Some of whom vs some of who: If you’ve ever paused mid-sentence wondering whether to write some of whom or some of who, you’re in excellent company. This is one of those grammar questions that trips up native speakers, advanced learners, and professional writers alike. The good news? Once you understand the rule — and a couple of reliable tricks — you’ll never second-guess it again.
Quick answer: Some of whom is always correct. Some of who is a grammatical error in standard English. The reason comes down to one simple principle: prepositions require the objective case, and whom is the objective form of who.
Why Does Your Brain Hate This Rule?
Because your ear has been lying to you for years.
In everyday speech, most people say “who” for everything. “Who did you invite?” instead of “Whom did you invite?” It sounds natural because spoken English has steadily relaxed the who/whom distinction over the past century. By the time you sit down to write something formal, the wrong form feels right — and the right form sounds stiff.
The problem is that writing holds a different standard. A casual tweet forgives a lot. A legal brief, a research paper, or a cover letter does not. The minute you type some of who in a professional document, a trained reader notices.
Core Concepts and Historical Evolution
Etymology and Old English Case System Erosion
English was once a heavily inflected language. Old English speakers marked subjects, objects, and possessives with distinct word endings — a system called grammatical case. Over the centuries, those endings wore away almost entirely.
<mark>The Norman Conquest of 1066 accelerated this erosion.</mark> As French speakers learned English, they simplified its grammar. By around 1500, most nouns had lost their case endings. Only pronouns held on: I/me, he/him, she/her, they/them — and crucially, who/whom.
Why did whom survive at all? Primarily because of prepositions. Speakers kept feeling the need to mark object relationships after words like of, to, with, and from. So phrases like to whom and of whom stayed grammatically intact even as other case markers vanished.
Grammatical Mechanics and Prepositional Object Case Requirement
Here’s the core rule, stated plainly:
Prepositions always take object pronouns.
This isn’t a style preference — it’s a structural requirement of English grammar. You don’t say “with he”; you say “with him.” You don’t say “to they”; you say “to them.” The exact same logic governs who and whom.
The word of in some of is a preposition. The pronoun that follows it must be in the objective case. The objective case of who is whom. Therefore:
- ✅ Some of whom — correct (objective case after preposition)
- ❌ Some of who — incorrect (subjective case after preposition)
See also: Quotation Marks When Quoting Yourself: The Complete Guide
How Context Shapes Usage: Real-World Examples
Professional and Academic Writing
Formal writing contexts enforce this rule strictly. <mark>Academic journals, legal documents, and professional reports flag of who as an error.</mark> Here are examples you’d expect in those contexts:
| Context | Correct Example |
|---|---|
| Academic paper | “The researchers surveyed 80 participants, some of whom reported no symptoms.” |
| Legal document | “The parties, some of whom were not present, were notified in writing.” |
| Business report | “We interviewed 15 clients, some of whom had used the service for over a decade.” |
| Journalism | “The committee members, some of whom serve in advisory roles, voted unanimously.” |
In each case, some of introduces a relative clause that adds detail about a group. The pronoun follows the preposition of, demanding the objective form whom.
Casual Conversation and Social Media
In informal speech and social media, the rule bends in practice. You’ll often see:
- “We met some investors, some of who came from overseas.”
- “I joined a book club, some of who I already knew.”
These sentences technically violate the grammar rule, but most readers scroll past without noticing. In texting or casual conversation, even grammar professionals rarely correct themselves in real time.
The verdict: If you’re tweeting, texting, or chatting, the world won’t end. If you’re submitting anything professional, use some of whom every time.
The Formality Gap: When Who Sounds Wrong
There’s a specific moment when who sounds visibly wrong — not just technically wrong. That’s when the construction is right next to the preposition:
❌ “I spoke to several experts, some of who I’d cited in my thesis.”
Even casual readers pause here. The word of pulls attention to what follows it, making the case error immediately apparent. Compare:
✅ “I spoke to several experts, some of whom I’d cited in my thesis.”
The version with whom reads smoothly and professionally.
See also: Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Literary Usage: How Classic Writers Handled Whom
Historical Usage in Classic Texts
Classic authors applied this rule without exception. Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Prejudice (1813): Elizabeth observes “three ladies before her with whom she had once been intimate.” Austen places whom after with because prepositions demanded the objective case in formal 19th-century prose. Charles Dickens, in Great Expectations (1861), chose whom after of consistently throughout his novels. Victorian grammar treated any deviation as a sign of poor education.
These writers never used who after a preposition. Breaking the rule would have signaled careless editing at best, illiteracy at worst.
Modern Professional Writing Patterns
Contemporary journalism keeps whom alive in formal contexts. The New York Times and The Guardian both regularly publish constructions like:
- “He interviewed ten artists, some of whom had never exhibited before.”
- “The students, some of whom received scholarships, excelled in their studies.”
