5 exercises — practise choosing who versus whom correctly in formal technical documents.
0 / 18 completed
1 / 18
Which sentence correctly uses "who" as the subject of the relative clause in a formal handover document?
"The engineer who reviewed the pull request approved the deployment" is correct: "who" performs the action "reviewed", so it functions as the subject of the relative clause and "who" is required, not "whom". Option B wrongly uses the object form "whom" for a subject role. Option C confuses "who's" (who is / who has) with the relative pronoun. Option D combines two errors.
2 / 18
Choose the sentence that correctly uses "whom" because it is the object of the verb in a formal stakeholder report.
"The vendor whom we contacted last week..." is correct in the most formal register: "whom" is the object of "contacted" ("we contacted whom"), which calls for the object form. Option B uses the informal but widely accepted "who"; for a strictly formal register, "whom" is preferred. Option C misuses "whom" as if it were the subject of "contacted". Option D uses "which", reserved for things, not people.
3 / 18
Which sentence correctly places "whom" directly after a preposition in a formal RFC, as required in that construction?
"...to whom the proposal was submitted..." is correct: immediately after a preposition ("to"), only the object form "whom" is grammatical — "to who" is never acceptable in formal written English. Option B incorrectly uses "who" after the preposition. Option C strands the preposition, which is acceptable informally but weaker in this fronted, formal construction, and adds an awkward tag. Option D drops the auxiliary "was", breaking the passive construction.
4 / 18
Select the sentence that correctly identifies when "who" is required despite appearing to follow a verb, because it is the subject of an embedded clause.
"We need to identify who actually approved this configuration change" is correct: "who" is the subject of the embedded clause "who approved this configuration change", so the subject form is required even though the whole clause is the object of "identify". Option B wrongly substitutes "whom" for a subject role. Options C and D introduce further errors combining contractions and redundant tags.
5 / 18
Which sentence correctly uses "whoever" (not "whomever") because it functions as the subject of its own clause in a formal access-control policy?
"Access should be granted to whoever completes the security training" is correct: even though "whoever" follows the preposition "to", it is the subject of "completes", and the whole clause "whoever completes the security training" is the object of "to" — the internal subject role determines "whoever", not the preceding preposition. Option B incorrectly uses the object form "whomever" for a subject role. Option C duplicates the pronoun incorrectly. Option D wrongly splits "whoever" into two words.
6 / 18
In a Slack message to the team regarding a potential security vulnerability, Ben writes: 'I'm investigating whether user_authentication.js is vulnerable.' Which option best demonstrates correct usage of 'whether'?
The word 'whether' introduces a subordinate clause expressing doubt or possibility. It correctly sets up the question being investigated – 'is it vulnerable?' Using 'if' here doesn't convey the same precise meaning and is less formal in this technical context. Note that 'whoever' would be incorrect as it refers to a person, not the vulnerability itself.
7 / 18
During a PR description for a new feature implementing rate limiting, Carol states: 'The system will block requests from any user exceeding the limit.' Which sentence uses 'who' correctly in this scenario?
When 'any' or 'everyone' acts as a placeholder for an unspecified group (like 'user'), 'who' is the correct choice. Using 'whom' would imply that there's a specific individual within this group being referred to – which isn't the case here. The phrase functions like a general descriptor, similar to 'anyone'.
8 / 18
In a standup update, David reports: 'I'm working on debugging the database_connection module. I need to know whom I should contact if I run into issues.' Which sentence utilizes 'whom' appropriately?
'Whom' is used as the object of a preposition (in this case, 'contact'). This construction requires the objective form. Remembering that 'whom' always refers to the person receiving an action or being affected by something is crucial for accurate usage. The sentence describes *who* David needs to ask for help – the object of his need.
9 / 18
During a formal documentation update on the API's error handling, Emily writes: 'If the server encounters an unhandled exception, whoever is responsible for resolving it should immediately contact support.' Which of the following sentences uses 'whoever' most accurately?
Here, 'whoever' functions as a placeholder referring to the person *responsible* for handling the exception. It's not acting on it; it's identified by the role of responsibility. Using 'who' would imply an active participant in the error, which is incorrect. The phrasing emphasizes accountability.
10 / 18
In a Slack message to the team regarding a potential security vulnerability, Ben writes: 'I'm investigating whether user_authentication.js is vulnerable.' Which option best demonstrates correct usage of 'whether'?
