If you’ve ever paused over and , you’re not alone. The two phrases look almost identical, yet standard grammar gives them different treatment. In formal English, is the established construction when whom refers to people in a group already mentioned. Some of who is generally not the standard form for that same structure. The difference becomes much easier once you stop memorizing the phrase and examine what each pronoun does inside the sentence.
This distinction matters because represent different grammatical roles. Who traditionally functions as a subject, while whom functions as an object. The preposition also matters because it introduces the pronoun phrase in constructions such as some of whom. Cambridge Dictionary identifies whom as the object form used for people, particularly in formal writing and often after prepositions.
Quick Answer
Some of whom is the standard choice when you mean part of a previously mentioned group of people.
For example:
The manager interviewed twelve applicants, had previous experience.
The phrase refers back to twelve applicants. It tells the reader that only part of that group had previous experience.
By contrast:
The manager interviewed twelve applicants, some of whom had previous experience.
This version is generally considered nonstandard in careful formal writing. If of directly precedes the relative pronoun referring to people, whom is the traditional and formal choice.
A useful way to see the difference is to compare with some of them:
The manager interviewed twelve applicants had previous experience.
The underlying relationship remains clear. Them is an object pronoun, and whom is traditionally the corresponding object form of who.
| Expression | Standard use | Example |
| some of whom | Part of a previously mentioned group of people | The students, some of whom studied abroad, received awards. |
| some of who | Generally not the standard form | Avoid this construction in formal writing. |
| some who | People who act the following clause | Some who studied abroad received awards. |
| some of them | Direct alternative to a relative-clause structure | Some of them studied abroad. |
| some of which | Part of a previously mentioned group of things | The books, some of which were rare, sold quickly. |
The crucial detail is that some who and some of whom aren’t interchangeable versions of the same phrase. They create different grammatical structures.
Consider these sentences:
Some who attended the meeting asked questions.
Here, who is the subject of attended.
Now compare:
The employees, some of whom attended the meeting, asked questions.
Here, whom belongs to the phrase some of whom. The entire phrase refers back to the employees.
That small word changes the grammatical setup.
Is “Some of Whom” Grammatically Correct?
Yes. Some of whom is grammatically correct and widely used in formal written English.
The construction normally follows a noun or noun phrase that identifies a group of people:
We invited several researchers, some of whom had worked overseas.
The antecedent is several researchers. The phrase some of whom had worked overseas gives additional information about part of that group.
You can think of the construction as having three pieces:
some + of + whom
Each piece contributes something different.
- Some identifies an unspecified portion of the group.
- Of establishes a relationship between that portion and the larger group.
- Whom refers back to people and takes the object form.
This structure also works with other quantity expressions:
- many of whom
- most of whom
- all of whom
- none of whom
- several of whom
- few of whom
- each of whom
For example:
The conference attracted hundreds of attendees, many of whom arrived early.
The committee selected six finalists, all of whom had relevant experience.
The company contacted several consultants, none of whom accepted the offer.
The same grammatical pattern appears throughout all these examples.
Is “Some of Who” Ever Grammatically Correct?
For the intended meaning of some members of a previously mentioned group, some of who is generally not the standard choice.
However, it’s important not to turn that rule into an overly broad claim that who can never appear near of. English syntax can produce more complicated structures in which who has a different grammatical role.
For ordinary writing, though, the practical rule is straightforward:
some of whom = standard formal construction
some who = correct when who acts as the subject of the following clause
some of who = generally avoid in standard formal English
For instance:
The teachers, some of whom had taught for decades, attended the ceremony.
But:
Some who had taught for decades attended the ceremony.
The first sentence starts with an already identified group: the teachers. The second sentence identifies a subset by describing what those people did.
That distinction is more useful than simply memorizing that one phrase is “right,” and another is “wrong.”
Why “Some of Whom” Is the Safer Formal Choice
Formal writing tends to preserve the traditional distinction between subject and object forms more consistently than everyday conversation.
Cambridge notes that whom is used for people in formal styles or writing when the person is the object of the verb. It also notes that whom commonly appears with prepositions.
Merriam-Webster likewise describes whom as the objective form of who and notes that it is the preferred form after a preposition, although everyday usage often favors who instead.
That gives writers a useful practical strategy. If you’re writing an academic paper, professional report, formal article, or carefully edited document, some of whom is the safer choice.
In casual speech, you’ll hear who used in many positions traditionally associated with whom. That doesn’t erase the formal distinction. It simply reflects how English has changed in ordinary conversation.
Understanding Who, Whom, and the Grammar Behind “Some of Whom”
The fastest way to master some of whom is to understand who and whom separately first. Once their roles are clear, the larger phrase stops looking mysterious.
What Does “Who” Mean?
Who is a pronoun used to refer to people. It can introduce questions and relative clauses.
For example:
Who called you?
Here, who asks about the person acting.
In a relative clause:
The employee who called me left a message.
The word who refers to the employee and functions as the subject of called.
This subject role is the central idea to remember.
Consider another example:
The students who completed the assignment received feedback.
The students perform the action of completing the assignment. Therefore, who functions as the subject within the relative clause.
But modern English gives who more flexibility than a simple subject-only rule suggests. Cambridge notes that who can function as either the subject or object of a relative clause, especially in ordinary usage.
For example:
The person who I met yesterday was a doctor.
Traditional formal grammar may prefer whom here because the person is the object of met:
The person whom I met yesterday was a doctor.
Yet who is extremely common in actual English.
That’s why a rigid “who always means subject” rule can mislead you. It works as a learning shortcut, but real English usage is more flexible.
What Does “Whom” Mean?
Whom is traditionally the objective form of who.
The simplest comparison looks like this:
| Subject form | Object form |
| I | me |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| they | them |
| who | whom |
You wouldn’t normally say:
She gave the book to he.
You’d say:
She gave the book to him.
Likewise, formal grammar traditionally uses:
To whom did she give the book?
The same object relationship appears in some uses of whom.
The researchers, some of whom received awards, attended the ceremony.
The phrase refers to people who belong to the larger group, but whom occupies the object position created by of.
Merriam-Webster defines whom as the objective case of who and notes its use as the object of a verb or preceding preposition.
The Him/Her Test
The classic him/her test can help you decide whether who or whom fits.
Replace the person-related pronoun with he/she or him/her.
If he or she works, choose who in traditional grammar.
If him or her works, choose whom.
For example:
The person ___ called yesterday left a message.
Try:
He called yesterday.
That works. Therefore:
The person who called yesterday left a message.
Now try:
The person ___ I called yesterday left a message.
The underlying sentence is:
I called him yesterday.
Because him works, traditional grammar points toward:
The person whom I called yesterday left a message.
In everyday American English, however, many writers and speakers use who here. Merriam-Webster specifically notes that who is widely used as an object in ordinary speech and writing, even though traditional grammar distinguishes it from whom.
The They/Them Test for “Some of Whom”
The they/them test works especially well with this topic.
Take:
The teachers, some of ___ had traveled abroad, joined the meeting.
Now simplify the phrase:
Some of them had traveled abroad.
That sounds natural.
Because them is the object form of they, the traditional corresponding relative pronoun is whom.
Therefore:
The teachers, some of whom had traveled abroad, joined the meeting.
This test isn’t magic. It simply helps you uncover the grammatical relationship hiding inside the sentence.
Subject vs. Object: The Core Difference
The distinction becomes clearer when you compare actions.
A subject acts:
She wrote the report.
An object receives the action:
The manager thanked her.
The same pattern appears with who and whom.
Who wrote the report?
The manager thanked whom?
The first pronoun represents the person acting. The second represents the person receiving it.
Now introduce:
Some of them wrote the report.
In a relative clause:
The employees, some of whom wrote the report, received recognition.
The phrase some of whom carries the same underlying relationship as some of them.
