Who
- Whom
- Whose
- Who's
Show answer
Answer: Who
Answer it: he left them on. He is a subject, so who. Whose shows ownership and who's means who is.
In formal writing: To ___ should I address the letter?
- who
- whom
- whose
- who's
Show answer
Answer: whom
Address it to him. Him is an object, and it comes right after the preposition to, so whom.
The student ___ won the award gave a short speech.
- who
- whom
- whose
- which
Show answer
Answer: who
Inside the clause, ___ won the award, the word is the subject: she won. So who. Which is not used for people in this kind of clause.
In formal writing: The coach, ___ everyone respected, retired last year.
- who
- whom
- whose
- who's
Show answer
Answer: whom
Inside the clause, everyone respected ___: everyone respected him. That is an object, so whom.
Give the prize to ___ finishes first.
- whoever
- whomever
- whom
- who's
Show answer
Answer: whoever
The word is the subject of finishes inside its own clause: he finishes first. So whoever, even though to comes before the clause. Whomever and whom are object forms, and who's means who is.
Frequently asked questions
Is whom dying out?
In everyday speech, many people use who in every case, and Purdue OWL notes that whom is not used very often in American English. But it is still expected in formal writing, especially right after a preposition: to whom, for whom, with whom.
What about whose?
Whose shows ownership: Whose jacket is this? It is a different word from who's, which is short for who is or who has: Who's coming? Test it by saying who is.
Does the SAT test who and whom?
College Board's list of Form, Structure, and Sense skills names agreement, verb forms, modifiers, plurals and possessives, but not who versus whom by name. It matters most in formal essays and English classes. Learn the he or him test and you will rarely miss it.
Sources
- Purdue OWL, Pronoun Case, accessed October 1, 2026
- Purdue OWL, Introduction to Defining Clauses, accessed October 1, 2026
