Some of Whom or Some of Who? The Correct Version With Clear Examples

Some of Whom or Some off you’ve ever stopped while writing a sentence such as “The applicants, some of ___ had years of experience, were interviewed,” you’re not alone. The choice between some of whom and some of who looks small, but it involves an important distinction between subject and object forms of English pronouns. The standard form is some of whom when whom follows the preposition of and refers to people. Cambridge Dictionary identifies whom as the object form of who and notes that it is commonly used with prepositions, especially in formal writing.

The confusion often comes from modern spoken English. In everyday conversation, many speakers use who in places where traditional grammar uses whom. That doesn’t mean every form containing who works equally well in formal writing. Understanding the structure behind some of whom makes the choice much easier than memorizing an isolated rule.

Quick Answer: Some of Whom vs. Some of Who

Is “Some of Whom” Correct?

Yes. Some of whom is the standard form when you refer back to a group of people and mean “some of those people.”

Consider this sentence:

The company hired twelve interns, some of whom had previous work experience.

The main statement is:

The company hired twelve interns.

The additional information is:

Some of whom had previous work experience.

The phrase some of whom points back to twelve interns. It tells readers that only part of that group had previous experience.

This construction is especially common in formal and edited English. You’ll see it in academic papers, professional writing, journalism, reports, and other contexts where writers tend to preserve the traditional distinction between who and whom. Cambridge gives the closely related example of many of whom to illustrate this formal written pattern.

Here are more examples:

• The committee interviewed thirty applicants, some of whom had worked abroad.
• We invited several speakers, some of whom arrived early.
• The school recognized twenty students, some of whom had won national awards.
• The organization supports many volunteers, some of whom work remotely.
• She met several researchers, some of whom specialize in linguistics.

In every example, some of whom refers to a portion of a previously mentioned group of people.

Is “Some of Who” Grammatically Correct?

When you intend the standard construction some of ___ referring to people, some of who is not the normal standard form. The expected form is some of whom.

For example:

The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.

Not:

The employees, some of who work remotely, attended the meeting.

The reason becomes clearer when you compare who and whom with familiar pronoun pairs:

Subject form	Object form
I	me
he	him
she	her
they	them
who	whom

You wouldn’t normally say:

some of they

You say:

some of them

The same grammatical pattern gives you:

some of whom

rather than:

some of who

The important point, however, is that who can appear in other structures involving relative clauses. The issue isn’t simply that who can never appear near of. Grammar depends on the exact construction.

The Short Rule to Remember

A useful rule is:

When you mean “some of those people,” use “some of whom” in standard formal English.

The substitution test makes this even easier:

some of them → some of whom

Compare:

• The students, some of them were absent.
• The students, some of whom were absent.

The first sentence needs punctuation or restructuring, but the pronoun relationship remains clear. Them is the object form of they, just as whom is the traditional object form of who.

There’s another useful clue: of is a preposition. In the construction of whom, whom serves as the complement of that preposition. Cambridge specifically notes that whom is commonly used with prepositions and is more common in writing than speech.

The result is simple:

some of whom = standard formal construction
some of who = generally avoid it when you mean some of those people

Don’t let the small size of the phrase fool you. The grammar underneath it is precise.

Who vs. Whom: Understanding the Grammar

The easiest way to master some of whom is to stop treating who and whom as interchangeable words. They share the same basic reference to people, but they traditionally occupy different grammatical roles.

What Does “Who” Mean?

Who is the subject form traditionally used when the person acts.

For example:

Who called this morning?

The answer could be:

She called this morning.

Because she is the subject form, who fits.

Another example:

The student who won the scholarship thanked the committee.

Here, who performs the action represented by won. The student is the person who won the scholarship.

You can test it:

She won the scholarship.

Therefore:

The student who won the scholarship…

This pattern appears constantly in English:

• The woman who called left a message.
• The manager who approved the request is away today.
• The researchers who conducted the study published their findings.
• The students who arrived early found seats.
• The athlete who broke the record received an award.

In each case, who introduces or participates in a relative clause where it functions as the subject.

What Does “Whom” Mean?

Whom is traditionally the object form of who. It can represent a person who receives an action or serves as the complement of a preposition.

For example:

Whom did you invite?

A natural answer is:

I invited him.

Because him is an object pronoun, whom is the traditional grammatical choice.

Consider another example:

The author whom I interviewed writes about language.

You can reduce the relationship:

I interviewed him.

Therefore:

The author whom I interviewed…

The same pattern works after prepositions:

• with him → with whom
• for her → for whom
• to them → to whom
• of them → of whom

Cambridge describes whom as the object form of who and notes that it commonly appears after prepositions in formal writing.

Subject vs. Object: The Core Difference

The central distinction looks like this:

Function	Pronoun	Example
Subject	who	Who called?
Object	whom	Whom did you call?
Subject	who	The person who called…
Object	whom	The person whom I called…
Object of preposition	whom	The person with whom I worked

Think of who as the actor and whom as the receiver or object.

For example:

Who contacted the manager?

The person acts.

But:

The manager contacted whom?

The person receives the action.

This distinction is traditional rather than mysterious. English once had a much richer case system, but modern English has reduced many of those distinctions. The remaining contrast between who and whom survives most clearly in formal writing and certain fixed constructions.

The He/Him and She/Her Tests

One of the fastest ways to decide between who and whom is the substitution test.

Replace the unknown pronoun with:

• he or she → use who
• him or her → use whom

For example:

___ called the office?

Try:

He called the office.

So:

Who called the office?

Now try:

You spoke with ___.

You spoke with:

him.

So:

You spoke with whom?

The same test helps with relative clauses:

The woman ___ wrote the report…

Try:

She wrote the report.

Therefore:

The woman who wrote the report…

Now:

The woman ___ I hired…

Try:

I hired her.

Therefore:

The woman whom I hired…

The test isn’t perfect for every conversational sentence because modern English often avoids whom, but it’s extremely useful when you need a formal grammatical choice.

How the Preposition “Of” Changes the Pronoun

Now return to the phrase in question:

some of whom

The word of is a preposition. Whom functions as its complement.

Compare these familiar constructions: of him of her of them of whom

That is why some of whom follows the traditional objective pattern.

Here’s the structure:

Word	Role
some	Refers to part of a group
of	Preposition
whom	Object/complement of the preposition
following clause	Gives information about that part of the group

For example:

The conference attracted hundreds of visitors, some of whom traveled from overseas.

The word some selects part of the group. The phrase of whom identifies that group as people already mentioned.

This is the key grammatical relationship to remember.

How to Use “Some of Whom” Correctly

The phrase becomes much easier once you see how it operates inside a complete sentence.

How “Some of Whom” Works in a Sentence

A common pattern is:

Main clause + comma + some of whom + verb + additional information

For example:

The university invited fifty researchers, some of whom had published books.

The main clause is:

The university invited fifty researchers.

The added relative clause is:

some of whom had published books

The phrase some of whom refers back to fifty researchers.

Another example:

The museum displayed several paintings, some of which were more than a century old.

Here, which is appropriate because the antecedent is paintings, not people.

For people:

The museum invited several artists, some of whom attended the opening.

For things:

The museum displayed several paintings, some of which were recently restored.

That contrast is extremely useful.

Identifying the Antecedent

The antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that the relative pronoun refers back to.

In:

The manager interviewed several applicants, some of whom had advanced degrees.

The antecedent is:

several applicants

The phrase some of whom doesn’t float independently. It points back to that previously mentioned group.

This matters because a sentence can become unclear when the antecedent isn’t obvious.

Consider:

The company changed its hiring policy after meeting several candidates, some of whom were recommended by former employees.

The phrase clearly refers to candidates.

Now consider a sentence with several possible groups:

The company met managers and applicants, some of whom had worked overseas.

Grammatically, some of whom could refer to either group depending on context. A clearer rewrite might be:

The company met several managers and applicants. Some of the applicants had worked overseas.

Good grammar isn’t only about selecting the correct pronoun. Clear writing also makes the intended reference obvious.

Why “Whom” Functions as the Object

Here’s where many writers get confused.

In:

The candidates, some of whom were experienced, impressed the panel.

The clause some of whom were experienced has a slightly unusual structure. The whole phrase some of whom functions as the subject of were experienced, but whom itself is governed by of.

That’s an important distinction.

The structure isn’t simply:

whom = object of were

Instead:

of whom = prepositional phrase
some of whom = phrase referring to a subset of the antecedent

This explains why the word remains whom even though the entire phrase has a subject-like role in the relative clause.

Think about the simpler sentence:

Some of them were experienced.

Here, some of them is the subject of the sentence.

You wouldn’t change them to they merely because the entire phrase functions as the subject:

Some of them were experienced. ✓

The same principle produces:

Some of whom were experienced. ✓

This is one of the most useful insights for understanding the construction.

Why Commas Matter

Some of whom commonly introduces a nonrestrictive relative clause, so a comma usually separates it from the main clause.

For example:

The company hired twenty employees, some of whom had international experience.

