Who vs Whom Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Under the traditional formal rule, how should you complete “___ are they speaking about?”
Who, because the pronoun begins the question
Whom, because the pronoun is the object of the preposition “about”
Whom, because the pronoun is the object of “speaking”
Who, because the people speaking are the subjects
2. Complete the question: “___ did you say the editor praised?”
Who, because the pronoun comes before “did”
Who, because the subject of “praised” is a person
Whom, because “say” always takes an object pronoun
Whom, because the editor praised him or her
3. Complete the question: “___ was selected to represent the class?”
Whom, because the person receives the selection
Who, because the pronoun is the grammatical subject of “was selected”
Whom, because passive sentences always use object pronouns
Who, because “whom” cannot refer to one person
4. Which sentence uses the relative pronoun correctly in formal English?
The engineer whom designed the bridge received an award.
The engineer who designed the bridge received an award.
The engineer, whom was the lead designer, received an award.
The engineer who the committee praised her received an award.
5. Complete the sentence: “To ___ should I address the letter?”
Whom, because the pronoun is the object of the preposition “to”
Who, because questions always require “who”
Whom, because the pronoun is the subject of “should address”
Who, because the letter is the subject
6. Use the he/him substitution test for “___ should receive the final ticket?” Which analysis is correct?
“Who” is correct only because the sentence ends with a question mark.
“Whom” is correct because “receive” normally takes an object.
“Whom” is correct because the ticket is being given to someone.
“Who” is correct because “he should receive it” works, while “him should receive it” does not.
7. Which sentence correctly uses a pronoun after a preposition?
The client for whom we prepared the proposal approved it.
The client for who we prepared the proposal approved it.
The client whom we prepared the proposal approved it.
The client for whom prepared the proposal approved it.
8. Which sentence follows the traditional formal distinction between “who” and “whom”?
Whom will present the opening remarks?
The host thanked the guest whom had organized the event.
Whom did Maya invite to the panel?
Who did the award go to?
9. Complete the question: “___ do you think will lead the meeting?”
Whom, because the blank follows “think”
Who, because the pronoun is the subject of “will lead”
Whom, because the question asks about a person
Who, because “who” must begin every question about a person
10. Which pair correctly completes “___ knows ___ the director chose?”
Whom knows whom the director chose?
Whom knows who the director chose?
Who knows who the director chose?
Who knows whom the director chose?
11. Which statement correctly summarizes the traditional formal-English rule?
Use “who” after prepositions and “whom” before verbs.
Use “who” for direct objects and “whom” for subjects.
Use “who” as a subject and “whom” as an object.
Use “who” for singular people and “whom” for plural groups.
12. Complete the question: “___ did she say was waiting in the lobby?”
Who, because the pronoun is the subject of “was waiting”
Whom, because waiting is mentioned as an object of “say”
Who, because every question about identity requires “who”
Whom, because the pronoun follows “did she say”
13. Complete the embedded question: “Do you know to ___ the scholarship will be awarded?”
Who, because the recipient is the subject of the sentence
Who, because embedded questions do not use “whom”
Whom, because the pronoun is the object of the preposition “to”
Whom, because passive constructions always require “whom”
14. How should the sentence “Whom is at the door?” be corrected?
Change it to “Who is at the door?” because the pronoun is the subject of “is.”
Change it to “Whom are at the door?” because the verb form is the problem.
Change it to “To whom is at the door?” because “whom” needs a preposition.
Leave it unchanged because a person at a location is an object.
15. Which sentence follows the traditional formal rule?
I met a researcher whom developed a new method.
I met a researcher who the laboratory recruited her last year.
I met a researcher who developed a new method.
I met a researcher whom was developing a new method.
16. Complete the sentence: “The consultant ___ the manager recommended starts Monday.”
Who, because “consultant” is the subject of the full sentence
Whom, because every relative clause describing a person uses “whom”
Who, because the pronoun appears directly before “the manager”
Whom, because the manager recommended him or her