Confusable words in English abound. In the following paragraphs we’ll take a look at two word pairs that commonly perplex native speakers. With a little review and a couple of tips, you’ll improve the likelihood of choosing the right word.

who vs. whom

First, remember that both words refer to a person. In a sentence or clause, ‘who’ functions as the subject, ‘whom’ as the object. If you can substitute ‘him’ for whom, then ‘whom’ is the right choice. And if ‘he’ can replace ‘who’, then ‘who’ is the correct word. Think of it this way: whom = him, who = he. Here are several examples:

Who/whom is invited to the party?
‘Who’ is the correct choice; it’s the subject of the sentence. (Would you say, “Him is invited to the party?” No.)

The girl knew who/whom to choose as leader.
Identify the subject : girl. Now, the verb: knew. And the object of this sentence? Whom. Read aloud to check: The girl knew him (to choose as leader).

Rewording a sentence can help. “To who/whom do we owe our thanks ?” could be changed to “We do owe our thanks to who/whom?” It’s easier to spot the subject, ‘We’, and the verb phrase, ‘do owe’. It appears clearer that the choice should be ‘whom’(here it’s the object of the prepositional phrase, ‘to whom’), but you substitute ‘him’ for whom, just to be sure…”We do owe our thanks to him.”

advise vs. advice

With this pair, it’s a simple matter of learning definitions. ‘Advise’ is a verb meaning to offer counsel or recommend a course of action. ‘Advice’, a noun, is the counsel offered. The ending sound is more of an short ‘s’ than the ‘z’ you hear on ‘advise.’

Tom will act upon his father’s advice and keep training for the marathon.
His mother will probably advise him to get enough rest while he trains.