The word "who" is a pronoun used primarily to refer to a person or people. It functions as the subject of a verb in a sentence or clause. For example, in the question "Who left?" or the relative clause "the visitor who came yesterday," "who" acts as the subject performing the action
. Traditional grammar distinguishes "who" as the nominative (subject) form and "whom" as the objective (object) form. "Whom" is used when referring to the object of a verb or preposition, such as in "Whom did you ask?" or "To whom are we obliged?" However, in modern informal English, "whom" is less commonly used, especially in speech, and "who" often replaces it except in formal writing or when the preposition immediately precedes the pronoun
. A practical way to decide between "who" and "whom" is to substitute "he/she/they" (subjective pronouns) or "him/her/them" (objective pronouns) in the sentence. If the subjective pronouns fit, use "who"; if the objective pronouns fit, use "whom"
. In summary:
- Use who when the pronoun is the subject of the clause (doing the action).
- Use whom when the pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition (receiving the action).
Examples:
- Who is your personal trainer? (subject)
- Whom did you invite to the prom? (object)
Additionally, "who" can introduce relative clauses and is often interchangeable with "that" when referring to people
. If you are interested in other uses of "anywho," it is an informal variant of "anyway," used as a conversational filler or transition word
. If your query was about the website "AnyWho," it is a free online people search directory that provides contact information based on public records and offers reverse phone lookup services