The phrase adds extra information about the employees. The main sentence remains complete without it:

The company hired twenty employees.

The comma signals that the following information is supplementary.

Compare:

The company hired twenty employees, some of whom had international experience.

The added clause tells us something interesting about part of the group.

This punctuation pattern appears frequently in polished prose:

• The students, some of whom were international, attended the workshop.
• The applicants, some of whom had graduate degrees, completed interviews.
• The volunteers, some of whom had never worked in healthcare, received training.
• The speakers, some of whom had written bestselling books, answered questions.

The comma isn’t there because whom requires one. It separates the main clause from the nonrestrictive relative information.

Sentence Examples With “Some of Whom”

Here are several patterns worth studying:

The committee selected ten finalists, some of whom had previously won national awards.

The teacher assigned several books, some of which dealt with modern history.

We contacted fifteen suppliers, some of whom could deliver within a week.

The hospital interviewed several specialists, some of whom had trained overseas.

The conference attracted hundreds of professionals, some of whom stayed for the closing session.

The organization supports local businesses, some of which employ recent graduates.

Notice how some of whom always points back to people.

Academic Writing Examples

Academic writing frequently uses some of whom because researchers often discuss groups of people and then provide additional information about a portion of that group.

Examples include:

The researchers surveyed 400 participants, some of whom had previously participated in similar studies.

The study included 60 teachers, some of whom had more than twenty years of classroom experience.

The authors interviewed several linguists, some of whom specialize in historical English.

The researchers recruited participants from five universities, some of whom had completed advanced language courses.

This construction lets writers pack related information into one sentence without repeating the noun.

Instead of:

The researchers surveyed 400 participants. Some of the participants had previously participated in similar studies.

You can write:

The researchers surveyed 400 participants, some of whom had previously participated in similar studies.

Both versions work. The second creates a tighter connection between the two ideas.

Business Writing Examples

Professional writing also benefits from the construction.

For example:

The company interviewed several candidates, some of whom had experience managing international teams.

We contacted ten vendors, some of whom offered lower delivery costs.

The department hired eight analysts, some of whom previously worked for competing firms.

The organization invited several clients, some of whom had used the service for more than five years.

The phrase can make business writing more compact without making it complicated.

Everyday English Examples

Although whom sounds more formal than who to many speakers, the construction itself is perfectly natural in writing.

I have several cousins, some of whom live nearby.

We invited our neighbors, some of whom couldn’t stay long.

She knows several musicians, some of whom perform locally.

He has met many authors, some of whom became close friends.

In casual conversation, a speaker might avoid the construction entirely:

I have several cousins. Some of them live nearby.

That’s often more natural in speech. The formal version remains useful when you want a compact written sentence.

Common Mistakes and Similar Expressions

The biggest mistake is usually not a lack of intelligence or vocabulary. It’s the result of treating who and whom as interchangeable because everyday speech often does.

Using “Some of Who”

Consider:

The applicants, some owhomho had extensive experience, were interviewed.

In standard edited English, replace some of who with:

The applicants, some of whom had extensive experience, were interviewed.

The reason is structural rather than stylistic. Whom is the traditional object form used after of.

A quick comparison makes the pattern obvious:

Incorrect or nonstandard in formal writing	Standard form
some of who	some of whom
many of who	many of whom
most of who	most of whom
all of who	all of whom
none of who	none of whom
several of who	several of whom

These expressions all follow the same basic pattern.

Mixing Up Subject and Object Pronouns

Another common mistake occurs when writers choose whom simply because a sentence sounds formal.

That can create an error in the opposite direction.

For example:

The scientist whom discovered the formula…

This is incorrect in traditional grammar because the scientist acts upon discovering.

The correct sentence is:

The scientist who discovered the formula…

Why?

Because:

She discovered the formula.

Not:

Her discovered the formula.

The she/her test therefore points to who.

Now compare:

The scientist whom the committee interviewed…

Here:

The committee interviewed her.

So whom works.

This distinction matters because the rule isn’t simply “use whom when talking about people.” The real question is the grammatical role of the pronoun.

Some of Whom vs. Some of Them

These expressions are related, but they don’t work in the same sentence structure.

Compare:

I invited several colleagues. Some of them stayed late.

with:

I invited several colleagues, some of whom stayed late.

The first version uses two sentences.

The second combines the ideas through a relative construction.

Expression	Typical use
some of them	Independent pronoun phrase
some of whom	Relative construction referring to people
some of which	Relative construction referring to things

This gives you a useful rewriting option.

If you’re unsure about some of whom, split the sentence:

The team interviewed several candidates. Some of them had previous management experience.

Then, if appropriate, combine it:

The team interviewed several candidates, some of whom had previous management experience.

Some of Whom vs. Some of Which

The choice between whom and which depends primarily on the antecedent.

Use whom for people:

The committee interviewed several experts, some of whom had published books.

Use which for things:

The committee reviewed several reports, some of which contained errors.

Compare:

The researchers interviewed participants, some of whom were teachers.

The researchers examined surveys, some of which were incomplete.

This distinction prevents a common category error.

Other Expressions That Follow the Same Pattern

Once you’ve learned some of whom, you’ve learned a broader pattern.

You can use:

• many of whom
• most of whom
• all of whom
• none of whom
• several of whom
• few of whom
• each of whom

Examples:

The company hired thirty employees, many of whom had technical degrees.

The conference attracted hundreds of visitors, most of whom arrived before noon.

The committee contacted all the finalists, all of whom accepted the invitation.

Several candidates withdrew, none of whom gave a public explanation.

The organization selected ten volunteers, several of whom had previous experience.

The class included twenty students, few of whom had studied linguistics before.

The panel interviewed six applicants, each of whom submitted a portfolio.

The same underlying relationship remains: a quantity expression combines with of whom to identify a portion or set of people from an antecedent group.

A Practical Decision Guide

When you’re editing a sentence, use this sequence:

First, identify the people or things being discussed.

The company hired several employees…

Next, ask whether you’re referring to a portion of that group.

Some of those employees…

Then, decide whether the antecedent consists of people.

If yes:

some of whom

If it consists of things:

some of which

Finally, check the grammatical role of who or whom.

For a straightforward of + people construction, whom is the traditional formal choice.

Quick Comparison Table

Situation	Preferred form	Example
Person performs an action	who	The manager who called…
Person receives an action	whom	The manager whom I called…
Person follows of	whom	Some of whom…
Person follows with in formal style	whom	With whom I worked…
Thing follows of	which	Some of which…
Separate sentence about people	them	Some of them…
Informal conversation	Often who	Who did you invite?

Formal vs. Informal English

English has changed substantially in everyday use. Whom remains part of standard English, but many speakers use it less frequently than earlier generations did.

Cambridge notes that whom is used in formal styles and writing and is much less common in ordinary speech.

That creates an interesting situation.

You might naturally say:

Who did you talk to?

rather than:

Whom did you talk to?

Both are widely understood, and the first is very common in conversation.

But formal writing may still use:

With whom did you speak?

or:

The consultant with whom we worked provided valuable advice.

Cambridge also contrasts more formal constructions such as to whom and with whom with less formal versions that place the preposition at the end of the clause.

This doesn’t mean you should force whom into every sentence. In fact, overusing it can make ordinary prose sound stiff.

The goal is to understand the grammatical distinction so you can choose deliberately.

Should You Always Use “Whom”?

No.

That’s an important part of good grammar advice.

Use who when it functions as the subject:

The researcher who experimented…

Use whom when traditional grammar calls for the object form:

The researcher whom we interviewed…

And use whom naturally in formal constructions such as:

some of whom

many of whom

with whom

to whom

for whom

In relaxed conversation, English speakers frequently use who instead of whom. Cambridge explicitly recognizes this difference between formal writing and everyday speech.

The practical lesson is simple: don’t treat whom as a fancy replacement for who. Treat it as a grammatical form that has specific uses.

Common Incorrect Sentences and Corrections

Here are some realistic examples:

Incorrect	Correct	Why
The students, some of whom were absent, returned later.	The students, some of whom were absent, returned later.	Whom follows of.
I met several writers, some of whom publish poetry.	I met several writers, some of whom publish poetry.	Whom is the traditional object form after of.
The manager who I contacted responded quickly.	The manager whom I contacted responded quickly.	Whom is the traditional object form of contacted.
The manager whom called me left early.	The manager who called me left early.	Who is the subject of called.
The books, some of which were damaged, were returned.	The books, some of which were damaged, were returned.	Which refers to things.
The researchers, some of whom published papers, attended.	The researchers, some of whom published papers, attended.	The relative clause needs some of whom.

These examples reveal something important: correct pronoun choice depends on function, reference, and sentence structure.

Grammar becomes much easier when you examine those three things instead of relying only on what sounds familiar.

