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I have read that "whom" is used only in formal writings.So how can I say the following sentence in a better way?

Those guys whom you talked to are looking for you now

Is

Those guys who you talked to are looking for you now

or

Those guys that you talked to are looking for you now

correct?

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  • 2
    "Those guys you talked to are looking for you now." Just drop the pronoun altogether and it sounds more idiomatic. – Robusto Jan 5 at 3:58
  • You can use first two sentences. But last one is a bit useless. – sNexy Jan 5 at 6:52
  • @sNexy The last sentence is much more likely to be heard by a native speaker than the first. It’s certainly not “a bit useless” (whatever exactly that’s supposed to mean). Also first two and last one both require a definite determiner to be grammatical in your two sentences. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 9 at 21:14
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Some people only use "whom" in formal writing, but some people always use it where it is grammatically appropriate. This tends to depend on education level, norms within certain social groups, etc., but the choice is up to you.

This is correct, and feel free to use it:

Those guys whom you talked to are looking for you now.

Many people use "who" in place of "whom" at all times:

Those guys who you talked to are looking for you now.

Some people will use "that":

Those guys that you talked to are looking for you now.

You can also drop the pronoun entirely:

Those guys you talked to are looking for you now.

Different native speakers will have different habits, but all of the above forms are common enough. Using "whom" can be seen as pretentious by some people, but it is not unidiomatic.

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