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Here's the full sentence: "These men, all of who were well-known, well-respected statesmen, were viewed by their peers and common people alike as great thinkers in their day.

I just can't really see where it would fall into: subject? predicate? object? What would it be?

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    It's the object of the preposition of. All is the subject.
    – Anonym
    Mar 23, 2015 at 2:29
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    @tchrist No, it's not a dupe. This sentence actually requires whom because it's the object of a preposition. An issue that is ignored in the answers to that question.
    – Araucaria - Him
    Mar 23, 2015 at 14:54

1 Answer 1

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Here's the formula I use for on-the-fly decisions on this common dilemma"

Who = he (singular) / they (plural)
Whom = him (singular) / them (plural)

Substitute the translations in the appropriate phrase:

...all of they were well-known... (?)
...all of them were well-known... (?)

Of course the proper choice is "them." So

...all of whom were well-known...

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  • So I definitely upvoted that answer, and so long as that works 100% of the time, I may start a new religion around you. lol. So, are there circumstances in which that does not always work?
    – Jimmy G.
    Mar 23, 2015 at 3:29
  • Not that I have stumbled across. The only issue that troubles some is identifying the phrase to which the formula should apply. For example, in, "To who/whom should I address my reply?" some might struggle with the concept of re-working the phrase to find the solution. In this example, one must mentally answer the question to find the solution: "I should address my reply to he/him." Solution becomes obvious: him = whom.
    – Tightwriter
    Mar 23, 2015 at 4:31
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    @JimmyG. This s one of the only times that it matters. When who/m isn't the object of a preposition, you can use who in nearly all instances.
    – Araucaria - Him
    Mar 23, 2015 at 14:56

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