“Who” is the subject of the sentence. “Whom” is the object of the sentence. It’s one thing to know that, but it’s another thing to put them into practice in your writing. This article will explain all you need to know about “many of whom” and how it works.
Is It “Many of Who” or “Many of Whom”?
“Many of whom” is the correct form, and “many of who” does not work. “Whom” works because it’s the object of the sentence. Anything after a preposition like “of” should be in the object form. Pronouns like “us” and “them” can work after “many of,” which are objects like “whom.”
We cannot use “many of who” and “many of whom” interchangeably because “who” would be incorrect. It’s also best if you stick to formal rules when writing and use “many of whom” whenever you feel like it fits your context.
Some native speakers mistakenly use “many of who,” which shows that anyone can make the mistake. It’s much simpler to trip up with these words than you might think.
Nevertheless, it’s best to avoid using “many of who” both formally and informally. Sticking to correct rules is always the best practice.
According to Google Ngram Viewer, you should only use “many of whom.” This graph is a clear indicator that “whom” is the only correct choice. “Who” is only ever used as a typo or a grammatical error. There is no other place for it in your writing.
Many of Who
“Many of who” is not correct. “Who” acts as the subject of the sentence, which would be the equivalent of using a subject pronoun like “I” or “we.” You wouldn’t say “many of I” or “many of we,” so it doesn’t make sense to use “many of who” in writing either.
- Correct: I think you’ll find these guys intolerable, many of whom have had run-ins with the law in the last few weeks alone.
- Incorrect: I can’t get over those guys, many of who find it difficult to look me in the eye anymore. I’m sorry I failed.
- Correct: Here are some of the people you’ll meet today, many of whom are very keen to learn about what you have to offer the company.
- Incorrect: These are all the friends I have, many of who I’m pretty sure don’t trust me in the slightest.
Many of Whom
“Many of whom” is grammatically correct when you’re talking about many people. We use “whom” because it’s the object of the sentence. It comes after the preposition “of,” which is why “whom” is the only form that works (since it’s an object pronoun like “us” or “them”).
- These are all the guys I can put into the operation, many of whom have agreed to work overtime for us.
- I know of those people, many of whom suffered a great deal after working with you. I hope it doesn’t come to that again.
- I can tell you a lot about them, many of whom I have known for years. I’m sure I’d be able to teach you what makes them tick.
- The board members are here, many of whom do not have positive looks on their faces. I’m worried about what comes next.
Many of Which
“Many of which” is a more general phrase that we can use. “Which” refers to all objects and items that don’t include people. “Which” is the object of the sentence, which allows us to use it after “many of” whenever we’re talking about objects outside of the people we know.
- These are all the things I can offer to you, many of which I don’t think I even looked into myself.
- I have a few ideas, many of which I’m sure you’ll laugh at. If you just hear me out, though, I’m sure we can work this out.
- I can think of some things, many of which should be able to kickstart this company. Let’s see what we can do.
- I should return these items, many of which have been badly damaged by the storm. Oh, well!
Final Thoughts
You should only use “many of whom.” “Many of who” is never correct, and it’s only ever used when misunderstood. The object of the sentence is “whom,” and it falls directly after the preposition “of.” It’s important to use the sentence’s object (not the subject) in this order.
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