IXL | Identify and correct pronoun errors with "who"

Click to correct the pronoun if needed.

Mr. Nicholson was surprised that Warren, whose virtually never late, arrived twenty-five minutes after class had started.

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Learn with an example

question

Click to correct the pronoun if needed.

Maddie feels confident going into her tennis match against Audrey, who she defeated in last year's tournament.

key idea

The pronouns who and whoever are subject pronouns. They act as subjects of sentences or clauses. The pronouns whom and whomever are object pronouns. They act as objects of action verbs or prepositions.

To figure out whether to use who/whoever or whom/whomever, restate the sentence or clause with a personal pronoun. If the personal pronoun is a subject pronoun (he, she, or they), use who/whoever. If the personal pronoun is an object pronoun (him, her, or them), use whom/whomever.

Who/Whom painted this beautiful mural?
green checkmark, She painted this beautiful mural.
red X symbol, Her painted this beautiful mural.
The subject pronoun who should be used.

Peter, who/whom you met yesterday, has four brothers.
green checkmark, You met him yesterday.
red X symbol, You met he yesterday.
The object pronoun whom should be used.

Do not confuse whose with who's. Whose shows possession. Who's is a contraction for who is or who has.

Whose jacket is on the floor?

Who's at the door?

solution

Look at the clause containing the pronoun.

who/whom she defeated in last year's tournament

Restate the clause using a personal pronoun.

green checkmark, she defeated her in last year's tournament
red X symbol, she defeated she in last year's tournament

The restated clause uses the object pronoun her, so the object pronoun whom is correct.

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Z.1Identify and correct errors with subject and object pronouns

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