Why Many Native Speakers Avoid “Whom”
English has gradually weakened the distinction between subject and object forms in several areas. Whom remains grammatically established, but many speakers find it formal, stiff, or unnatural in ordinary conversation.
Merriam-Webster notes that whom can sound fussy in regular speech and that who is standard in many less-formal constructions.
Cambridge similarly describes whom as much more common in writing than in speaking.
That’s why someone might naturally say:
Who did you speak to?
instead of the more formal:
To whom did you speak?
Both communicate the same basic idea. Their register differs.
The situation changes slightly with some uses of whom because the construction itself is strongly established in formal written English:
The committee interviewed twenty candidates, some of whom had international experience.
Here, whom doesn’t feel nearly as strange because the entire structure is familiar.
Why the Preposition “Of” Matters
The word of is a preposition.
Prepositions establish relationships between words and normally take an object:
a group of students
a collection of books
some of them
several of whom
Merriam-Webster describes of as a preposition that introduces an object, such as a basket of apples.
That helps explain why whom fits naturally after of in formal grammar.
Look at the progression:
students → some of the students → some of them → some of whom
The final version uses a relative pronoun to connect the phrase to an earlier noun.
Breaking Down “Some of Whom” Step by Step
Consider this sentence:
The university invited thirty graduates, some of whom now work overseas.
Break it apart:
The university invited thirty graduates
This is the main clause.
some of whom now work overseas
This adds information about a portion of the graduates.
some
This means an unspecified part of the group.
of
This connects the subset to the larger group.
whom
This refers back to the people in that group.
now work overseas
This tells us what those people do.
The whole construction therefore means roughly:
Some of those graduates now work overseas.
That paraphrase makes the grammar much easier to see.
Relative Clauses and the Antecedent
The noun that a relative pronoun refers back to is called its antecedent.
In:
The doctors, some of whom work abroad, attended the conference.
The antecedent is doctors.
The phrase some of whom points back to that noun.
The antecedent needs to make sense with the pronoun. If you’re talking about people, whom can refer to them. If you’re talking about objects, which usually fills the role.
Compare:
The researchers, some of whom worked overseas, published the findings.
The studies, some of which were conducted overseas, influenced later research.
The distinction is straightforward:
- people → whom
- things → which
Cambridge identifies whom as a relative pronoun for people and which as the corresponding relative pronoun for animals and things.
Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses
Some of whom frequently appears inside a nonrestrictive relative clause.
A nonrestrictive clause adds information about a noun that the reader can already identify.
For example:
The company hired ten engineers, some of whom had previously worked for major technology firms.
The main statement is complete:
The company hired ten engineers.
The second part simply provides additional information.
Because the information is additional rather than essential to identifying the engineers, commas normally separate the clause.
Cambridge explains that non-defining relative clauses add information and are separated from the main clause by commas.
Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive Clauses
Compare these two patterns:
The employees who completed the training received certificates.
Here, the clause identifies which employees received certificates.
Now compare:
The employees, some of whom completed the training, received certificates.
The second structure gives extra information about an already identified group.
The distinction affects punctuation and meaning.
| Clause type | Main purpose | Commas? |
| Defining/restrictive | Identifies which person or group | Usually no |
| Non-defining/nonrestrictive | Adds extra information | Usually yes |
The phrase some of whom naturally fits the second pattern because it commonly identifies a portion of a group that has already been introduced.
Why Commas Matter
Consider:
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received awards.
The commas signal that some of whom studied abroad is additional information.
The sentence still works without it:
The students received awards.
This doesn’t mean commas automatically belong around every relative clause. The punctuation depends on the relationship between the clause and the noun.
A common mistake is to treat commas as decoration. They aren’t. In relative clauses, punctuation can help readers understand whether information identifies the noun or merely adds information.
“Some Who” Is Not the Same as “Some of Whom”
This is perhaps the most important distinction in the entire topic.
Compare:
Some who studied abroad received scholarships.
and:
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received scholarships.
In the first sentence, who is the subject of studied.
The underlying idea is:
Some people studied abroad.
In the second sentence, whom belongs to a phrase referring back to the students.
The underlying idea is:
Some of the students studied abroad.
These sentences can communicate related information, but their structures differ.
When “Some Who” Is Correct
Use some who when who introduces a relative clause and acts as the subject of its verb.
Examples: Some who work remotely prefer flexible schedules.Some who attended the workshop stayed afterward.Some who applied for the position had advanced degrees.
In each case, who acts:
- who work
- who attended
- who applied
No of appears before who.
Now compare:
The applicants, some of whom had advanced degrees, waited outside.
Here, whom follows of.
That’s the structural clue.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Using “some of who”
The applicants, some of who had experience, waited outside.
Better:
The applicants, some of whom had experience, waited outside.
Mistake 2: Using “whom” as the subject
The employees whom work remotely joined the call.
Better:
The employees who work remotely joined the call.
The employees act working.
Mistake 3: Treating “some who” as an informal version of “some of whom”
These structures aren’t merely formal and informal versions of one phrase. They have different syntax.
Mistake 4: Forgetting the antecedent
Some of whom had experience.
As a standalone sentence, this usually feels incomplete because whom needs a clear antecedent.
Better:
The applicants, some of whom had experience, waited outside.
Mistake 5: Using “which” for people
The employees, some of which worked remotely, joined the meeting.
Better:
The employees, some of whom worked remotely, joined the meeting.
Mistake 6: Assuming “whom” must always appear
You don’t need whom simply because a sentence sounds formal.
For example:
The person who called me left a message.
Here, who is the subject of called.
Using whom would be incorrect:
The person whom called me left a message.
Some of Whom vs. Some of Them
These expressions often communicate nearly the same idea, but they fit different sentence structures.
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received awards.
could become:
The students received awards. Some of them studied abroad.
The second version uses two sentences. The first creates a compact relative clause.
This difference can be useful when editing.
If a sentence feels crowded, some of them can make it easier to read.
If you want to connect related information tightly, some of whom may work better.
Some of Whom vs. Some of Which
The choice depends on the antecedent.
For people:
The researchers, some of whom had decades of experience, reviewed the study.
For things:
The studies, some of which had been published years earlier, influenced the review.
This is a reliable distinction in standard grammar.
| Antecedent | Preferred expression |
| students | some of whom |
| teachers | some of whom |
| employees | some of whom |
| researchers | some of whom |
| books | some of which |
| reports | some of which |
| studies | some of which |
| proposals | some of which |
Other Expressions That Follow the Same Pattern
Once you’ve learned some of whom, you can transfer the pattern to many other quantity expressions.
Many of whom had professional experience.
Most of whom arrived before noon.
All of whom completed the training.
None of whom accepted the offer.
Several of whom lived nearby.
Few of whom had studied the subject before.
Each of whom received a certificate.
These expressions work because the quantity word identifies part or all of the larger group, while whom connects the phrase to people already mentioned.
For example:
The company hired eight interns, all of whom completed the program.
The antecedent is eight interns.
The phrase all of whom means all of the interns.
Likewise:
The conference attracted hundreds of teachers, many of whom traveled from other states.
The phrase means many of those teachers.
Real-World Examples of “Some of Whom”
In academic writing:
The researchers surveyed 400 participants, some of whom had previously completed similar studies.
In business writing:
The company promoted twelve employees, some of whom had joined the organization as interns.
In journalism:
Officials interviewed several witnesses, some of whom provided additional details.
In professional communication:
We contacted several vendors, some of whom can provide the equipment by Friday.
In everyday English:
We invited several friends, some of whom arrived early.
The grammar remains the same even though the register changes.
A Practical Editing Example
Imagine a student writes:
The university invited several experts, some of whom had published books on the subject.
The sentence contains the right general idea but the wrong pronoun for formal standard usage.
The clean correction is:
The university invited several experts, some of whom had published books on the subject.
