Whoever and whomever are two terms which are confused more than often and people have many assumptions about them. Some believe that whomever is a formal and correct version. However, there is an underlying rule which governs the proper use of these terms. Thus, it makes it essential to know the difference between whoever vs whomever. Through this article, we will go through their differences in detail so that you can make correct use of these terms in the future. It is quite easy to choose whoever or whomever. Whomever is an object pronoun. Thus, it works like the pronouns him, her and them. For instance, give the file to whomever in the office.
On the other hand, whoever is a subject pronoun. Thus, it works like the pronouns he, she and they. For instance, whoever wrote this essay should win an award. In other words, both whoever and whomever are relative pronouns like who, whom, which, whose and that. We use them to connect a noun to a phrase or clause for making a noun phrase. But, please remember that whoever ad whomever are not interchangeable. So, let us move on to the difference between them and their uses.
Difference between Whoever Vs Whomever
The major difference between whoever and whomever lies in the use of them in a sentence. We use whoever as a subject pronoun while we use whomever as an object pronoun.
Just like who and whom, we use the letter M to tell whoever apart from whomever. Him and whomever are both object pronouns containing the letter M. So, you can replace whomever with him, you will be using it in the correct manner.
Further, if you want to use he, which is a subject pronoun, you need to make the sentence correct and make use of whoever. Just remember that both these terms are different parts of speech.
A great tip to remember their difference is the mnemonic ‘hmm’. Which one will you prefer, ‘I want her to buy me this’ or ‘I want she to buy me this’. As the former is correct, you must use whomever.
Thus, if you get confused in a sentence, just try to substitute another pronoun like he or him to decide whether you must make use of ‘whoever’ or ‘whomever’.
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When/How to Use Whoever
As you know by now that whoever is a subject pronoun, that means it is similar to I, he, she, they and who. Thus, being a subject pronoun it refers to the subject or actor in a sentence, the person who is performing the main action.
As a result, it does work like any other subject pronoun. Thus, you may use whoever in any context in place of I, she, he or they. Let us take a look at the incorrect and correct use of whoever vs whomever to know the difference:
Incorrect: Whomever is in charge of this department?
Correct: Whoever is in charge of this department?
When/How to Use Whomever
Whomever is an object pronoun which means that one can use it in any place where they could also use me, him, her, them or whom. As object pronouns, they refer to the object of a sentence, the person who is the recipient or target of the action.
Let us take a look at the incorrect and correct use of whoever vs whomever to know the difference:
Incorrect: Give it to whomever.
Correct: Give it to whoever.
Examples of Whoever – Using Whoever in a Sentence
We make use of whoever in place of I, we, he, she and they to perform the action in the sentence when we are not aware of the subject of that sentence. Thus, it takes on different uses that depend on the purpose of the sentence. Whoever is usually the first word in the sentence. However, it must only come before the sentence’s verb.
- Whoever gets to the hotel first should book rooms for all of us.
- Whoever wants to go for a drive should get in the car now.
- Whoever wants the last piece of cake can have it.
- Whoever finishes their homework first gets a bar of extra chocolate.
- Whoever wins the presidential election will make a victory speech.
Examples of Whomever – Using Whomever in a Sentence
Whomever is an object pronoun like me, us, him, her and them. They are the ones receiving the action in the sentence. Let us take a look at the uses of whomever in a sentence to understand it better:
- I impress whomever I meet.
- I will interrogate whomever you think is suspicious.
- Jenna should give the medal to whomever she thinks deserves it.
- The singer dedicated her performance to whomever she met during the concert.
- The student union nominates whomever they believe will do a good job.
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