Quick Answer
Who vs Whom distinguishes between subjective and objective relative pronouns on the Digital SAT. This grammar concept typically appears in the Reading and Writing section under Standard English Conventions. It is a niche topic, appearing approximately once per exam, requiring students to identify the pronoun's grammatical role within a clause.
Who is a subjective case pronoun used as the subject of a verb, whereas whom is an objective case pronoun used as the object of a verb or preposition. The rule follows that if a pronoun can be replaced by 'he' or 'she,' 'who' is required; if it can be replaced by 'him' or 'her,' 'whom' is required.
Question: The architect, [who/whom] the committee selected for the project, has won several international awards. Solution: Use 'whom' because it serves as the object of the verb 'selected' (the committee selected him).
Overcorrection: Students often choose 'whom' simply because it sounds more formal or academic, even when the pronoun is the subject of the verb.
Preposition Confusion: Assuming that a pronoun following a preposition must always be 'whom,' even if that pronoun is actually the subject of a subsequent verb in a complex clause.
Clause Misidentification: Failing to isolate the specific clause the pronoun belongs to, leading to a misunderstanding of whether the pronoun is acting as a subject or an object.
Students targeting 750+ should know that when 'who' or 'whom' is part of an intervening phrase like 'who I believe' or 'whom they thought,' you should temporarily ignore the 'I believe' or 'they thought' to see if the pronoun functions as the subject of the remaining verb.
Its vs It's
Its vs It's is a core grammar distinction on the Digital SAT. 'Its' is a possessive pronoun, while 'it's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has.' These terms typically appear in the Standard English Conventions questions of the Reading and Writing section, occurring in approximately 1 to 3 questions per test.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a core grammar rule tested on the Digital SAT Reading and Writing section. It requires that every pronoun matches its antecedent in number and person. Typically appearing in Standard English Conventions questions, this concept is tested approximately 2-4 times per exam to ensure grammatical clarity and logical consistency.
Pronoun Reference
Pronoun reference is a grammatical rule tested on the Digital SAT Reading and Writing section. It requires that every pronoun refers clearly to a single, specific noun (the antecedent). This concept typically appears in Standard English Conventions questions, appearing approximately two to four times per exam to test clarity and logic.
Relative Pronoun
A relative pronoun is a word used to connect a dependent clause to an independent clause. On the Digital SAT, these appear frequently in the Reading and Writing section, particularly within Standard English Conventions questions. Mastery of terms like who, which, and that is essential for correcting sentence structure and punctuation errors.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical rule requiring that a sentence's subject and verb match in number. On the Digital SAT, this concept is tested within the Standard English Conventions category, typically appearing in approximately 2–4 questions per Reading and Writing section to assess syntactical precision.
Who vs Whom on the SAT is a grammar concept that tests a student's ability to use the correct pronoun case in the Reading and Writing section. 'Who' is used as a subject pronoun, while 'whom' is used as an object pronoun. These questions typically appear as part of the Standard English Conventions questions, testing functional grammar within the context of academic passages.
To identify whether to use who or whom, apply the 'he/him' substitution test. Isolate the clause containing the pronoun and replace the pronoun with 'he' or 'him.' If 'he' makes sense, the subjective 'who' is correct. If 'him' makes sense, the objective 'whom' is correct. For example, for 'the man [who/whom] called,' you would say 'he called,' so 'who' is correct.
The difference between who vs whom and pronoun-antecedent agreement lies in the type of error being corrected. Who vs whom focuses on pronoun case (subject vs. object) based on its role in a sentence. Pronoun-antecedent agreement focuses on ensuring a pronoun matches its noun in number (singular vs. plural) and person, regardless of whether it is a subject or an object.
The number of SAT questions testing who vs whom is typically very low, with approximately zero to one question appearing per Digital SAT administration. While it is not a high-frequency topic like punctuation or verb tense, it is a common distractor in pronoun-related questions, meaning high-scoring students must understand the rule to avoid being misled by incorrect answer choices.