Now suppose the writer wants a more conversational sentence:
The university invited several experts. Some of them had published books on the subject.
Both versions work. The first is more compact. The second is often easier to process.
This illustrates an important writing principle: grammar and style aren’t enemies. You can choose the structure that fits the purpose.
Formal English vs. Everyday Conversation
There’s a common misconception that using whom automatically makes writing better.
It doesn’t.
Good grammar depends on context.
In formal writing, whom can provide a precise and traditional structure:
The applicants, some of whom had advanced degrees, were shortlisted.
In everyday conversation, people often prefer simpler constructions:
We interviewed several applicants. Some of them had advanced degrees.
Or:
We interviewed several applicants, and some of them had advanced degrees.
The goal isn’t to make every sentence sound formal. The goal is to make the sentence accurate, clear, and appropriate for its audience.
Why “Whom” Sounds Formal
Historically, English had a stronger case system than modern English does. Over time, many distinctions weakened. Modern speakers generally don’t change nouns according to grammatical case, and pronoun distinctions have also narrowed.
The pair who/whom is one of the visible remnants of that older system.
That’s why whom can sound more formal than who.
Merriam-Webster describes whom as having a decidedly formal feel and notes that it is uncommon in ordinary speech.
This doesn’t make whom outdated or wrong. It simply means that register matters.
The phrase some of whom, however, remains common enough in polished writing that it rarely feels as awkward as a sentence such as Whom did you call?
Should You Always Use Whom?
No.
The better rule is to use whom when the construction calls for it and when the level of formality supports it.
For some of whom, the choice is especially straightforward because the phrase is a standard formal construction.
For other sentences, modern English often accepts who where traditional grammar would recommend whom.
Compare:
The person whom I interviewed was highly qualified.
and:
The person who I interviewed was highly qualified.
The first follows the traditional object rule. The second is common in contemporary English.
But don’t transfer that flexibility blindly to some of who. The established phrase is some of whom.
Can “Some of Whom” Start a Sentence?
Usually, some of whom works best when it follows an antecedent.
For example:
The organization employs more than 200 people, some of whom work remotely.
The antecedent people appears before whom.
Starting a sentence with:
Some of whom work remotely…
normally creates a fragment because the reader doesn’t yet know whom whom refers to.
Instead, write:
More than 200 people work for the organization. Some of them work remotely.
Or:
The organization employs more than 200 people, some of whom work remotely.
The second version keeps the relative relationship intact.
A Simple Decision Guide
When you’re unsure, work through these questions:
Are you referring to people?
If yes, continue. If you’re referring to things, which may be the appropriate choice.
Does the construction say “some of ___”?
If yes, formal standard English calls for whom when the antecedent is people.
Is “who” acting as the following verb?
If yes, use who.
Can you replace the phrase with “some of them”?
If yes, some of whom is probably the right formal construction.
Is there a clear antecedent?
Make sure the reader can immediately identify the people that whom refers to.
Here’s the process in action:
The consultants, some of ___ had worked overseas, joined the meeting.
- The antecedent is consultants.
- Consultants are people.
- The phrase contains of.
- The underlying phrase is some of them.
- Therefore, use whom.
Correct:
The consultants, some of whom had worked overseas, joined the meeting.
Sentence Patterns You Can Reuse
Once you understand the structure, you can use these patterns naturally.
Pattern: noun + some of whom + verb
The teachers, some of whom teach online, attended the conference.
Pattern: noun + some of whom + past-tense verb
The applicants, some of whom had previous experience, completed the interview.
Pattern: noun + some of whom + modal verb
The employees, some of whom may relocate, received updated information.
Pattern: noun + some of whom + present perfect
The researchers, some of whom have published widely, reviewed the manuscript.
Pattern: some who + verb
Some who attended the seminar stayed afterward.
Notice the difference. The first pattern points back to a known group. The second identifies people through the action described by the relative clause.
Practice: Choose Who or Whom
Try these examples before checking the answers.
The students, some of ___ studied abroad, received scholarships.
Answer: whom
The phrase is some of them studied abroad. Therefore, formal grammar uses whom.
Some ___ studied abroad received scholarships.
Answer: who
Here, who is the subject of studied.
The researchers, several of ___ had published earlier studies, joined the panel.
Answer: whom
The structure is several of them.
The researchers ___ published earlier studies joined the panel.
Answer: who
Here, who acts as the subject of publishing.
The books, some of ___ were extremely old, attracted collectors.
Answer: which
The antecedent is books, so which refers to things.
Quick Comparison
| Sentence | Correct form | Reason |
| The teachers, some of whom work abroad, joined us. | whom | Part of a group of people |
| Some who work abroad joined us. | who | Subject of work |
| The teachers, some of whom work abroad, joined us. | Generally incorrect | Who follows of in the nonstandard construction |
| The teachers, some of them work abroad, joined us. | Incorrect as written | Requires a different sentence structure |
| The teachers, some of whom work abroad, joined us. | Correct | Formal relative-clause construction |
| The books, some of which were rare, sold quickly. | Correct | Refers to things |
The Fastest Memory Trick
Think:
Some of them → some of whom
Then think:
They → who
For example:
Some of them attended.
becomes:
The employees, some of whom attended, received certificates.
But:
They attended.
becomes:
The employees who attended received certificates.
This simple contrast solves many cases without requiring a complicated grammatical analysis.
Final Practical Rule
If you remember only one thing, remember this:
Use “some of whom” when you mean some people from a group already mentioned. Use “some who” when “who” acts as the subject of the following clause.
So:
The employees, some of whom work remotely, joined the meeting.
But:
Some who work remotely joined the meeting.
And when you’re talking about things:
The reports, some of which were confidential, were removed.
The difference may look tiny on the page, but it reflects a real grammatical distinction. Who and whom have overlapping modern usage, yet some of whom remains the standard formal construction for referring to part of a previously mentioned group of people.
For polished writing, that makes the choice easy: when the structure is some + of + people, choose whom. When who directly introduces a clause in which it acts, choose who.
When Can You Use “Some of Whom” Correctly?
Some of whom is used when you refer to part of a previously identified group of people. The word some works as a pronoun here, while of connects that subset to the larger group. Cambridge explains that some of can refer to part of a whole, which is exactly the relationship expressed in this construction.
For example:
The company hired twenty employees, some of whom had previous management experience.
The phrase some of whom means approximately some of those employees. The antecedent, employees, gives whom its reference.
This pattern works with many plural nouns:
The university invited several professors, some of whom specialize in linguistics.
The committee interviewed twelve candidates, some of whom had worked internationally.
The conference attracted hundreds of visitors, some of whom traveled from other states.
The construction is especially useful when you want to combine a main statement with additional information about only part of the group.
How “Some of Whom” Works Grammatically
Consider this sentence:
The researchers published a report, some of whom contributed to the project.
The structure becomes clearer if you reduce it to its basic components:
some + of + whom
The word some identifies an unspecified portion.
The preposition of establishes the relationship between the subset and the larger group.
The relative pronoun whom points back to people already mentioned.
Cambridge identifies whom as a relative pronoun used for people in formal writing, particularly when the person is the object of a verb or follows a preposition.
A more natural example is:
The researchers, some of whom had published previous studies, attended the conference.
Here, researchers is the antecedent. Some of whom identifies a portion of those researchers.
You can mentally expand the phrase:
some of whom → some of the researchers → some of them
That substitution is one of the quickest ways to understand the construction.
“Some of Whom” and the Antecedent
An antecedent is the word or phrase that a pronoun refers to.
In:
The teachers, some of whom work overseas, attended the meeting.
The antecedent is teachers.
In:
The applicants, some of whom had advanced degrees, completed the interview.
The antecedent is applicants.
In:
The doctors, some of whom specialize in surgery, reviewed the cases.
The antecedent is doctors.
The antecedent should be clear enough that the reader immediately understands who whom represents.
