Whoever vs. whomever
Dear reader, do you find these two words confusing?
If you do, let’s try to get the difference:
Firstly, whoever and whomever work the same way as who and whom. That’s to say, wherever you place “who,” use “whoever;” and wherever “whom” fits, use “whomever.”
Example 1
(Whoever, whomever) stole my book should better return it.
Restated; s/he stole my book, s/he should better return it.
Since we used s/he, then who is the right pronoun for that case. That said, our answer is “whoever.”
Example 2
You can bring (whoever, whomever) you like to the party.
Restated: You can bring him or her to the party.
Since the restated version uses “him or her”, whom is the pronoun to use. Our answer is therefore “whomever.”
However, this task can get tough if you can’t figure out which part exactly determines the pronoun to use. For example,
Example 3
It will be so difficult for (whoever, whomever) wins the election to govern the state.
Restated: If s/he wins the election, it will be so difficult for he/him to govern the state
Here, we’re talking about the subject winning the election. Our correct answer, therefore, is “whoever.”
Example 4
We will allow (whomever, whoever) we like to use our gadgets.
Restated: If we like him/her, we will allow him/her to use our gadgets.
Our right answer is, in this case, “whomever.”
VividWriters 