Interestingly, the tech industry has become one of the few professional spaces where this rule is routinely ignored. Startup blogs and product documentation sometimes write some of who without flagging it. Language evolves, but editors and publishers still hold the line. (some of whom vs some of who)
Synonyms and Alternatives: The Objective Case Family
The Him/Them Test for Whom
The single most reliable trick for choosing between who and whom is to substitute him or them into the sentence. If it fits, use whom.
How it works:
- Take your sentence: “I met several volunteers, some of ___ were retired teachers.”
- Try them: “Some of them were retired teachers.” ✅ Sounds natural.
- Try they: “Some of they were retired teachers.” ❌ Sounds wrong.
- Them fits → use whom.
This test works because him/them belong to the same grammatical family as whom (objective case), while he/they belong to the same family as who (subjective case).
| Subjective (Who) | Objective (Whom) |
|---|---|
| He | Him |
| She | Her |
| They | Them |
| Who | Whom |
Visualizing Case Relationships
Think of it this way: who is the doer; whom is the receiver. The driver acts — the passenger is acted upon. When a pronoun follows a preposition, it’s always in the passenger seat.
- “She is the one who called.” → She did the calling. (Subject = doer = who)
- “She is the one whom I called.” → I called her. (Object = receiver = whom)
- “Some of whom arrived early.” → Of puts them in the object position = whom
Alternative Constructions That Avoid Whom
If whom still feels awkward, you have clean alternatives that don’t sacrifice grammatical accuracy:
- Use of them: “Five people applied — some of them were underqualified.”
- Use including: “Ten attended, including several board members.”
- Restructure entirely: “Several qualified candidates applied.”
All three options sidestep the who/whom choice without sounding clunky.
Common Mistakes: The Error Patterns
Even experienced writers make predictable errors with this construction. Here are the most frequent ones:
- Overcorrection in the wrong direction
- ❌ “Whom do you think will win?” (Here who is correct — it’s the subject of will win, not the object of anything.)
- Distance confusion
- Long, complex sentences sometimes bury the preposition far from the pronoun, making it easy to forget the case requirement.
- Casual speech bleeding into writing
- The most common error: simply writing the way you’d speak, where who has replaced whom entirely.
- False formality
- Using whom where who is actually correct, just to sound polished.
- ❌ “Whom is responsible for this?” → ✅ “Who is responsible for this?” (Who is the subject here.)
- Mixing some of whom with some of which
- Use some of whom for people. Use some of which for things, animals, or ideas.
- ✅ “The reports, some of which were outdated, were filed away.” (some of whom vs some of who)
Practical Tips and Field Notes
The Editor’s Field Note
Professional editors apply a simple hierarchy when reviewing copy:
- Formal writing (contracts, academic papers, journalism): some of whom is mandatory. Flag and correct any instance of some of who.
- Semi-formal writing (business emails, blog posts): some of whom is strongly preferred. Restructuring to some of them is acceptable.
- Informal writing (social media, personal messages): let it go. Correcting this in casual contexts tends to feel pedantic.
The key insight most style guides agree on: if the sentence sounds awkward with whom, rewrite it rather than defaulting to the incorrect form.
Memory Tricks and Quick Tests
Here are three methods that work reliably:
1. The Him/Them Substitution Can you replace the blank with him or them? Use whom. Can you replace it with he or they? Use who.
2. The Preposition Check Is the pronoun directly following of, to, with, for, about, from, or another preposition? If yes, use whom.
3. The Two-Sentence Split Break the sentence into two: “She invited ten colleagues. Some of them couldn’t attend.” If them works in the second sentence, the original needs whom.
See also: Privy Meaning and How to Use It
FAQs
Is “some of who” ever correct?
Almost never. In rare noun clause constructions like “Some of who she is comes from her upbringing,” it technically works — but rephrasing is almost always cleaner. (some of whom vs some of who)
Can I use “some of them” instead of “some of whom”?
Yes. In casual or semi-formal writing, some of them is a natural substitute that avoids the choice entirely. (some of whom vs some of who)
Is “whom” going extinct?
Not in formal writing. In everyday speech, it’s fading — but legal, academic, and professional publishing still require it. (some of whom vs some of who)
Does this rule apply to “many of whom,” “most of whom,” and “all of whom”?
Absolutely. Any quantifier followed by of — many of whom, most of whom, few of whom, all of whom — follows the same rule. (some of whom vs some of who)
What about “some of which”?
Use some of which when referring to non-human things. “The files, some of which were corrupted, were recovered.” Use some of whom only for people. (some of whom vs some of who)
Conclusion
The some of whom vs some of who debate comes down to one rule that hasn’t changed in centuries: prepositions require the objective case. Whom is objective; who is subjective. The word of is always a preposition. Therefore, some of whom is always correct, and some of who is always an error in standard English.
When in doubt, use the him/them test. If them fits, whom fits. If the construction still feels heavy, restructure with some of them or including — both are clean, natural alternatives.
Master this rule, and your formal writing immediately gains a level of precision and confidence that trained readers notice. (some of whom vs some of who)