This matters because whom cannot normally float around without a clear reference. A sentence such as:
Some of whom attended the meeting.
usually feels incomplete because the reader doesn’t know which people whom refers to.
Instead, establish the group first:
Several researchers attended the meeting, some of whom presented their findings.
The relationship is now obvious.
Why “Of” Matters in the Construction
The small word of carries considerable grammatical weight.
English commonly uses of to express relationships involving groups, quantities, possession, and parts of a whole:
some of the students
many of the employees
several of the applicants
some of them
When the phrase becomes a relative clause, whom can replace the reference to people:
some of whom
Cambridge specifically notes that some of is used to refer to a part of a whole.
This is why the structure isn’t simply a matter of choosing a fancy version of who.
Compare:
Some who attended the meeting asked questions.
with:
The employees, some of whom attended the meeting, asked questions.
The first sentence uses who to introduce a relative clause in which who is the subject of attended.
The second uses whom within the phrase some of whom to refer back to an established group.
Those are different grammatical structures.
“Some Who” Can Be Correct
It’s important not to conclude that some who is wrong.
It can be perfectly correct when who acts as the subject of the following relative clause.
For example:
Some who attended the conference stayed afterward.
Here, who acts as the subject of attended.
The sentence can be expanded conceptually as:
Some people attended the conference.
Now compare:
The conference attendees, some of whom stayed afterward, left before sunset.
Here, whom belongs to the construction some of whom.
The difference is subtle but important.
| Construction | Example | Function |
| some who | Some who attended stayed late. | Who is the subject of attended. |
| some of whom | Attendees, some of whom stayed late, left. | Whom refers back to the group. |
| some of them | Some of them stayed late. | Object pronoun after of. |
| some of which | Reports, some of which were confidential, were removed. | Refers to things. |
Why “Some of Who” Is Usually the Wrong Choice
The phrase some of who often appears when writers understand that who refers to people but haven’t accounted for the role of of.
For example:
The employees, some of who worked remotely, joined the meeting.
In standard formal English, the preferred version is:
The employees, some of whom worked remotely, joined the meeting.
The reason isn’t simply that whom is more formal. The construction contains of, and whom is the traditional objective form used for people in this position.
Cambridge notes that whom is particularly common with prepositions and is more common in writing than in speech.
That distinction also explains why you may hear different patterns in everyday conversation.
Formal Grammar and Everyday English
Modern English doesn’t always maintain the traditional who/whom distinction in casual speech.
For example:
Who did you call?
is extremely common in everyday American English.
Traditional formal grammar would favor:
Whom did you call?
But some use of whom remains a well-established construction in formal writing.
You might see it in:
- academic papers
- professional reports
- edited articles
- news writing
- research summaries
- formal correspondence
- institutional documents
Cambridge explicitly notes that whom is much more common in writing than in speaking.
That means you don’t need to force whom into every sentence to sound educated. Use it where the structure calls for it.
For instance:
The professor, whom I met yesterday, teaches linguistics.
Traditional grammar supports whom because it functions as the object of met.
But:
The professor who teaches linguistics published a new paper.
Here, who is the subject of teaches.
Relative Pronouns: Who, Whom, Which, and That
Understanding some of whom becomes easier when you see the broader relative-pronoun system.
Cambridge identifies who, whom, whose, which, and that as common relative pronouns. Their choice depends partly on what they refer to and how they function within the clause.
| Relative pronoun | Typical reference | Example |
| who | People | The employee who called left a message. |
| whom | People, especially formal writing | The employee whom I called answered. |
| whose | Possession | The employee whose desk is upstairs called. |
| which | Things and animals | The report which arrived today is important. |
| that | People, animals, and things in defining clauses | The report that arrived today is important. |
There is considerable flexibility with who and whom in modern English. Cambridge notes that who can function as either the subject or object of a relative clause, while whom is especially associated with formal writing and object positions.
That’s why the simple rule “who is always the subject” isn’t completely accurate for contemporary English.
A better rule is:
Who is common for people and is especially natural as a subject.
Whom is the traditional object form and remains useful in formal structures.
Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses
The distinction between defining and non-defining relative clauses also matters.
A defining relative clause gives essential information about the noun:
The employees who completed the training received certificates.
Without the relative clause, the reader doesn’t know which employees received certificates.
A non-defining relative clause adds extra information:
The employees, some of whom completed the training, received certificates.
The phrase between the commas isn’t required to identify the employees.
Cambridge explains that non-defining relative clauses add extra information and normally use commas. It also notes that who, whom, whose, and which can introduce these clauses, while that cannot.
This is one reason some of whom appears so frequently between commas.
Why “Some of Whom” Often Uses Commas
Consider:
The company hired fifteen graduates, some of whom had previous experience.
The main clause is:
The company hired fifteen graduates.
The additional clause is:
some of whom had previous experience
Remove the extra information:
The company hired fifteen graduates.
The core sentence remains complete.
That tells you the relative clause provides additional information rather than identifying which graduates the writer means.
Compare:
The graduates who had previous experience received job offers.
Here, the relative clause identifies a particular subset.
The punctuation therefore reflects a meaningful difference in structure.
The Subject-and-Object Test
One of the most useful ways to understand who and whom is to reduce the relative clause to a simple sentence.
Take:
The manager hired the employees.
Ask which part represents the person being referred to.
The employees receive the action. Therefore, they’re the object.
Traditional grammar gives:
The employees whom the manager hired…
Now consider:
The employees worked remotely.
The employees act. They’re the subject.
Therefore:
The employees who worked remotely…
This method works because you’re testing the underlying grammatical role rather than relying on how the sentence sounds.
The “They/Them” Test
For some of whom, the they/them test can be particularly helpful.
Consider:
The applicants, some of ___ had previous experience, were shortlisted.
Replace the phrase with a normal pronoun:
Some of them had previous experience.
The natural pronoun is them, not they.
Because them is an object form, the traditional relative-pronoun equivalent is whom.
So:
The applicants, some of whom had previous experience, were shortlisted.
Now consider:
The applicants ___ had previous experience were shortlisted.
The simplified sentence is:
They had previous experience.
Therefore:
The applicants who had previous experience were shortlisted.
This gives you a practical contrast:
They → who
Them → whom
The test isn’t perfect for every sentence, but it’s extremely useful for this particular pattern.
Some of Whom, Many of Whom, and Most of Whom
The same grammatical pattern appears with several quantity expressions.
The researchers, many of whom had published before, reviewed the study.
The applicants, most of whom had relevant degrees, reached the final stage.
The participants, all of whom completed the survey, received confirmation.
The witnesses, none of whom changed their statements, were interviewed again.
The students, several of whom had studied abroad, joined the program.
The quantity word changes, but the basic structure stays intact.
quantity + of + whom
This is a highly productive pattern in formal English.
The Meaning of “Some”
The word some itself deserves attention.
Cambridge explains that some can function as both a determiner and a pronoun. As a pronoun, it can stand without an immediately following noun when that noun is understood.
For example:
I invited several colleagues. Some arrived early.
Here, some stands for some of the colleagues.
In:
I invited several colleagues, some of whom arrived early.
The phrase makes the relationship explicit.
The meaning is approximately:
Some of those colleagues arrived early.
This is why some of whom is particularly useful when discussing groups.
People vs. Things
Another common mistake involves using which and whom interchangeably.
Use whom when the antecedent is people:
The researchers, some of whom had extensive experience, reviewed the data.
Use which when the antecedent is things:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were revised.
Cambridge identifies which as the relative pronoun used for animals and things, while whom is used for people in formal styles or writing.
This gives you an easy memory shortcut:
People → some of whom
Things → some of which
For example:
The teachers, some of whom live nearby, attended.
The houses, some of which are over a century old, were renovated.
