"Who" is used when referring to the subject of a sentence--"who are you?" "who did that?"

"Whom" is used when referring to the object of a sentence--"whom did you get that from?"

Easy way to keep them straight that I found while looking for tips online: 'whoM' and 'hiM' both end with "m." Remember that, and mentally phrase the answer to your question so that the answer is either 'he' or 'him.'

Q. [blank] did that?
A. *HE* did that.
Therefore: WHO did that?

Q. [blank} do you love?
A. I love HIM.
Therefore: WHOM do you love?



Semicolons are easier to use, but a hell of a lot harder to explain. Technically, it involves fun things like joining clauses that aren't already joined by a conjunction (like "and" and so forth.) The method I use to figure it is. if I have two sentences that COULD be separate, but because either the ideas are super closely related, or just for the sake of flow I want to make it a single sentence (without using conjunctions that can turn the whole thing into a run-on mess) I use a semicolon. Just remember, for a semicolon to be used, each half of the sentence has to be a FULL sentence on its own too.

I want to say: The water is blue. It shines like sapphire.

I could say: The water is blue; it shines like sapphire.

I could also say: The water is blue and it shines like sapphire.

I could NOT say: The water is blue; and it shines like sapphire.

I guess you could also say that you use a semicolon between two closely related sentences that you want to join, in the same way you use a regular comma within a sentence to separate clauses.



Did that make any kind of sense? Honestly, the rules are great to know, but the best way to pick this stuff up is just to read. The more you read, the more this stuff gets ingrained in your head, and becomes second nature.