The Final Editing Check

Before publishing a sentence containing some of whom, ask yourself:

• Does the phrase refer to people?
• Is there a clear antecedent?
• Does some refer to only part of the group?
• Does of whom connect that subset to the people already mentioned?
• Is the sentence using a relative clause?
• Does the comma correctly separate supplementary information?
• Would some of them express the same basic relationship in a separate sentence?
• Am I using who because it is genuinely correct or simply because whom feels unfamiliar?
• Would some of which be correct if the antecedent refers to things?
• Is the writing formal enough that preserving the traditional who/whom distinction improves precision?

If the sentence passes those checks, some of whom is usually the right choice.

The most useful takeaway isn’t merely to memorize one phrase. Understand the pattern behind it. Who traditionally marks the subject form, while whom marks the object form. In some cases, the preposition governs whom, while the whole phrase identifies a portion of a previously mentioned group. That is why the construction works so naturally in formal written English.

Once that structure clicks, related phrases such as many of whom, most of whom, all of whom, and none of whom become much easier to recognize and use correctly.

Who vs. Whom: Understanding the Grammar

The difference between who and whom becomes much easier once you focus on grammatical function rather than how a sentence sounds. Who traditionally serves as the subject form, while whom serves as the object form. In other words, who generally acts, whereas whom receives an action or follows a preposition. Cambridge Dictionary describes whom as the object form of who and notes that it appears more often in writing and formal styles than in everyday speech.

What Does “Who” Mean?

Who is a pronoun used when you’re referring to a person as the subject of a clause or sentence. The easiest way to recognize this role is to ask who acts.

Consider:

Who called the office?

The answer might be:

She called the office.

Because she is a subject pronoun, who is the traditional choice.

The same principle works inside a relative clause:

The employee who prepared the report received an award.

Here, who refers to the employee, and that employee is doing the preparing.

You can reduce the clause to:

She prepared the report.

That makes the grammatical role clear.

Here are several more examples:

• The teacher who organized the event received praise.
• The researcher who conducted the study published the results.
• The manager who approved the proposal called this morning.
• The students who arrived early found seats.
• The journalist who wrote the article interviewed several witnesses.

In each sentence, who represents the person acting.

This is why who fits naturally into sentences such as:

The people who attended the meeting asked several questions.

The people are doing the attending. They are the subject of the relative clause.

What Does “Whom” Mean?

Whom traditionally represents the object form of who. It refers to a person who receives an action or serves as the object or complement of a preposition. Oxford and Cambridge both describe whom in this way and note its stronger association with formal or written English.

For example:

Whom did you invite?

You can turn the question into a statement:

You invited him.

Because him is an object pronoun, traditional grammar uses whom.

Consider another example:

The consultant whom we hired had extensive experience.

Break it down:

We hired him.

Therefore:

The consultant whom we hired…

The same idea appears after prepositions:

with him → with whom

for her → for whom

to them → to whom

of them → of whom

That final comparison explains the central phrase in this article:

some of whom

Cambridge specifically gives examples such as many of whom and describes whom as the form used after prepositions in formal English.

Subject vs. Object: The Core Difference

The most useful distinction can be summarized simply:

Grammatical role	Traditional pronoun	Example
Subject	who	Who called you?
Subject in relative clause	who	The person who called…
Object of verb	whom	Whom did you call?
Object of preposition	whom	With whom did you speak?
Object after of	whom	Some of whom attended.

Think of the difference as doer versus receiver.

If the person performs the action, who generally fits:

The scientist who discovered the treatment…

The scientist performed the action of discovering.

If the person receives the action, who traditionally fits:

The scientist whom the committee interviewed…

The committee performed the interviewing. The scientist received that action.

Merriam-Webster makes the same core distinction: who functions as a subject, while whom functions as an object. It also notes that actual modern usage often favors who, particularly in ordinary speech.

The He/Him Test

The he/him test is one of the fastest ways to decide between who and whom.

Replace the unknown pronoun with either he or him.

If he works, choose who.

If him works, choose whom.

For example:

___ wrote the article?

Try:

He wrote the article.

So:

Who wrote the article?

Now consider:

You interviewed ___.

Try:

You interviewed him.

Therefore:

You interviewed whom?

The same test works with she/her:

___ manages the department?

She manages the department.

Therefore:

Who manages the department?

Now:

The manager ___ I contacted…

Try:

I contacted her.

Therefore:

The manager whom I contacted…

You can also use they/them:

___ submitted the proposal?

They submitted the proposal.

So:

Who submitted the proposal?

But:

The people ___ we invited…

Try:

We invited them.

Therefore:

The people whom we invited…

This test works because English personal pronouns preserve the subject/object distinction more clearly in forms such as they/them, she/her, and he/him.

Why the He/Him Test Helps With “Some of Whom”

Now apply the same reasoning to the target phrase.

Start with:

Some of ___

Imagine replacing the unknown pronoun with them:

Some of them

That sounds correct because them is the object form.

Now replace it with they:

Some of they

That doesn’t work in standard English.

The traditional corresponding form is therefore:

some of whom

This doesn’t mean that the entire phrase some of whom functions as a simple object in every sentence. The more precise explanation is that whom is the object or complement governed by of, while the larger phrase some of whom can function within a relative clause.

For example:

The university invited several researchers, some of whom presented papers.

The entire phrase some of whom identifies a subset of the researchers. Within that phrase, whom follows the preposition of.

That distinction is worth remembering because it prevents a common misunderstanding.

How the Preposition “Of” Changes the Pronoun

Prepositions often provide a strong clue about whether whom is appropriate.

Consider these familiar pairs:

Preposition + person	Traditional form
to + him	to whom
with + her	with whom
for + them	for whom
from + him	from whom
of + them	of whom

Now place a quantity word before the final construction:

some of whom

many of whom

most of whom

all of whom

none of whom

This is a highly recognizable pattern in formal written English.

For example:

The organization employs 200 people, many of whom work remotely.

The phrase many of whom refers back to 200 people.

Another example:

The committee selected eight finalists, all of whom met the requirements.

Here, all of whom refers back to eight finalists.

And:

The company received dozens of applications, none of whom were accepted.

This last example, however, contains a semantic problem because applications are things, not people. A better version would be:

The company received dozens of applications, none of which were accepted.

That example shows why you must check both grammatical function and antecedent type.

Why “Of Whom” Is Different From “Who”

The phrase of whom has a clear grammatical structure:

of = preposition
whom = object/complement of the preposition

The equivalent with an ordinary personal pronoun is:

of them

not:

of they

That’s the underlying reason some of whom is preferred in formal standard English.

Oxford describes whom as the form used instead of who when it functions as the object of a verb or preposition. Its American English guidance likewise identifies whom as the formal object form.

This rule becomes especially clear in sentences where the preposition appears directly before the pronoun:

The professor with whom I worked retired.

The client for whom we prepared the report was satisfied.

The researchers of whom we spoke were unavailable.

The candidates, some of whom had advanced degrees, completed the interviews.

In each construction, the pronoun follows a preposition.

Who and Whom in Relative Clauses

Both who and whom can introduce relative clauses about people. The difference depends on their role inside the clause.

Consider:

The woman who called me is a lawyer.

Here, who is the subject of called.

The underlying clause is:

She called me.

Now compare:

The woman whom I called is a lawyer.

Here, whom is the object of called.

The underlying clause is:

I called her.

This is a simple but powerful comparison:

Relative clause	Underlying sentence	Pronoun
The woman who called me	She called me.	who
The woman whom I called	I called her.	whom
The woman with whom I worked	I worked with her.	whom
The people some of whom attended	Some of them attended.	whom

Cambridge explains that who introduces relative clauses about people and that whom is used when the person functions as the object, especially in formal writing.

A Crucial Point About “Some of Whom”

There’s a subtle detail that can make this topic confusing.

Take:

The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.

It might seem strange to call whom an object because some of whom appears to be the subject of the verb.

The key is to look at the phrase as a whole.

Compare:

Some of them work remotely.

The entire phrase some of them functions as the subject of the clause.

But them remains the object form after of.

Likewise:

Some of whom work remotely.

The whole phrase functions as the subject of the relative clause, while whom retains its objective form because it follows of.

This is why saying “whom is always the object of the verb” would oversimplify the grammar. In some cases, the important relationship is specifically of + whom.

Formal Grammar vs. Everyday Usage

Here’s where real-world English gets interesting.

Traditional grammar distinguishes who and whom more sharply than many speakers do today. In everyday American English, who often appears in object positions where formal grammar might recommend whom. Merriam-Webster notes that whom can sound formal or stiff in ordinary speech and that who is widely used instead.

For example, most people wouldn’t be surprised to hear:

Who did you invite?

Traditional grammar would favor:

Whom did you invite?

But that doesn’t mean whom has disappeared.

It remains common and useful in formal constructions such as:

To whom should I send the report?

The applicant to whom we sent the offer accepted it.

The employees, many of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.

Oxford similarly notes that who is common in spoken English while whom remains associated with formal writing and prepositional constructions.

So there are really two questions:

What is the traditional grammatical form?

What do people commonly say?

Those questions don’t always have identical answers.