A Common Structural Trap
Writers sometimes produce sentences like:
The students, some of whom they studied abroad, received awards.
This contains an unnecessary pronoun.
The correct sentence is:
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received awards.
Why?
Because whom already represents the people connected to the relative clause. Adding they creates an unnecessary duplicate subject.
Cambridge’s guidance on relative clauses explains that when a relative pronoun serves the relevant grammatical role, another pronoun should not duplicate it inside the clause.
Compare:
The woman who called me left.
Not:
The woman who she called me left.
Likewise:
The employees, some of whom worked remotely, joined the meeting.
Not:
The employees, some of whom they worked remotely, joined the meeting.
A More Natural Alternative: “Some of Them”
Sometimes some of whom makes a sentence unnecessarily dense.
For example:
The organization hired several specialists, some of whom had worked internationally, and the directors later interviewed them.
A cleaner alternative might be:
The organization hired several specialists. Some of them had worked internationally, and the directors later interviewed them.
Both structures are grammatically useful. The second may be easier to read when the sentence already contains several ideas.
This matters because good writing isn’t about choosing the most formal construction every time. It’s about matching structure to purpose.
Academic Writing
Academic prose often uses some of whom because researchers regularly describe samples, participants, scholars, respondents, or study groups.
For example:
The study included 240 participants, some of whom had previously completed similar assessments.
Or:
The researchers interviewed thirty teachers, some of whom had more than twenty years of classroom experience.
The construction lets writers provide extra information without repeatedly creating separate sentences.
A strong academic sentence often follows this pattern:
Group + comma + quantity expression + of whom + additional information
For example:
The survey included 500 respondents, many of whom reported using digital resources regularly.
This structure is concise while still giving the reader meaningful context.
Business Writing
Professional documents also benefit from this construction when describing teams, clients, employees, or stakeholders.
The company contacted several suppliers, some of whom could meet the revised deadline.
The firm promoted eight managers, two of whom had joined as interns.
The project involved several departments, many of whose employees contributed to testing.
These sentences sound polished without becoming unnecessarily complicated.
The key is to use the structure when it genuinely improves information flow.
News and Published Writing
Journalistic writing frequently introduces a group and then identifies a subset with a relative clause:
Police interviewed several witnesses, some of whom described the incident in detail.
Officials met with dozens of residents, many of whom expressed concerns about the proposal.
The structure works well because it compresses related information.
Instead of:
Officials met with dozens of residents. Some of those residents expressed concerns.
The writer can use:
Officials met with dozens of residents, some of whom expressed concerns.
That compactness is one reason the construction remains useful in edited prose.
Everyday Conversation
In casual speech, you don’t need to force this construction.
A speaker might naturally say:
We invited a bunch of people. Some of them arrived early.
Rather than:
We invited several people, some of whom arrived early.
The second sentence isn’t wrong. It simply sounds more polished and written.
Cambridge’s guidance reflects this broader usage pattern: whom is much more common in writing than in speaking.
So if you’re chatting with a friend, some of them may feel more natural. If you’re writing a formal report, some of whom may fit better.
Quick Reference Chart
| If you mean… | Use | Example |
| Some people from a previously named group | some of whom | The students, some of whom worked abroad, returned. |
| Some people identified by an action | some who | Some who worked abroad returned. |
| Some members of a group in a separate sentence | some of them | The students returned. Some of them worked abroad. |
| Some things from a previously named group | some of which | The reports, some of which were confidential, were removed. |
| Many people from a group | many of whom | The researchers, many of whom had published, attended. |
| Most people from a group | most of whom | The applicants, most of whom were qualified, advanced. |
| All people from a group | all of whom | The finalists, all of whom passed, received offers. |
The pattern becomes much easier when you focus on the relationship rather than the individual words.
A Practical Editing Workflow
When you encounter some of who in your writing, don’t simply replace who with whom without checking the sentence.
Instead, follow this quick process:
- Find the noun that who/whom refers to.
- Decide whether that noun refers to people or things.
- Look at the words immediately before the pronoun.
- If the structure is some of + people, consider some of whom.
- Check whether the clause is defining or non-defining.
- Add commas when the clause provides nonessential information.
- Remove any unnecessary pronoun inside the relative clause.
- Read the finished sentence aloud.
For example:
The candidates, some of whom they had interviewed earlier, were invited back.
Edit it step by step.
First, identify the antecedent:
candidates
Second, remove the unnecessary they:
The candidates, some of whom had been interviewed earlier, were invited back.
Third, apply the formal relative-pronoun pattern:
The candidates, some of whom had interviewed earlier, were invited back.
However, that sentence changes meaning depending on who conducted the interviews. If the intended meaning is that the company interviewed the candidates earlier, write:
The candidates, some of whom the company had interviewed earlier, were invited back.
That version is structurally complete and semantically precise.
The Most Reliable Rule to Remember
Here’s the practical distinction worth keeping:
Some of whom refers to part of a group of people already mentioned.
Some who introduces people described by the action that follows.
For example:
The teachers, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.
versus:
Some who work remotely attended the meeting.
The first starts with an established group: the teachers. The second identifies people through the relative clause who work remotely.
That distinction also explains why some of who isn’t normally the correct replacement for some of whom.
The issue isn’t simply pronunciation or formality. It’s the grammatical structure of the phrase.
Final Check Before You Publish
Before submitting an article, report, essay, or professional document, ask yourself:
Am I referring to some members of a group already mentioned?
If yes, some of whom is likely the construction you need when the group consists of people.
The researchers, some of whom specialize in syntax, reviewed the paper.
If you’re introducing a group through an action, some who may be appropriate:
Some who specialize in syntax reviewed the paper.
If you’re talking about things:
The papers, some of which discuss syntax, were published recently.
And if the sentence sounds overly formal, restructure it:
The researchers reviewed the paper. Some of them specialize in syntax.
The important point is that modern English allows some flexibility around who and whom, especially in informal usage. Still, some of whom remains a clear and established construction for formal writing. Cambridge specifically identifies whom as a formal written relative pronoun for people and notes its frequent use with prepositions.
Once you connect some of whom with the simpler phrase some of them, the rule becomes far easier to remember.
Comparing “Some of Whom” With Similar Expressions
The easiest way to understand some of whom is to place it beside expressions that perform similar jobs.
Consider these examples:
The committee interviewed ten candidates, some of whom had international experience.
The committee interviewed ten candidates. Some of them had international experience.
The meaning is nearly identical. The structure differs.
The first sentence uses a relative clause. The second uses a separate sentence and an ordinary pronoun.
That distinction gives you several useful alternatives when writing. Some of Them vs. Some of WhomSome of them is an ordinary pronoun phrase. Some of whom is a relative-pronoun construction.
Compare:
The researchers attended the conference. Some of them presented their findings.
with:
The researchers attended the conference, some of whom presented their findings.
Both sentences tell the reader that part of the research group presented findings.
The second version links the information more tightly. The first version creates a cleaner break between ideas.
| Expression | Structure | Best use |
| some of them | Independent pronoun phrase | Separate statements |
| some of whom | Relative-clause construction | Connecting extra information |
| some who | Relative clause with who as subject | Describing people by their action |
| some of which | Relative construction for things | Referring to part of a group of things |
A useful substitution test is:
some of them → some of whom
For example:
Some of them received awards.
can become:
The students, some of whom received awards, attended the ceremony.
This doesn’t mean you can mechanically replace every them with whom. The surrounding sentence must support a relative clause.
Some of Which vs. Some of Whom
The choice between whom and which depends primarily on what the pronoun refers to.
Use whom for people:
The scientists, some of whom worked overseas, joined the project.
Use which for things:
The studies, some of which were conducted overseas, influenced the project.
This distinction is particularly important in academic, technical, and professional writing.
Consider:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were revised.
That doesn’t work because reports are things.
The correct version is:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were revised.
