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Usage Contextformalacademic

Note: Often unnecessary in casual writing.

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A practical test for choosing who or whom in modern writing.

Whom

//huːm// pron, slang

Definitions

Pronoun

1
What person or people; which person or people.; As the object of a verb. formal, interrogative
"Whom did you ask?"
2
Honorific alternative letter-case form of whom, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context. alt-of, honorific
3
What person or people; which person or people.; As the object of a preposition. formal, interrogative
"To whom are you referring?"
4
Used to refer to a previously mentioned person or people. formal, relative
"That is the woman whom I spoke to earlier. (defining)"
5
The person(s) whom; whomever. formal
"To whom it may concern, all business of John Smith Ltd. has now been transferred to Floggitt & Runne."

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6
Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams. formal, informal
"Whom was Lemmy bassist for? Motörhead!"

Etymology

From Middle English whom, wham, from Old English hwām, hwǣm, from Proto-Germanic *hwammai, dative case of *hwaz (“who, what”). Cognate with Scots wham (“whom”), German wem (“whom, to whom”), Danish hvem (“who, whom”), Swedish vem (“who, whom”).

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