Why “Whom” Still Matters

Some writers assume that because whom sounds formal, it must be outdated or unnecessary. That’s too broad.

Whom still performs a useful grammatical function. It provides a clear distinction between subject and object forms in contexts where that distinction helps.

Consider:

The researchers, some of whom had worked abroad, joined the project.

The phrase is compact and precise.

You could rewrite it as:

The researchers had worked abroad, and some of them joined the project.

But that’s a different meaning and structure.

Or:

The researchers joined the project. Some of them had worked abroad.

Again, perfectly understandable, but less tightly integrated.

Some of whom lets you connect the subset directly to the larger group.

A Useful Mental Model

Imagine a group of ten people standing in a room.

You say:

Ten researchers attended the conference.

Now you want to tell your reader that only four had published books.

You have several options:

Four of the researchers had published books.

Some of the researchers had published books.

The researchers attended the conference, and some of them had published books.

Or you can compress the information:

The researchers attended the conference, some of whom had published books.

The last version uses a relative clause to connect the subset directly to the original group.

That is the practical purpose of the pattern.

The Grammar in One Snapshot

Question	Answer
Does who traditionally function as the subject?	Yes
Does who traditionally function as the obsubject	Yes
Does whom commonly follow a preposition?	Yes
Is of whom a standard formal construction?	Yes
Is some of whom standard?	Yes
Is some of who the preferred formal construction?	No
Is who common in everyday speech where formal grammar uses whom?	Yes
Does the antecedent of whom usually refer to people?	Yes
Can which replace whom for things?	Yes

The Practical Rule

When you see a structure like:

The candidates, some of ___…

ask yourself what you would say with an ordinary pronoun.

You would say:

some of them

not:

some of they

So the formal relative form is:

some of whom

That rule handles the target phrase cleanly.

At the same time, don’t turn the rule into a blanket command to use whom everywhere. Modern English allows who in many object positions, especially in conversation and informal writing. The important distinction is that some of whom remains the standard choice when the construction specifically uses of + pronoun to refer to people.

When Can You Use “Some of Who”?

The phrase some of who creates confusion because who and whom often overlap in modern English. However, when some of directly introduces a reference to people, some of whom is the standard construction in formal written English. The important point isn’t simply that whom sounds more formal. The phrase follows a grammatical pattern in which whom comes after the preposition. Once you understand that relationship, you can recognize why some uses of whom work and why some uses of who usually don’t.

Rare Situations Where “Some of Who” May Appear

You may occasionally encounter in informal writing, speech transcripts, unedited material, or sentences where the writer doesn’t follow the traditional distinction.

For example:

The people some of who attended the event…

A reader can usually understand the intended meaning. However, in carefully edited standard English, the sentence would normally become:

The people, some of whom attended the event…

It’s also possible to encounter who in unusual constructions where the words some and of don’t form the standard some of whom phrase. That distinction matters. You shouldn’t automatically treat every occurrence of the individual words some, of, and who as the same grammatical construction.

For practical writing, though, there’s little reason to choose some of who when you mean “some of those people.”

Why “Some of Who” Sounds Incorrect in Standard English

The main issue comes from the pronoun’s grammatical case.

Compare:

some of them

with:

some of they

The second form doesn’t work in standard English.

Now compare the corresponding relative pronouns:

some of whom

some of who

Traditional English grammar treats whom as the objective form of who, so whom fits after of.

This is why edited prose generally uses:

The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.

rather than:

The employees, some of who work remotely, attended the meeting.

The distinction isn’t merely about sounding polished. It reflects the grammatical relationship between the preposition of and its complement.

Formal Grammar vs. Everyday Conversation

Everyday English doesn’t always preserve the traditional distinction between who and whom.

For example, you’ll often hear:

Who did you meet?

rather than:

Whom did you meet?

That conversational preference doesn’t automatically make some of who the standard choice.

In fact, some of whom remains a well-established construction in formal writing. Cambridge Dictionary notes that whom is more common in formal styles and writing, while who is widely used in ordinary speech.

This gives you a useful distinction:

Context	Natural choice
Formal writing	some of whom
Academic writing	some of whom
Professional reports	some of whom
Edited journalism	some of whom
Casual conversation	Often avoid the construction or say some of them
Informal speech	Often some of them
Standard formal construction	some of whom

If you’re writing an essay, report, article, application, or professional document, some of whom is the safest and most precise choice.

Examples of “Some of Whom” in Sentences

The phrase becomes easier to understand when you see it working in different sentence patterns.

The school hired twelve teachers, some of whom had international experience.

Here, some of whom refers to twelve teachers.

We interviewed several applicants, some of whom had advanced degrees.

Here, the phrase refers to several applicants.

The conference attracted hundreds of visitors, some of whom traveled from overseas.

Here, it refers to hundreds of visitors.

The committee selected eight finalists, some of whom had previously won awards.

Here, it refers to eight finalists.

She invited several colleagues, some of whom stayed after the meeting.

Here, it refers to several colleagues.

Notice the recurring pattern:

antecedent + comma + some of whom + verb

The antecedent identifies the larger group. Some selects a portion of that group, while whom connects that portion to the people already mentioned.

Academic Writing Examples

Academic writing frequently needs to describe a group and then identify characteristics shared by only part of that group.

For example:

The researchers surveyed 500 participants, some of whom had previously studied linguistics.

The sentence efficiently provides two pieces of information without repeating participants.

Another example:

The study examined 40 teachers, some of whom had more than fifteen years of classroom experience.

Or:

The researchers interviewed several language specialists, some of whom supported the proposed theory.

The construction works particularly well in research writing because academic prose often needs to distinguish between a whole sample and a subset.

Consider the longer version:

The researchers surveyed 500 participants. Some of the participants had previously studied linguistics.

That’s perfectly correct, but the relative-clause version is more compact:

The researchers surveyed 500 participants, some of whom had previously studied linguistics.

This doesn’t mean shorter is always better. Use the construction when the relationship between the two ideas is clear and useful.

Business Writing Examples

Professional communication also benefits from precise relative clauses.

For example:

The company interviewed twenty candidates, some of whom had previous management experience.

Or:

The firm contacted several suppliers, some of whom could deliver the equipment within a week.

Another example:

The organization employs more than 300 people, some of whom work from regional offices.

The construction lets you provide additional information without creating a string of short sentences.

Compare:

The organization employs more than 300 people. Some of those people work from regional offices.

The second version isn’t wrong. It simply repeats the noun phrase.

The more concise version is:

The organization employs more than 300 people, some of whom work from regional offices.

Everyday English Examples

You can also use some of whom in ordinary sentences.

I have several cousins, some of whom live nearby.

We invited our neighbors, some of whom arrived early.

She knows several musicians, some of whom perform locally.

He has met many writers, some of whom became close friends.

Still, everyday speakers often choose a simpler alternative:

I have several cousins. Some of them live nearby.

That’s completely natural.

The difference is mainly one of sentence structure and register. Some of them work as an ordinary pronoun phrase, while some of whom creates a relative clause.

Journalism and Published Writing

Published writing often uses some of whom because journalists need to connect related information efficiently.

For example:

The investigation interviewed several witnesses, some of whom had been at the scene that evening.

Or:

The event attracted dozens of officials, some of whom later addressed reporters.

The phrase can help a writer add relevant detail without interrupting the main statement.

However, clarity still comes first. If the antecedent is ambiguous, rewrite the sentence.

For example:

The reporter interviewed teachers and administrators, some of whom had worked overseas.

Who had worked overseas?

The teachers? The administrators? Both?

If the intended meaning is unclear, a clearer version would be:

The reporter interviewed teachers and administrators. Several of the teachers had worked overseas.

A grammatically correct sentence can still be poorly written if its reference is vague.

Quick Reference Table

Expression	Refers to	Example
some of whom	People	Several doctors attended, some of whom spoke later.
some of which	Things	Several reports were published, some of which were controversial.
some of them	People or things in a separate clause	Several doctors attended. Some of them spoke later.
some of who	Generally avoided in standard formal English	Use some of whom instead.

This table captures the practical distinction.If the antecedent is people and you want a relative clause, choose some of whom.If the antecedent is things, choose some of which.If you don’t need a relative clause, some of them may be the simplest option.

When “Some of Whom” Is Especially Useful

The construction works particularly well when you want to emphasize a subset.

For example:

The university has thousands of graduates, some of whom now work internationally.

The sentence doesn’t claim that all graduates work internationally. It specifically identifies a portion.

This distinction is important.

Compare:

The university has thousands of graduates who now work internationally.

This could suggest that the graduates being discussed work internationally as a group.

But:

The university has thousands of graduates, some of whom now work internationally.

Clearly identifies only part of the larger group.

The word some therefore carries meaningful information. It limits the statement instead of making a claim about everyone.

Some of Whom With Different Quantity Words

The same grammatical pattern extends beyond some.

You can use:

many of whom

most of whom

all of whom

none of whom

several of whom

few of whom

each of whom

Examples:

The company hired fifty employees, many of whom had technical degrees.