Now change the antecedent:
The editors, some of whom found errors, reviewed the reports.
Here, editors are people, so whom fits.
Other Expressions That Follow the Same Pattern
The grammar behind some of whom isn’t limited to some.
English frequently combines quantity expressions with of whom:
many of whom
most of whom
all of whom
none of whom
several of whom
few of whom
each of whom
These constructions allow writers to identify a portion, majority, entirety, or small number within a previously mentioned group.
Many of Whom
The program attracted hundreds of applicants, many of whom had advanced degrees.
Many of whom means many members of that group.
Most of Whom
The employees completed the training, most of whom passed the final assessment.
This means most of the employees.
None of Whom
The company contacted several suppliers, none of whom could meet the deadline.
Here, none of whom means that not one person in the referenced group met the condition.
All of Whom
The committee selected six finalists, all of whom had relevant experience.
The phrase refers to the entire group.
Several of Whom
The university hired several professors, several of whom had previously worked abroad.
This identifies more than two but fewer than all members of the group.
Few of Whom
The survey included hundreds of respondents, few of whom had used the service before.
This emphasizes a small number.
Each of Whom
The panel included five experts, each of whom had published extensively.
Here, each of whom refers individually to every person in the group.
The recurring pattern is:
quantity expression + of + whom
Once that pattern becomes familiar, some of whom no longer looks like an isolated grammar rule.
Grammar Rules Behind “Some of Whom”
The construction combines several grammatical ideas at once: quantification, prepositions, relative pronouns, and relative clauses.
Understanding those pieces gives you a much stronger grasp of the sentence.
Understanding Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun connects a relative clause to a noun or noun phrase.
Common relative pronouns include:
- who
- whom
- whose
- which
- that
For people:
The teacher who helped me was patient.
For people in a traditional object position:
The teacher whom I thanked smiled.
For possession:
The teacher whose class I attended was helpful.
For things:
The book which I bought was expensive.
Relative pronouns don’t simply decorate sentences. They establish relationships between the main noun and information supplied by the relative clause.
How Relative Clauses Improve Your Writing
Relative clauses let you combine related information without repeating nouns.
Instead of writing:
The organization hired ten employees. Some of the employees had international experience.
You can write:
The organization hired ten employees, some of whom had international experience.
The second version is more compact.
It also creates a smoother connection between the two ideas.
This is particularly useful when writing about:
- research participants
- employees
- customers
- students
- applicants
- committee members
- witnesses
- professionals
- organizations
- historical figures
The structure lets you add detail without repeatedly using phrases such as some of the people or some of the employees.
Why the Preposition “Of” Changes Everything
The word of signals a relationship between a subset and a larger group.
Compare:
some students
with:
some of the students
The second construction explicitly identifies a portion of a known group.
Now substitute a pronoun:
some of them
When the group has already been mentioned, and you attach a relative clause, the formal construction becomes:
some of whom
That is why:
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received scholarships.
works naturally.
The phrase can be mentally expanded as:
some of whom = some of the students = some of them
This simple chain makes the grammar much easier to remember.
Pronouns Must Match Their Antecedents
A pronoun needs a clear and appropriate antecedent.
If the antecedent is a group of people:
The researchers, some of whom worked abroad, published the results.
If the antecedent is a group of things:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were revised.
The pronoun must match the type of noun it refers to.
This isn’t merely a matter of style. It affects meaning and grammatical accuracy.
Correct and Incorrect Examples
Correct:
The students, some of whom studied overseas, returned in June.
Incorrect:
The students, some of whom studied overseas, returned in June.
Correct:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were corrected.
Incorrect:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were corrected.
Correct:
Some who studied overseas returned in June.
Incorrect in the intended standard construction:
Some of who studied overseas returned in June.
The key is to identify both the antecedent and the structure before choosing the pronoun.
Why Commas Matter in “Some of Whom” Sentences
Many examples containing some of whom use commas because the phrase introduces a nonrestrictive relative clause.
For example:
The university hired twenty lecturers, some of whom had taught abroad.
The main clause is already complete:
The university hired twenty lecturers.
The phrase after the comma adds information about some members of that group.
Remove it:
The university hired twenty lecturers.
The sentence remains complete.
That’s a strong clue that the additional information is nonrestrictive.
Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses
A nonrestrictive clause adds information that isn’t necessary to identify the noun.
For example:
The doctors, some of whom work overseas, attended the conference.
The reader already knows which doctors are being discussed.
The clause simply adds information.
By contrast:
The doctors who work overseas attended the conference.
This can mean only the overseas doctors attended.
The absence of commas changes the relationship between the clause and the noun.
| Example | Type | Meaning |
| The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended. | Nonrestrictive | Adds information about the employees |
| The employees who work remotely attended. | Restrictive | Identifies which employees attended |
A Common Punctuation Mistake
Don’t add commas automatically just because you see who or whom.
Consider:
The students who completed the course received certificates.
The relative clause identifies the students.
Now:
The students, some of whom completed the course, received certificates.
The second clause provides additional information about the group.
The punctuation follows the meaning, not the presence of the pronoun.
Formal vs. Informal English
One reason some of this creates confusion is that whom has become less common in everyday speech.
In casual conversation, speakers often use who in positions where traditional grammar would use whom:
Who did you invite?
rather than:
Whom did you invite?
This shift doesn’t mean that whom has disappeared.
Instead, English now has a clear difference between formal grammatical tradition and common conversational usage.
When “Whom” Works Best
Use whom confidently in structures such as:
The researchers, some of whom had published previously, joined the discussion.
The applicants, many of whom had advanced degrees, reached the final stage.
The witnesses, none of whom changed their accounts, were interviewed again.
These constructions are common in polished written English.
When “Who” May Sound More Natural
In conversational English:
Who did you talk to?
usually sounds more natural than:
Whom did you talk to?
You can also avoid the issue completely:
Who did you talk with?
or:
Which person did you talk to?
This illustrates an important point: good writing isn’t about using the most formal grammar possible. It’s about selecting a construction that works for the context.
Real-World Usage of “Some of Whom”
The construction appears naturally across several types of writing.
In Academic Writing
Academic authors often describe groups of participants, researchers, or scholars.
The study involved 300 participants, some of whom had previously participated in similar research.
Another example:
The review examined twelve studies, some of which focused specifically on language acquisition.
Notice how whom refers to people while which refers to studies.
In Business Writing
Business writing frequently discusses employees, clients, suppliers, and managers.
The company promoted ten employees, some of whom had worked there for more than a decade.
Or:
We contacted several suppliers, some of whom offered faster delivery.
The construction provides useful detail without creating several short sentences.
In News Reporting
News writing often introduces witnesses, officials, residents, or investigators before describing a subset.
Investigators interviewed several witnesses, some of whom provided additional information.
The pattern allows the writer to add context while keeping the sentence compact.
In Professional Emails
A professional email might say:
Several team members reviewed the proposal, some of whom suggested changes before approval.
Or:
We contacted several vendors, some of whom can deliver the equipment this week. In a casual internal message, some of them might sound more natural. In formal correspondence, some of whom fits comfortably.In Everyday Conversation
Although grammatically correct, some of whom can sound more formal than necessary in casual conversation.
A speaker might say:
I invited several friends. Some of them arrived early.
rather than:
I invited several friends, some of whom arrived early.
Both are understandable. The first feels more conversational.
This difference is about register, not correctness.
Mini Case Study: One Word Can Change the Structure
Imagine two students are describing the same group of classmates.
Student A
The class had twenty students, some of whom played varsity sports.
This sentence establishes the class and then gives extra information about a portion of its members.
The construction is concise and formally correct.
Student B
The class had twenty students, some of whom played varsity sports.
The intended meaning is obvious, but the construction doesn’t follow the traditional standard pattern.
The improved version is:
The class had twenty students, some of whom played varsity sports.
