Page 748 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 748
Step 2: Substitute he for who and him for whom, and see which one
makes sense.
Who He could he rely on.
Whom Him could he rely on.
Neither of these sounds natural, so the thing to do is shuffle them a
bit.
He could rely on he.
He could rely on him.
Because “He could rely on him” makes sense, you can now rewrite
the sentence with confidence, using whom.
John needed help, but whom could he rely on?
Practice 17-5 Who and Whom in
Questions
Use the substitution method to decide whether to use who or whom in
the following sentences.
1. (Who, Whom) planted that tree so close to the house?
2. “The package is for (who, whom)?” asked the bleary-eyed man
at the door.
3. (Who, Whom) is responsible for the peanut butter and jelly
hand prints on the window?