The students submitted their assignments, most of whom finished before the deadline.

The second example is grammatically awkward because most of whom refers to students, but finished is an action the students perform. It is actually grammatically fine. The wording simply illustrates that whom remains correct because it follows of, even though the entire phrase acts as the subject of the relative clause.

That subtlety is worth noticing.

The students submitted their assignments, most of whom finished early.

Here, most of whom means:

most of them

The phrase is the subject of the relative clause, but whom remains the form required after of.

The Difference Between “Some of Whom” and “Some of Them”

These two phrases often communicate closely related information, but they belong to different sentence structures.

Consider:

The company hired several designers. Some of them had worked abroad.

Here, some of them begins a separate sentence.

Now combine the ideas:

The company hired several designers, some of whom had worked abroad.

The second version uses a nonrestrictive relative clause.

This gives you a practical rewriting technique:

Two sentences:

The company hired several designers. Some of them had worked abroad.

Combined sentence:

The company hired several designers, some of whom had worked abroad.

This technique is useful when editing repetitive prose.

The Difference Between “Some of Whom” and “Some of Which”

The antecedent determines the choice.

For people:

The organization supports several volunteers, some of whom work weekends.

For things:

The organization uses several systems, some of which require regular updates.

Never choose which simply because it sounds easier. Which generally refers to things or animals in standard relative-pronoun usage, while whom refers to people.

Compare:

The researchers interviewed several participants, some of whom were teachers.

with:

The researchers reviewed several studies, some of which were published recently.

The difference is straightforward once you identify the antecedent.

A Simple Editing Strategy

If some of whom feels awkward, temporarily replace it with some of them.

For example:

The researchers interviewed several participants. Some of them had previous experience.

Now combine the sentences:

The researchers interviewed several participants, some of whom had previous experience.

This technique avoids relying on intuition alone.

It also helps you identify whether you’re actually talking about a subset of a previously mentioned group.

When You Should Avoid the Construction

Even a grammatically correct construction isn’t always the best choice.

Avoid some of whom when the antecedent is unclear.

For example:

The manager spoke with the employees and supervisors, some of whom had worked there for years.

The reader may wonder which group you’re describing.

Rewrite it:

The manager spoke with the employees and supervisors. Some of the employees had worked there for years.

You can also avoid the phrase when the sentence becomes too long:

The company interviewed dozens of candidates, some of whom had international experience, several of whom had advanced degrees, and a few of whom had previously worked for competitors.

Technically, the information may be understandable, but the sentence feels overloaded.

A cleaner version could be:

The company interviewed dozens of candidates. Some had international experience, while several held advanced degrees.

Good writing isn’t about using whom as often as possible. It’s about using the construction where it improves clarity and flow.

Formal vs. Informal Alternatives

If you’re writing for a casual audience, you have several options.

Formal:

The organization employs several researchers, some of whom work remotely.

Neutral:

The organization employs several researchers. Some of them work remotely.

More conversational:

The organization employs several researchers, and some work remotely.

All three can work. The best choice depends on the surrounding prose.

For academic, legal, professional, or carefully edited writing, some of whom often fits naturally.

For casual conversation, some of them may feel more relaxed.

The Core Rule in Real-World Use

When you see:

some of ___

and the blank refers to people, remember:

some of whom

not:

some of who

The same pattern applies to:

many of whom

most of whom

all of whom

none of whom

several of whom

The important grammatical clue is the preposition of.

At the same time, don’t assume that whom belongs everywhere a person appears. Compare:

The woman who called me…

with:

The woman whom I called…

In the first sentence, who acts.

In the second, whom receives the action.

That distinction remains the foundation of the traditional rule.

A Quick Self-Test

Try these before moving on.

The committee selected ten applicants, some of ___ had previous experience.

Answer: whom

The committee selected ten applicants, some of ___ were international students.

Answer: whom

The committee reviewed ten applications, some of ___ contained errors.

Answer: which

The woman ___ contacted us was the director.

Answer: who

The woman ___ we contacted was the director.

Answer: whom

The pattern becomes predictable once you identify the antecedent and grammatical role.

Key Point to Remember

Some of whom is the standard choice when some refers to part of a previously mentioned group of people and whom follows the preposition of. Some of who is generally not the form to use in standard formal English.

If the construction feels too formal for your sentence, you don’t have to force it. Simply rewrite the sentence with some of them or use two shorter sentences.

The goal isn’t to make every sentence sound academic. The goal is to make the grammar accurate, the reference clear, and the style appropriate for your reader.

Common Mistakes to Avoid With Some of Whom and Some of Who

The difference between some of whom and some of who causes trouble because everyday English often treats who and whom as interchangeable. Formal grammar still keeps a useful distinction, though. When whom follows the preposition in a phrase such as some of whom, it functions as the traditional objective form. Once you recognize that pattern, several common errors become much easier to spot and correct.

Using “Who” After a Preposition

One of the most common mistakes is placing who directly after a preposition when traditional formal English calls for whom.

For example:

The students, some of whom had studied abroad, attended the seminar.

In formal standard English, the preferred version is:

The students, some of whom had studied abroad, attended the seminar.

The reason is simple. Of is a preposition, and whom traditionally serves as its object.

You can see the same pattern in other expressions:

with whom

to whom

for whom

of whom

from whom

Cambridge Dictionary explains that whom is the object form of who and is especially common after prepositions in formal writing.

This doesn’t mean who can never appear after a preposition in modern English. In everyday speech, English speakers frequently move the preposition to the end of the clause and use who:

Who did you speak with?

That’s common and natural.

However, the structure of who doesn’t follow that same pattern. The preposition remains directly attached to the pronoun, making some of whom the standard formal construction.

Mixing Up Subject and Object Pronouns

Another frequent mistake comes from thinking that whom simply means “a more formal who.”

It doesn’t.

The two forms traditionally have different grammatical roles.

Use who when the person acts as the subject:

The researcher who conducted the study published the results.

The researcher acts.

Use whom when the person acts as the object:

The researcher whom the committee interviewed published the results.

The committee acts, while the researcher receives it.

The he/him test makes this distinction easier.

Ask yourself whether he or him fits.

___ conducted the study.

He conducted the study.

Therefore:

Who conducted the study?

Now:

The committee interviewed ___.

The committee interviewed him.

Therefore:

The researcher whom the committee interviewed…

This test works particularly well when a sentence contains several clauses and the correct pronoun isn’t immediately obvious.

Confusing “Some of Whom” With “Some of Them”

Some of whom and some of them can express closely related ideas, but they don’t perform the same grammatical job.

Compare:

The company hired several engineers. Some of them had worked overseas.

Here, some of them starts a separate sentence.

You can combine the two ideas:

The company hired several engineers, some of whom had worked overseas.

Now, some of whom introduces a relative clause connected to the first clause.

The two versions can be summarized like this:

Construction	Typical function
some of them	Independent pronoun phrase
some of whom	Relative construction
some of which	Relative construction referring to things

This distinction gives you an easy fallback.

If you’re unsure about some of whom, write two sentences first. Then decide whether combining them improves the sentence.

Confusing “Some of Whom” With “Some of Which”

This mistake happens when writers focus on the structure some of ___ but forget to identify what the phrase refers to.

Use whom for people:

The committee interviewed several candidates, some of whom had advanced degrees.

Use which for things:

The committee reviewed several applications, some of which contained errors.

The antecedent controls the choice.

In the first example, candidates are people.

In the second, applications are things.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Antecedent	Correct construction
employees	some of whom
teachers	some of whom
applicants	some of whom
researchers	some of whom
reports	some of which
documents	some of which
studies	some of which
proposals	some of which

A simple rule works well:

People → whom
Things → which

Forgetting the Antecedent

A relative pronoun needs something to refer back to. That noun or noun phrase is called the antecedent.

Consider:

The organization hired several consultants, some of whom had worked abroad.

The antecedent is several consultants.

The phrase some of whom clearly refers to part of that group.

Now consider:

The organization changed its policies after several meetings, some of whom…

Something has gone wrong. Whom refers to people, but the nearest obvious noun is meetings, which aren’t people.

The sentence needs a clear human antecedent:

The organization met with several consultants, some of whom recommended major changes.

Now the reference works.

This matters because grammatical accuracy isn’t enough. Readers also need to understand exactly what a pronoun refers to.

Watch for Ambiguous Antecedents

Even when the antecedent consists of people, the sentence can still create confusion.

Consider:

The company interviewed managers and applicants, some of whom had international experience.

Who had international experience?

The managers? The applicants? Both?

The sentence doesn’t make the intended reference clear.

A better version might be:

The company interviewed several managers and applicants. Some of the applicants had international experience.

Or:

The company interviewed several managers and applicants, including several applicants with international experience.

The lesson is important: some of whom should clarify a relationship, not create a guessing game.

Misusing “Whom” Because It Sounds Formal

Some writers learn that whom sounds sophisticated and then start using it everywhere.