Now consider another sentence:
Some who played varsity sports received scholarships.
This is also correct.
Why?
Because who is the subject of played.
The difference between Student A’s construction and this one isn’t merely stylistic. The sentence structures are different.
Common Learner Questions About “Some of Whom”
Why Does “Some of Whom” Sound So Formal?
It sounds formal because whom has become less frequent in everyday speech. Modern speakers often use who instead, particularly when the pronoun isn’t immediately after a preposition.
Yet some use of whom remains a familiar construction in edited writing.
You’ll often see it in:
- academic papers
- newspapers
- reports
- essays
- formal articles
- professional documents
Its formal tone isn’t a defect. In the right setting, it can make a sentence precise and compact.
Is “Whom” Disappearing From English?
Whom is less common than it once was, especially in conversation. However, it remains established in formal writing and in certain fixed grammatical patterns.
It also survives naturally after prepositions:
To whom it may concern
With whom did you speak?
From whom did you receive the message?
And in quantity expressions:
some of whom
many of whom
most of whom
The language is changing, but the word remains useful.
Should You Always Use “Whom”?
No.
Don’t replace every who with whom.
For example:
The woman who called yesterday left a message.
Here, who is the subject of called.
Changing it to:
The woman whom called yesterday left a message.
would be incorrect.
Instead, use the traditional distinction when it helps:
Who → subject
Whom → object
Then remember that modern English often uses who in object positions, especially in casual contexts.
Can Grammar Checkers Always Find the Error?
No automated grammar tool should be treated as infallible.
Grammar software may identify some obvious instances of who, but context-sensitive grammar requires human judgment.
For example, a tool needs to determine:
- what the antecedent is
- whether it refers to people or things
- whether the clause is restrictive
- whether who acts as a subject or object
- whether the sentence follows formal or conversational conventions
A good editing process combines automated checking with careful reading.
Can You Ever Use “Some of Who”?
For the standard meaning “some members of a previously mentioned group of people,” avoid some of who in formal writing.
Use:
some of whom
For example:
The researchers interviewed 50 participants, some of whom had previous experience.
However, don’t confuse this with some who, which is perfectly valid:
Some who had previous experience were selected.
The absence changes the construction.
Quick Reference: Who, Whom, Which, and Them
| Word or phrase | Refers to | Typical role | Example |
| who | People | Subject | The person who called me left. |
| whom | People | Object/formal object | The person whom I called answered. |
| which | Things | Relative pronoun | The report which arrived was revised. |
| them | People | Object pronoun | I spoke to them yesterday. |
| some of whom | Part of a group of people | Relative construction | The students, some of whom traveled abroad, returned. |
| some of which | Part of a group of things | Relative construction | The reports, some of which were confidential, were removed. |
| some of them | Part of a group of people | Pronoun phrase | Some of them arrived early. |
| some who | Some people described by an action | Subject relative | Some who arrived early helped prepare the room. |
Quick Memory Chart
A compact memory chart can save you from repeatedly analyzing the entire sentence.
| Think of this | Choose this |
| They | who |
| Them | whom |
| Some of them | some of whom |
| Some people who… | some who… |
| Some of the books | some of which |
| People + of | Usually whom in the formal construction |
| Things + of | Usually which |
The most useful pair is:
some of them → some of whom
If that substitution works naturally, some of whom is usually the form you’re looking for.
Common Incorrect Sentences and Their Corrections
Incorrect
The employees, some of who work remotely, attended the meeting.
Correct
The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.
Incorrect
The students, some of which studied abroad, received scholarships.
Correct
The students, some of whom studied abroad, received scholarships.
Incorrect
The employees whom work remotely attended the meeting.
Correct
The employees who work remotely attended the meeting.
Incorrect
The employees, some of whom they work remotely, attended the meeting.
Correct
The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended the meeting.
Correct but structurally different
Some who work remotely attended the meeting.
This final example matters because some who isn’t the error. The problem occurs when writers insert of before who in the established some of whom structure.
A Simple Checklist Before You Write
Before publishing a sentence containing some of whom, run through this checklist:
- Does the antecedent refer to people?
- Is the antecedent clearly stated?
- Does some mean part of that group?
- Does of connect the subset to the larger group?
- Is whom appropriate for the formal construction?
- Does the following clause provide extra information?
- Should commas surround the nonrestrictive clause?
- Have you avoided an unnecessary second pronoun?
- Would some of them express the same basic idea?
- Would some of which be more appropriate if the antecedent refers to things?
If the answers line up, your sentence will usually be on solid grammatical ground.
Quick Editing Workflow
Here’s a practical workflow for editing a questionable sentence:
Draft:
The candidates, some of whom had advanced degrees, were shortlisted.
Identify the antecedent:
candidates
Ask whether the antecedent refers to people:
Yes.
Look at the structure:
some + of + ___
Apply the formal pronoun rule:
some of whom
Final sentence:
The candidates, some of whom had advanced degrees, were shortlisted.
This process takes only a few seconds once you’ve practiced it.
Key Takeaways: Remember the Rule Fast
The central distinction is surprisingly simple.
Some of whom refers to part of a previously mentioned group of people.
The researchers, some of whom had extensive experience, reviewed the paper. Some who introduces people who act in the following clause.Some who had extensive experience reviewed the paper.Some of them provide a separate pronoun phrase.
The researchers reviewed the paper. Some of them had extensive experience.
Some of which refers to part of a previously mentioned group of things.
The papers, some of which were difficult to locate, were included in the review.
The word of is the structural clue. When you’re referring to people in the established quantity-plus-relative-pronoun construction, whom is the traditional and formal choice.
The Most Important Rules
Keep these rules handy:
- Use some of whom for part of a previously mentioned group of people.
- Use some who when who acts as the subject of the following clause.
- Use some of which for part of a group of things.
- Use some of them when you want an ordinary pronoun phrase.
- Use commas when some of whom introduces a nonrestrictive relative clause.
- Make sure the antecedent is clear.
- Don’t add another pronoun unnecessarily inside the relative clause.
- Don’t assume whom belongs everywhere that a sentence sounds formal.
- Remember that conversational English often favors who over whom.
- In formal writing, some of whom remains the safest standard construction for this pattern.
- Quick Summary BoxSome of whom is the standard formal expression when you mean some members of a previously mentioned group of people.Some who is correct when who acts as the subject of the following clause.Some of who is generally not the standard construction for this meaning.Some of which refers to things rather than people.Some of them can often replace some of whom when you restructure the sentence.
Once you see some of whom as a variation of some of them, the grammar stops feeling like a guessing game. The phrase follows a recognizable pattern that appears across academic writing, business documents, journalism, professional communication, and carefully edited prose.
Why Does “Some of Whom” Sound So Formal?
Some of whom can sound formal because whom appears less often in everyday conversation. Most speakers naturally prefer who in many casual object positions. However, whom still has a clear role in formal grammar, especially after a preposition or within constructions such as some of whom, many of whom, and all of whom. For formal essays, academic writing, reports, and professional documents, some of whom remains a polished and grammatically standard choice.
Is Whom Disappearing From English?
Whom has become less common in spoken English, but it hasn’t vanished. It remains widely recognizable and continues to appear in formal writing and established expressions. You’ll still encounter phrases such as to whom, with whom, for whom, and some of whom. Modern English often favors simpler structures, yet knowing when to use whom gives you greater control over formal writing.
Should You Always Use Whom?
No. Whom isn’t automatically better than who. Use who when it functions as the subject: The student who called yesterday left a message. Use whom when it functions as an object in a formal construction: The student whom I contacted replied quickly. With some prepositions, the preposition makes the traditional object form especially clear. The goal isn’t maximum formality. It’s grammatical accuracy and natural communication.
Can Grammar Checkers Always Find These Mistakes?
