SharkWrites: SharkWrites Blog

When selecting the appropriate terms to convey your ideas, one of the most challenging things can be to make sure you adhere to what can seem like an incessant list of rules regulating usage. Although grammar may be overwhelming at times, it can be easier to focus on specific phrases or terms that writers most often find confusing. Today we will focus on such a term--"who"--and outline some specific rules relating to it usage.

Here are the rules with examples of proper usage:

1. Only use "who" when referring to people (not to inanimate objects, for instance)

2. Use "that" when referring to a collective, or when the person is a direct object of the sentence

3. Use "that" when referring to people generically (i.e., actors) rather than specifically (i.e., Eddie Murphy)

4. Use "which" when introducing a clause adding supplemental information to your sentence’s primary focus.
Note: The easiest way to tell if a clause is adding "supplemental" information is to try reading the sentence without that phrase and seeing if it is still a complete sentence.  Supplemental clauses highlighted below.  Remember to include a comma before and/or after "which," depending on how it is used in a sentence.

5. Distinguish between "who" and "whom"

The term "who" acts as a subject (the part of the sentence acting) while whom is the object (the recipient of the subject’s action)

If it becomes too difficult to keep track of subjects and objects, you may employ the they/them rule: use "who" in any case where you can substitute "they" and use "whom" in any case where it would make sense to substitute with "them."