That approach creates new errors.

For example:

The professor whom teaches linguistics won the award.

This is incorrect in traditional grammar.

Why?

Because the professor acts of teaching.

Try the substitution:

She teaches linguistics.

Therefore:

The professor who teaches linguistics…

Now compare:

The professor whom the university hired won the award.

The underlying sentence is:

The university hired her.

So whom works.

The real rule isn’t:

“Use whom when you want to sound formal.”

The useful rule is:

Use who for the traditional subject role and whom for the traditional object role, including after prepositions.

Using “Who” When “Whom” Is Needed in a Formal Sentence

Consider:

The organization has 100 employees, some of who work remotely.

For standard formal writing, change it to:

The organization has 100 employees, some of whom work remotely.

The same correction applies to related expressions:

many of whom

most of whom

all of whom

none of whom

several of whom

For example:

The conference attracted 500 professionals, many of whom traveled from other states.

The company interviewed twenty candidates, most of whom had relevant experience.

The board contacted all the directors, all of whom agreed to the proposal.

The repeated pattern isn’t accidental. These expressions all use of + whom to identify people within a larger group.

Easy Tricks to Decide Between “Who” and “Whom”

When you’re unsure, don’t stare at the sentence and hope the correct form suddenly sounds right. Use a quick test.

First, identify the person being described.

Then ask whether that person acts.

If yes, who usually works.

If the person receives the action or follows a preposition, use whom.

For example:

The employee ___ submitted the report…

Ask:

She submitted the report.

So:

The employee who submitted the report…

Now:

The employee ___ the manager praised…

Ask:

The manager praised her.

So:

The employee whom the manager praised…

Finally:

The employees, some of ___ submitted reports…

Try:

some of them

That gives you:

The employees, some of whom submitted reports…

Use the He/Him Test

The he/him test is probably the most useful shortcut.

Replace the pronoun with he or him.

If he fits, choose who.

If him fits, choose whom.

For example:

___ called the manager?

He called the manager.

Therefore:

Who called the manager?

Now:

You called ___.

You called him.

Therefore:

Whom did you call?

The same method works with relative clauses:

The man ___ called…

He called.

→ who

The man ___ I called…

I called him.

→ whom

This test is especially helpful for learners because he/him makes the subject-object distinction much more obvious than who/whom.

Ask a Simple Question

When the sentence feels complicated, strip it down.

Consider:

The consultants, some of whom had worked internationally, joined the project.

Ask:

Who had worked internationally?

The answer is:

Some of them.

That points toward:

some of whom

Now consider:

The consultants whom the company hired joined the project.

Ask:

Whom did the company hire?

The answer is:

The company hired them.

Again, whom fits.

This method works because it exposes the underlying relationship rather than relying on surface word order.

Look for the Preposition

Prepositions provide another useful clue.

Common prepositions include:

• of
• to
• with
• for
• from
• by
• about

When a formal sentence places a preposition directly before the pronoun, whom is traditionally expected.

Examples:

with whom

to whom

for whom

from whom

of whom

Now add a quantity expression:

some of whom

many of whom

most of whom

several of whom

This pattern becomes almost automatic once you’ve seen enough examples.

Read the Sentence Aloud

Reading aloud can help, but don’t rely on sound alone.

Whom can sound unusually formal in everyday conversation. A sentence may therefore feel strange even when it’s grammatically appropriate.

For example:

The applicants, some of whom had previous experience, were selected.

The phrase may sound more formal than:

The applicants had previous experience. Some of them were selected.

That doesn’t make the first version wrong. It simply has a more formal register.

Reading aloud is most useful for checking clarity and flow, not for deciding grammar by instinct alone.

If some of whom sounds stiff, consider whether some of them would suit the audience better.

Decision Guide: Which Pronoun Should You Use?

Use this quick decision process when editing your sentence.

Question	If yes	If no
Does the pronoun refer to people?	Continue	Consider which for things
Does it follow of in a phrase like “some of ___”?	Use whom	Continue checking
Does the person act?	Usually who	Usually whom
Does the person receive the action?	Usually whom	Check the clause
Is the sentence informal conversation?	Consider who or a rewrite	Whom may fit naturally
Is the writing formal or academic?	Preserve the traditional distinction	Choose the clearest option
Is the antecedent unclear?	Rewrite the sentence	Keep the construction

The most important point is that whom shouldn’t be selected simply because the sentence looks formal. Its role matters.

A Useful Error-Correction Pattern

Suppose you write:

The students, some of whom had studied abroad, attended the conference.

Don’t simply memorize the correction.

Work through it:

Step one: Identify the antecedent.

students

Step two: Confirm that the antecedent refers to people.

Yes.

Step three: Identify the structure.

some of ___

Step four: Recognize of as a preposition.

Step five: Use the traditional objective form.

whom

The corrected sentence becomes:

The students, some of whom had studied abroad, attended the conference.

This process is more reliable than memorizing isolated phrases because you can apply it to unfamiliar sentences.

Common Corrections at a Glance

Common mistake	Better form
some of who	some of whom
many of who	many of whom
most of who	most of whom
all of who	all of whom
none of who	none of whom
the person whom called	the person who called
the person who I called	the person whom I called in formal style
some of whom books	some of which books would still be incorrect; restructure the sentence
people, some of whom attended	people, some of whom attended

The last few examples show why you shouldn’t rely on one rule alone. You need to examine the complete sentence.

When “Some of Them” Is Better

Sometimes the cleanest correction isn’t some of whom.

If your sentence feels overloaded, split it:

The organization invited several experts. Some of them spoke during the final session.

This version is simple, direct, and perfectly grammatical.

You might prefer it in:

• casual blog writing
• conversational explanations
• short social posts
• beginner-level educational material
• sentences with multiple relative clauses

The formal construction remains useful, but clarity should always win.

A Mini Editing Case Study

Imagine a student writes:

The university invited several professors, some of whom had published important research.

The error is easy to identify, but the correction becomes more meaningful when you understand why it works.

Original:

some of who

Problem:

The writer used who after the preposition of.

Correction:

some of whom

Revised sentence:

The university invited several professors, some of whom had published important research.

Now imagine the student writes:

The university invited several professors whom had published important research.

This creates a different error.

Here, whom is incorrectly used as the subject of had published.

The correct version is:

The university invited several professors who had published important research.

The two mistakes look similar, but they involve different grammatical structures.

That’s why understanding the sentence matters more than memorizing a simple “who versus whom” slogan.

The Most Reliable Rule

If you’re dealing specifically with the expression some of ___ and the blank refers to people, use:

some of whom

For things, use:

some of which

For a separate sentence, use:

some of them

For a person acting, use:

who

For a person receiving an action or following a preposition in formal English, use:

whom

Once these patterns become familiar, the choice stops feeling like a guessing game. You can identify the antecedent, locate the grammatical role, check the preposition, and select the appropriate form with confidence.

Comparing Similar Expressions: Some of Whom, Some of Them, and Some of Which

Understanding some of whom becomes much easier when you compare it with similar expressions. English often gives you several ways to describe part of a group, but each option serves a slightly different grammatical purpose. The key is to identify the noun you’re referring to, decide whether you need a relative clause, and then choose the pronoun that fits. Once you see these patterns side by side, the choice becomes much more predictable.

Some of Them vs. Some of Whom

Some of them and some of whom can express nearly the same basic idea, but they don’t work in the same sentence structure.

Compare these examples:

The company hired several designers. Some of them had worked overseas.

Here, some of them begins an independent sentence.

Now combine the ideas:

The company hired several designers, some of whom had worked overseas.

The second version uses a relative clause. The phrase some of whom connects additional information directly to the noun phrase several designers.

Expression	Grammatical role	Example
some of them	Independent pronoun phrase	Several employees attended. Some of them stayed late.
some of whom	Relative phrase referring to people	Several employees attended, some of whom stayed late.
some of which	Relative phrase referring to things	Several reports arrived, some of which contained errors.

You can therefore think of some of them as a standalone option and some of whom as a linking option.

Some of Which vs. Some of Whom

The distinction between some of which and some of whom depends mainly on the antecedent.

Use some of whom when the antecedent refers to people:

The university invited several professors, some of whom had published internationally.

Use some of which when the antecedent refers to things:

The university reviewed several proposals, some of which required additional funding.

The sentence structure is almost identical. Only the relative pronoun changes.

This makes the rule easy to remember:

People → some of whom

Things → some of which

For example:

We interviewed several candidates, some of whom had management experience.

We reviewed several applications, some of which were incomplete.

The museum displayed several paintings, some of which dated back centuries.

The conference attracted many researchers, some of whom presented new findings.

The antecedent determines the pronoun.

Other Expressions That Follow the Same Rule

The pattern doesn’t stop with some of whom. Several quantity expressions can appear before of whom when you refer to part or all of a group of people.

These include:

• many of whom
• most of whom
• none of whom
• all of whom
• several of whom
• few of whom
• each of whom

The same grammatical principle remains in place.