The word 'whether' introduces a subordinate clause expressing doubt or possibility. It correctly sets up the question being investigated – 'is it vulnerable?' Using 'if' here doesn't convey the same precise meaning and is less formal in this technical context. Note that 'whoever' would be incorrect as it refers to a person, not the vulnerability itself.
11 / 18
During a PR description for a new feature implementing rate limiting, Carol states: 'The system will block requests from any user exceeding the limit.' Which sentence uses 'who' correctly in this scenario?
When 'any' or 'everyone' acts as a placeholder for an unspecified group (like 'user'), 'who' is the correct choice. Using 'whom' would imply that there's a specific individual within this group being referred to – which isn't the case here. The phrase functions like a general descriptor, similar to 'anyone'.
12 / 18
In a standup update, David reports: 'I'm working on debugging the database_connection module. I need to know whom I should contact if I run into issues.' Which sentence utilizes 'whom' appropriately?
'Whom' is used as the object of a preposition (in this case, 'contact'). This construction requires the objective form. Remembering that 'whom' always refers to the person receiving an action or being affected by something is crucial for accurate usage. The sentence describes *who* David needs to ask for help – the object of his need.
13 / 18
During a formal documentation update on the API's error handling, Emily writes: 'If the server encounters an unhandled exception, whoever is responsible for resolving it should immediately contact support.' Which of the following sentences uses 'whoever' most accurately?
Here, 'whoever' functions as a placeholder referring to the person *responsible* for handling the exception. It's not acting on it; it's identified by the role of responsibility. Using 'who' would imply an active participant in the error, which is incorrect. The phrasing emphasizes accountability.
14 / 18
John asked him to review the code. Which sentence uses 'who' or 'whom' correctly in this context?
Here, 'who' or 'whom' is used as part of a relative clause modifying 'John'. Since 'he' is the object of the verb 'asked', we need 'whom'. The common mistake is to use 'who' here because it's often used for subjects. Remember, 'whom' is the object form.
15 / 18
Sarah emailed the team: 'I need to discuss this with the lead engineer.' Which option correctly uses 'who' or 'whom'?
In this case, 'who' or 'whom' acts as the object of the preposition 'with'. 'The lead engineer who…' correctly identifies the specific individual being discussed. Using 'who' here is correct because it's functioning as a relative clause modifying 'the lead engineer.'
16 / 18
During a code review discussion, Mark said: 'The support team will handle this issue.' Which sentence demonstrates correct usage of 'who' or 'whom'?
Here, 'who' or 'whom' is used as part of a relative clause describing 'the support team'. The key is understanding that the team *is* the object. Using 'The support team who...' correctly sets up the relative clause and clarifies the specific team being referenced.
17 / 18
In a Slack message to her colleagues, Lisa wrote: 'David told me that he was working on the database migration.' Which sentence uses 'who' or 'whom' correctly?
This question tests understanding of embedded clauses. 'He' is the object of 'told', so 'whom' is needed. The structure here is: Subject (David) told Subject (me) that Object (he). Focusing on the core question – 'who' was working on it - clarifies the correct usage.
18 / 18
During a standup meeting, Alex reported: 'I'm collaborating with the DevOps team to resolve this deployment issue.' Which option uses 'who' or 'whom' appropriately?
'Who' or 'whom' is used as part of a relative clause describing 'the DevOps team'. The correct construction, 'The DevOps team who…', accurately identifies the specific team being referenced. The mistake to avoid is simply stating 'The DevOps team' without further qualification.
What will I practise in ""Who" vs "Whom" in Formal Technical Writing — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise choosing "who" (subject) versus "whom" (object), including after prepositions and in embedded clauses, for RFCs, formal handovers, and stakeholder
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 18 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free to use with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
Do I need to create an account to do these exercises?
No account is required. Just click an option to answer — your score for this session is tracked automatically in the progress bar above.
What happens if I choose the wrong answer?
You'll immediately see which answer was correct, plus a full explanation covering the grammar rule and reasoning behind it — mistakes are where most of the learning happens.
Can I retry the exercises if I want a higher score?
Yes — use the "Try again" button on the results screen to reset and go through all the questions again.
Is my progress saved if I close the page?
No. Progress is tracked only for your current visit; reloading or leaving the page resets the counter. This keeps the exercise simple and account-free.
Where can I find more Grammar exercises?
Browse the full Grammar hub for related drills, or check the "Next up" link below to continue with a connected topic.
How is this different from reading an article on the same topic?
Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.