whom

Universal Words pronoun (formal) used instead of 'who' as the object of a verb or preposition: Whom did they invite? * To whom should I write? * The author whom you criticized in your review has written a reply. * Her mother, in whom she confided, said she would support her unconditionally. ______________________________ GRAMMARPOINT whom Whom is not used very often in spoken English. Who is usually used as the object pronoun, especially in questions: Who did you invite to the party? The use of whom as the pronoun after prepositions is very formal: To whom should I address the letter? * He asked me with whom I had discussed it. In spoken English it is much more natural to use who and put the preposition at the end of the sentence: Who should I address the letter to? * He asked me who I had discussed it with. In defining relative clauses the object pronoun whom is not often used. You can either use who or that, or leave out the pronoun completely: The family (who/that/whom) I met at the airport were very kind. In non-defining relative clauses who or, more formally, whom (but not that) is used and the pronoun cannot be left out: Our doctor, who/whom we all liked very much, retired last week. This pattern is not used very much in spoken English. ______________________________