Who vs. Whom

I didn't envision including grammar lessons when I decided to create a blog last weekend. However, here we are.

Many people struggle with selecting which pronoun to use when it comes to who and whom. I personally struggled with this concept for awhile myself. Fortunately, I have clarified my confusion, and I would be delighted to do the same for you. You must first consider if you are referring to the subject or the object in the sentence.

Subject - Person doing something

Object - Thing having something done to it

Who is the proper pronoun to use when referring to the subject.
Whom is the proper pronoun to use when referring to the object.

Let's take a look at an example.

Eric voted for Cal Ripken.

Eric is the person DOING SOMETHING in the sentence, so he is the SUBJECT.
Cal is HAVING SOMETHING DONE for him, so he is the OBJECT.

As a result, the following two questions are correct:

"Who voted for Cal Ripken?"
"Whom did Eric vote for?"

Here are a few additional examples:

- Maddox threw the first pitch of the game past Eckstein.

"Who threw the first pitch of the game past Eckstein?"
"Whom was the first pitch thrown past?

- Bernard took Cindy to the dance.

"Who took Cindy to the dance?"
"Whom did Bernard take to the dance?"

- Benny pushed past Ralph.

"Who pushed past Ralph?"
"Whom did Benny push past?"

I know you're thinking, "Oh boy, posts about grammar...this blog is going to be a blast to follow." I don't anticipate any grammar posts in the near future, so don't worry! I'll pass along a tip every now and then, but this blog will mostly focus on my weekend trips around the Twin Cities. Now, if only that snow would melt a little quicker. That's all for now.

Eric