Grammar checkers can catch many obvious errors, but they can’t reliably replace grammatical judgment. Context matters. A sentence containing who may be perfectly correct if who serves as the subject. Likewise, whom may be appropriate when it functions as an object. Before accepting an automated suggestion, identify the antecedent, locate the verb, and determine whether the pronoun acts as a subject or object.
Can You Ever Use “Some of Who”?
For the intended meaning of some members of a group of people, standard formal English uses some of whom, not some of who. For example, the applicants, some of whom had previous experience, reached the final stage. However, some who is completely correct when who introduces a relative clause in which it acts as the subject: Some who applied were selected. Removing it changes the grammatical structure.
Quick Reference: Who, Whom, Which, and Them
| Expression | Refers to | Function | Example |
| who | People | Subject | The employee who called was helpful. |
| whom | People | Object | The employee whom I called was helpful. |
| some of whom | Some people in a group | Object of of | The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended. |
| some of which | Some things in a group | Object of of | The reports, some of which were revised, were published. |
| some of them | Some people or things | Object pronoun | Some of them arrived early. |
| some who | Some people | Subject of relative clause | Some who applied were accepted. |
A quick substitution can help:
some of them → some of whom
If the sentence refers to people and you’re joining the information through a relative clause, some of whom is usually the right choice.
Quick Memory Chart
Remember these four patterns:
People + subject → who
People + formal object → whom
Some of a group of people → some of whom
Some of a group of things → some of which
For example:
- The teachers who attended…
- The teachers whom the principal praised…
- The teachers, some of whom attended…
- The lessons, some of which were difficult…
There’s one more useful contrast:
Some who attended = some people who attended.
Some of whom attended = some members of the previously mentioned group attended.
That tiny structural difference explains why some of who doesn’t work in the standard construction.
Common Incorrect Sentences and Their Corrections
| Incorrect | Correct | Why |
| The students, some of whom studied abroad, returned. | The students, some of whom studied abroad, returned. | Whom follows of in the formal construction. |
| The teachers, some of whom attended, arrived early. | The teachers, some of whom attended, arrived early. | Teachers are people. |
| The books, some of which were expensive, sold quickly. | The books, some of which were expensive, sold quickly. | Books are things. |
| The students whom studied abroad returned. | The students who studied abroad returned. | Who is the subject of studied? |
| The applicants, some of whom they had experience, advanced. | The applicants, some of whom had experience, advanced. | Don’t add an unnecessary subject pronoun. |
These examples reveal an important principle: who and whom aren’t interchangeable in every grammatical position.
A Simple Checklist Before You Write
Before using some of whom, ask yourself five quick questions:
- Is the antecedent a group of people?
- Does some refer to only part of that group?
- Does of connect that portion to the larger group?
- Is the sentence using a relative clause?
- Would some of them work if you split the sentence?
If the answer is yes, some of them will usually fit.
For example:
The company hired fifteen graduates, some of whom had internship experience.
Break it apart:
The company hired fifteen graduates. Some of them had internship experience.
The relationship is clear. Therefore, some of them worked naturally.
Quick Editing Workflow
When you’re unsure, don’t rely on instinct alone. Use this short process.
First, identify the noun being described.
The candidates, some of ___ had experience…
The noun is candidates.
Next, determine whether the noun refers to people.
Yes.
Then, look at the structure.
some + of + ___
That points toward whom.
Finally, check the complete sentence.
The candidates, some of whom had experience, were shortlisted.
The sentence is grammatically sound.
Key Takeaways: Remember the Rule Fast
The difference between some of whom and some of who becomes much easier once you focus on structure rather than sound.
Some of whom is the standard choice when some refers to part of a previously mentioned group of people.
The researchers, some of whom had worked overseas, joined the project.
Some who is also correct, but it follows a different pattern.
Some who had worked overseas joined the project.
The first construction describes part of an already identified group. The second introduces people based on what they did.
Meanwhile, some of which refers to things:
The reports, some of which contained errors, were corrected.
And some of them work as an ordinary pronoun phrase:
The reports were corrected. Some of them contained errors.
The Most Important Rules
Keep these rules in mind:
- Some of whom refers to some people within a previously mentioned group.
- Some of who isn’t the standard form for this meaning.
- Some who can be correct when who serves as the subject.
- Some of which refers to things rather than people.
- Some of them work as a separate pronoun phrase.
- Who normally functions as a subject in traditional grammar.
- Whom traditionally functions as an object.
- The preposition of makes whom appropriate in some cases.
- Commas commonly surround some of whom when it introduces nonrestrictive information.
- The antecedent should clearly identify the group being discussed.
Conclusion
Choosing between some of whom and some of who becomes much easier once you understand the role of the pronoun. For standard English, some of whom is the correct choice when you mean part of a previously mentioned group of people. The word of creates an object relationship, which is why whom fits the traditional grammatical pattern. By contrast, some who can also be correct, but it follows a different structure because who acts as the subject of the relative clause. When you’re writing formally, especially in academic, professional, or polished editorial contexts, some of whom remains a reliable choice. Remember the simple comparison: some of them → some of whom. Once that pattern becomes familiar, this commonly confusing grammar point feels far more straightforward.
FAQs
Is “some of whom” grammatically correct?
Yes, some of whom is grammatically correct and widely accepted in standard English. It refers to some members of a previously mentioned group of people. For example, “The students, some of whom studied abroad, received scholarships.” Here, whom follows the preposition of and refers back to “students.”
Is “some of who” ever correct?
In standard English, some of who is generally not correct when you mean part of a previously mentioned group of people. The standard construction is some of whom. However, some who without of can be correct when who acts as the subject of the following clause, such as “Some who applied were accepted.”
What is the difference between “some of whom” and “some who”?
Some of whom refers to part of a group that has already been mentioned. Some who introduces people based on an action or description. Compare “The employees, some of whom work remotely, attended” with “Some who work remotely attended.” The first identifies a subset of known employees, while the second describes people by their action.
Why do we use “whom” in “some of whom”?
We use whom because it functions as the object of the preposition in the traditional grammatical structure. Think of the phrase as some of them. When the pronoun becomes part of a relative clause, them changes to whom, producing some of whom. This pattern remains common in formal written English.
Can I say “some of them” instead of “some of whom”?
Yes, but you may need to restructure the sentence. Some of them is an ordinary pronoun phrase, while some of whom introduces a relative clause. For example, “The employees attended. Some of them worked remotely” can become “The employees, some of whom worked remotely, attended.” Both forms are correct, but their sentence structures differ.
Should I always use “whom” instead of “who”?
No. Whom isn’t appropriate in every situation. Traditional grammar uses who for subjects and whom for objects. For example, “The person who called” is correct because who acts. “The person whom I called” uses whom because the person receives the action. Modern conversation also commonly favors who in many object positions.
Is “some of whom” formal English?
Yes, some of whom often has a formal or polished tone. You’ll frequently encounter it in academic writing, professional documents, journalism, reports, and edited prose. It isn’t excessively formal or outdated, though. In casual conversation, speakers may prefer two shorter sentences using some of them because that structure usually sounds more relaxed and natural.
When should I use “some of which” instead?
Use some of which when the antecedent refers to things rather than people. For example, “The reports, some of which contained errors, were revised.” Since reports are things, which is appropriate. For people, use whom in this construction: “The researchers, some of whom found errors, reviewed the reports.”
Does “some of whom” need commas?
Usually, some of whom appears inside a nonrestrictive relative clause, so commas normally surround the clause. For example, “The applicants, some of whom had previous experience, reached the final stage.” The main sentence remains complete without the added information. Punctuation can vary when the sentence structure changes, so meaning should guide comma placement.
What is the easiest way to remember “some of whom”?
Use the substitution some of them → some of whom. If you’re referring to part of a previously mentioned group of people and the sentence uses of, some of whom is usually the right choice. For things, use some of which. If who directly performs the following action, consider some who instead.