Many of Whom

Use many of whom when a large but unspecified portion of a group performs an action or has a particular characteristic.

The organization employs hundreds of volunteers, many of whom work on weekends.

The antecedent is hundreds of volunteers.

The phrase doesn’t mean every volunteer works on weekends. It identifies a substantial portion of the group.

Another example:

The conference attracted hundreds of visitors, many of whom traveled from other states.

Most of Whom

Use most of whom when more than half, or generally the majority, of a group is being discussed.

The company interviewed thirty applicants, most of whom had relevant experience.

This differs from many of whom because most specifically indicates the majority.

Compare:

Thirty applicants attended, many of whom had relevant experience.

This doesn’t tell you whether more than half had experience.

But:

Thirty applicants attended, most of whom had relevant experience.

This indicates that the majority had experience.

None of Whom

Use none of whom when the statement applies to zero members of the previously mentioned group.

The manager contacted five suppliers, none of whom could meet the deadline.

The meaning is:

Not one of the five suppliers could meet the deadline.

This construction is useful because it expresses the negative idea without repeating the noun.

All of Whom

Use all of whom when the statement applies to every member of the group.

The committee interviewed eight candidates, all of whom met the basic requirements.

The phrase all of whom refers to all eight candidates.

Compare:

some of whom → part of the group

many of whom → a large number

most of whom → the majority

all of whom → the entire group

none of whom → zero members

This makes quantity words an important part of the meaning.

Several of Whom

Several of whom refers to more than two people without specifying an exact number.

The company hired ten graduates, several of whom had internship experience.

The phrase provides more information than some of whom in certain contexts because several suggests a noticeable number, although it doesn’t give an exact figure.

Few of Whom

Few of whom generally means only a small number.

The program attracted many applicants, few of whom had previous teaching experience.

This suggests that only a small portion had that experience.

Be careful not to confuse few with a few.

Few of whom had experience.

This emphasizes a small number.

A few of whom had experience.

This simply indicates that a small number did.

That difference can subtly change the tone of a sentence.

Each of Whom

Each of whom refers to every individual separately.

The organization appointed five advisors, each of whom had specialized knowledge.

Here, the emphasis falls on the individual members rather than the group as a whole.

Compare:

The organization appointed five advisors, all of whom had specialized knowledge.

This emphasizes the entire group.

The organization appointed five advisors, each of whom had specialized knowledge.

This emphasizes each h are grammatically correct, but they create slightly different emphasis.

Grammar Rules Behind Some of Whom

The grammar becomes clearer when you break the construction into its parts.

Take this sentence:

The school hired twenty teachers, some of whom had international experience.

The sentence contains two major parts:

The school hired twenty teachers

and:

some of whom had international experience

The first clause introduces the group. The second clause gives additional information about part of that group.

Within the second clause:

• some identifies a portion
• of functions as a preposition
• whom refers back to the people
• had serves as the verb
• international experience completes the idea

The phrase some of whom therefore acts as a unit.

This is why replacing whom with who changes the traditional grammatical form.

Understanding Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun connects a dependent clause to a noun or noun phrase.

Common relative pronouns include:

• who
• whom
• whose
• which
• that

For example:

The teacher who won the award thanked her students.

Here, who connects the relative clause who won the award to the teacher.

Now consider:

The teachers, some of whom won awards, attended the ceremony.

Here, whom helps connect the additional information to the teachers.

The phrase doesn’t simply replace the noun. It creates a relationship between the larger group and the information that follows.

How Relative Clauses Improve Your Writing

Relative clauses allow you to combine closely related ideas without repeating the same noun.

Instead of writing:

The company hired several engineers. Some of the engineers had worked abroad.

You can write:

The company hired several engineers, some of whom had worked abroad.

The second version is more compact.

However, don’t assume that every sentence should use a relative clause. Too many embedded clauses can make prose difficult to follow.

A good writer balances sentence variety with clarity.

Use a relative clause when the added information naturally belongs to the noun you’ve just mentioned.

Why the Preposition “Of” Changes Everything

The word of plays a small but important role.

Consider:

some of them

The pronoun them is an object form.

Now compare:

some of whom

The traditional relative equivalent of them is whom.

That’s why:

some of whom

works naturally in formal English.

The underlying relationship can be understood as:

some of them

→ relative construction

some of whom

This connection provides a useful memory trick. If them makes sense after of, whom is often the corresponding relative form.

Breaking Down the Grammar

Consider this sentence:

The committee selected twelve finalists, some of whom had previously won awards.

Break it apart:

Antecedent:
twelve finalists

Quantity word:
some

Preposition:
of

Relative pronoun:
whom

Verb:
had won

Additional information:
previously won awards

The phrase some of whom therefore identifies a subset of the finalists.

Now change the sentence:

The committee selected twelve finalists, some of whom had previously won awards.

The meaning remains understandable, but the formal grammatical pattern has been disrupted.

The preferred construction is:

The committee selected twelve finalists, some of whom had previously won awards.

Pronouns Must Match Their Antecedents

Pronouns need clear antecedents.

If the antecedent refers to people, whom may be appropriate.

If it refers to things, which usually works.

Compare:

The researchers published several papers, some of which received attention.

The researchers interviewed several experts, some of whom criticized the theory.

The choice isn’t arbitrary.

The relative pronoun must match what you’re referring to.

Correct

The company hired several consultants, some of whom had worked internationally.

Incorrect

The company hired several consultants, some of which had worked internationally.

The second sentence uses which for people.

Correct

The company released several reports, some of which contained new findings.

Quick Reference

Antecedent	Correct phrase
people	some of whom
things	some of which
people in a separate clause	some of them
things in a separate clause	some of them

Why Commas Matter

You’ll often see a comma before some of whom:

The company hired several employees, some of whom worked remotely.

The comma separates the main clause from the additional nonrestrictive information.

The phrase some of whom worked remotely doesn’t identify which employees the company hired. The main clause already identifies them as several employees.

The second clause simply adds information about part of that group.

Compare:

The company hired several employees, some of whom worked remotely.

The comma signals an additional comment.

This is different from a restrictive relative clause, where the information helps identify the noun itself.

Punctuation therefore contributes to meaning. It isn’t merely decoration.

Common Grammar Pattern You’ll See Everywhere

Once you learn some of whom, you’ll start seeing the same structure in many types of writing.

For example:

The school has 2,000 students, many of whom participate in sports.

The company employs 500 people, most of whom work remotely.

The committee interviewed ten candidates, all of whom met the requirements.

The project involved several specialists, none of whom had worked on a similar case.

The organization invited several speakers, several of whom had written bestselling books.

These examples share the same basic structure:

group + comma + quantity expression + of whom + verb

Learning the pattern is more useful than memorizing one isolated phrase.

Featured Snippet: Why Is Some of Whom Correct?

Some of whom is correct because whom is the traditional objective form of who, and it follows the preposition in this construction. The phrase refers to a portion of a previously mentioned group of people. For example: “The university invited several professors, some of whom had published research.” In formal standard English, some of whom is preferred to some of who.

Formal vs. Informal English

The choice between whom and who also depends on register.

Formal writing tends to preserve the traditional distinction:

The committee consulted several experts, some of whom had worked on similar projects.

Informal English often avoids whom altogether:

The committee consulted several experts. Some of them had worked on similar projects.

Both versions communicate the same basic information.

The difference lies in structure and style.

You shouldn’t force formal grammar into every casual conversation. At the same time, avoiding whom entirely can make formal writing less precise when the construction naturally calls for it.

Real-World Usage of Some of Whom

The phrase appears naturally across several writing environments because it provides a compact way to describe part of a group.

In Academic Writing

Academic writers often need to distinguish a whole sample from a subset.

The study included 250 participants, some of whom had previously completed similar assessments.

The phrase allows the writer to add relevant details without repeating participants.

In Business Writing

Business documents frequently describe teams, clients, employees, suppliers, and stakeholders.

The company works with dozens of suppliers, some of whom operate internationally.

This construction sounds professional without being unnecessarily complicated.

In News Reporting

Journalists often introduce a large group and then identify a smaller portion.

Hundreds of people attended the demonstration, some of whom later spoke with reporters.

The construction helps maintain a compact sentence structure.

In Professional Emails

You might write:

Several members of the team will attend the meeting, some of whom will present project updates.

However, if the email is casual, this may sound more formal than necessary.

A simpler version could be:

Several team members will attend the meeting. Some will present project updates.

The best choice depends on your audience and purpose.

In Everyday Conversation

In speech, people commonly avoid whom.

Instead of:

I know several people, some of whom live nearby.

A speaker might naturally say:

I know several people. Some of them live nearby.

This doesn’t mean some of whom is wrong in conversation. It simply sounds more formal.

Mini Case Study: One Word Can Change the Impression You Make

Imagine two students submitting the same basic idea in an academic assignment.

Student A

The researcher interviewed several participants, some of whom had previous experience.

The meaning is understandable, but the construction contains a traditional grammatical error.

