Proofreading 101 cont'd: who vs. whom

I've got another trick for you, this time to help clear up confusion between who and whom.

To check your who/whom usage, try replacing who with "he" and whom with "him", and recast the sentence. Here's an example:

Who/Whom wrote the book?
He wrote the book. Therefore, "who" is correct.

Let's try another:

To who/whom did she dedicate the book?
She dedicated the book to him. Therefore, "whom" is correct.

These are a bit tougher:

The head of marketing consults with writers, who editors say always listens.
Check: Editors say he (the head of marketing – for our purposes, we'll assume he's male) always listens.

The head of marketing consults with writers, whom they admire because he listens.
Check: They admire him because he listens.

So...problems with who and whom should plague you no more; just replace with he and him and you're done!

(Marketing departments working together with writers is another matter entirely.)