Student B

The researcher interviewed several participants, some of whom had previous experience.

The second version follows the standard formal construction.

The difference is only one word, but the grammatical choice matters in edited academic writing.

The same principle applies to professional documents. A small pronoun choice can affect how polished and controlled a sentence appears.

Common Learner Questions

Why Does Some of Whom Sound So Formal?

Some of whom can sound formal because whom has become less common in everyday speech. Modern speakers often use who or avoid the construction altogether. However, whom remains established in formal writing, especially after prepositions and in carefully edited prose.

Is Whom Disappearing From English?

Whom has become less common in informal spoken English, but it hasn’t disappeared. You’ll still encounter it in formal writing, academic prose, professional documents, legal language, and certain fixed expressions. Writers often avoid it in casual contexts, but constructions such as some of whom remain widely recognized.

Should You Always Use Whom?

No. You shouldn’t use whom simply to make your writing sound sophisticated. Use who when it functions as the subject and whom when the traditional objective form is appropriate. In informal English, you can often rewrite the sentence to avoid the issue completely.

Can Grammar Checkers Always Find These Mistakes?

No grammar checker should replace understanding. Automated tools may recognize obvious errors, but pronoun choice often depends on sentence structure, meaning, register, and context. A sentence can be grammatically possible yet stylistically awkward. Human review still matters when precision is important.

Can You Ever Use Some of Who?

In standard formal English, some of whom is the preferred construction when you mean part of a group of people. Some of who may appear in informal, unedited, or unusual contexts, but it isn’t the normal choice for polished writing. When in doubt, use some of whom or rewrite the sentence as some of them.

Quick Reference: Who, Whom, Which, and Them

Word	Main use	Example
who	Subject referring to people	The writer who won the award…
whom	Object referring to people	The writer whom I interviewed…
which	Refers to things	The book which I reviewed…
them	Object pronoun in an independent phrase	I interviewed them.
some of whom	Part of a group of people	Several writers attended, some of whom won awards.
some of which	Part of a group of things	Several books were reviewed, some of which were new.
some of them	Part of a group in an independent clause	Several writers attended. Some of them won awards.

Quick Memory Chart

A compact memory chart can make the entire distinction easier:

If you’re referring to…	Use…
A person doing an action	who
A person receiving an action	whom
People after of	whom
Things after of	which
People in a separate clause	them
Things in a separate clause	them

Remember the most important pattern:

some of + people → some of whom

And:

some of + things → some of which

Common Incorrect Sentences and Their Corrections

Here are several examples that show how the rule works in real sentences.

Incorrect	Correct
The students, some of whom passed, celebrated.	The students, some of whom passed, celebrated.
We interviewed ten applicants, many of whom had experience.	We interviewed ten applicants, many of whom had experience.
She contacted several experts, most of whom agreed.	She contacted several experts, most of whom agreed.
The manager spoke with employees, all of whom attended.	The manager spoke with employees, all of whom attended.
The organization reviewed reports, some of which contained errors.	The organization reviewed reports, some of which contained errors.
The professor whom teaches the course is absent.	The professor who teaches the course is absent.
The professor who we contacted replied quickly.	The professor whom we contacted replied quickly.

These examples reveal an important point: you can’t choose who or whom by looking at the word immediately before it. You have to examine its grammatical role.

A Simple Checklist Before You Write

Before submitting a sentence containing some of whom, check these points:

• Does the antecedent refer to people?
• Does some refer to only part of that group?
• Does of directly precede the relative pronoun?
• Does the phrase introduce a relative clause?
• Is whom appropriate for the formal register?
• Is the antecedent clear?
• Does the sentence avoid unnecessary repetition?
• Does the punctuation make the relationship clear?
• Would some of them be simpler in this context?
• Does the sentence sound natural when read aloud?

If the answers line up, some of whom is probably the right construction.

Quick Editing Workflow

Use this five-step process when editing.

Identify the group.

several employees

Identify the subset.

some

Check the preposition.

of

Choose the relative pronoun.

whom

Read the entire sentence.

The company hired several employees, some of whom had previous experience.

This workflow takes only a few seconds once you get used to it.

Key Takeaways: Remember the Rule Fast

The easiest way to remember the difference is to focus on the structure rather than the sound.Some of whom refers to part of a group of people and normally introduces a relative clause.Some of which refers to part of a group of things.Some of them works when you want an independent pronoun phrase rather than a relative clause.Some of who isn’t the standard formal construction when who follows of in this pattern.

The traditional who/whom distinction also depends on grammatical role. Who generally acts as the subject, while whom functions as the object or follows a preposition in formal English.

The Most Important Rules

Keep these rules close when you’re writing:

People + some of → some of whom

Things + some of → some of which

Separate clause + people → some of them

Subject → who

Object → whom

For example:

The researchers interviewed several participants, some of whom were teachers.

But:

The researchers reviewed several studies, some of which were published recently.

And:

The researchers interviewed several participants. Some of them were teachers.

These three sentences express related ideas while using different grammatical structures.

Quick Summary Box

Is “some of whom” correct?
Yes. It’s the standard formal construction when some refers to part of a group of people.

Is “some of who” correct?
Generally not in standard formal English when who directly follows of.

Why is “whom” used?
Because whom is traditionally the objective form of who, and of is a preposition.

Can you replace it with “some of them”?
Yes. That’s often a natural alternative, especially when you want a simpler or more conversational sentence.

What should you use for things?
Use some of which.

What should you use for people acting?
Usually use who when the person serves as the subject.

What should you use for people receiving an action?
Use whom in formal English when the person serves as the object.

The practical rule is simple: when you’re describing some members of a group of people, and the phrase begins with some of, choose some of whom in standard formal English.

Conclusion

Choosing between some of whom and some of who becomes much easier once you understand the role of whom after the preposition of. In standard formal English, some of whom is the correct and preferred expression when you’re referring to part of a group of people. For example, “The students, some of whom studied abroad, performed well.” Some of who may appear in informal or unedited writing, but it isn’t the standard choice for polished English. When you’re referring to things, use some of which instead. If you want a simpler conversational alternative, some of them often works beautifully. The key is to look at the sentence structure, identify the antecedent, and choose the pronoun that fits. Once this pattern becomes familiar, you’ll recognize some of whom naturally in academic, professional, and everyday writing.

FAQs

Is “some of whom” grammatically correct?

Yes, some of whom is grammatically correct and widely accepted in standard English. It refers to part of a previously mentioned group of people and usually introduces a relative clause. For example, “The company hired several employees, some of whom had previous experience.” The phrase is especially common in formal, academic, professional, and carefully edited writing.

Is “some of who” grammatically correct?

Some of who isn’t generally considered the standard form in formal English when you mean part of a group of people. The preferred expression is some of whom. Because of is a preposition, traditional grammar uses whom as its object. In polished writing, choose some of whom to avoid this common grammatical error.

Why do we say “some of whom” instead of “some of who”?

We say some of whom because whom functions as the traditional objective form of who. In this construction, of is a preposition, and whom follows it. Compare “some of them” with “some of whom.” This pattern explains why some of whom is preferred in standard formal English.

Can I use “some of who” in casual English?

You may occasionally encounter some of who in casual, unedited, or nonstandard writing, but it’s best to avoid it when you want grammatically polished English. In casual conversation, a more natural alternative is often some of them. For formal writing, academic work, business documents, and professional communication, some of whom is the safer choice.

What is the difference between “some of whom” and “some of them”?

Both expressions can refer to part of a group, but they have different grammatical functions. Some of whom introduces a relative clause connected to a previously mentioned noun. Some of them normally appears as an independent pronoun phrase. For example, “Several students attended, some of whom stayed late” versus “Several students attended. Some of them stayed late.”

Can “some of whom” refer to things?

No. Some of whom normally refers to people. When you’re referring to things, use some of which instead. For example, “The company reviewed several applications, some of which contained errors.” Using the correct relative pronoun helps readers immediately understand whether you’re discussing people or things.

Is “whom” becoming outdated?

Whom has become less common in everyday spoken English, where many speakers use who instead. However, whom remains established in formal writing and continues to appear after prepositions and in traditional grammatical constructions. Expressions such as some of whom, many of whom, and all of whom remain common and useful in polished writing.

What is the easiest way to remember “some of whom”?

Remember this simple pattern: people + some of = some of whom. If the noun refers to people and you’re describing only part of that group, some of whom is usually the correct formal choice. For things, use some of which. For a separate sentence, some of them is often the easiest alternative.

Should I always use “whom” instead of “who”?

No. Don’t replace every who with whom. Use who when it functions as the subject, such as “The woman who called me.” Use whom when it functions as the object or follows a preposition in formal English, such as “The woman whom I called.” Grammar depends on the pronoun’s role.

How can I quickly check whether “who” or “whom” is correct?

Try replacing the pronoun with he or him. If he fits, use who. If him fits, use whom. For example, “She called the manager” points to who, while “I called her” points to whom. For some of whom, remember that of them corresponds naturally to the formal relative construction.