to identify who the authors are vs to identify whom the authors are

Both phrases are correct, but 'to identify who the authors are' is more commonly used in modern English. 'Whom' is becoming less common in everyday language, and 'who' is often used in its place, even in formal contexts.

Last updated: March 23, 2024 • 738 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in modern English.

"to identify who the authors are"

This phrase is used to indicate the action of recognizing or determining the identity of the authors.

Show examples from the web [+]

The translator identifies himself with the author's beliefs.
In the first resolution, Parliament expresses concern about the recent attacks against Coptic Christians in Egypt and welcomes the efforts to identify the authors of the 6 January 2010 attack, a drive-by shooting killed seven individuals: six Coptic Christians and a policeman.
Affirms the right of the Chilean people to identify the authors of the flagrant violations of fundamental rights committed under the Pinochet dictatorship, to pin responsibility on those concerned and draw the necessary consequences, and to see the victims or their relatives properly compensated;
In this article, the authors identify a clear link between product market reforms aimed at increasing competition and the rise in labour productivity, which constitutes a key determinant of long-term output growth.
The Director-General of Unesco, Irina Bokova, has already issued a public condemnation of this and other cases of murders of media professionals, and has called on countries where such crimes have occurred to make all possible efforts to identify and punish their authors.
So... You know who The Author is.
Yesterday on TV they mentioned a book, I can't remember who the author was.
I think it would be worth finding out who the author of this compromising Eastern policy is.
He thought you might have a clue as to who The Author is so I can make him change that.
If you know who the authors of the server software are, submit the bug report directly to them.
Tomorrow Mr. Hartman will bring the letter... ...and from the handwriting it will be easy to find out who the author is.
If so, the authors are most likely in possession of my stolen laptop.
Someone must be there to identify who picks it up.
They said it was impossible to identify who'd done the download.
No, it's just as important to identify who's not a terrorist.
Try to identify who he was sleeping with.
They must also be able to identify who bears responsibility for political decisions and who does not.
The authors are expressly opposed to animals being patented, as that would be interference in creation.
As the authors are not present, Question Nos 44, 45 and 46 lapse.
I understand where the authors are coming from and I share their views.

Alternatives:

to identify the authors
to determine who the authors are
to recognize who the authors are
to find out who the authors are
to establish who the authors are

This phrase is correct but less common in modern English.

"to identify whom the authors are"

This phrase is also used to indicate the action of recognizing or determining the identity of the authors, but 'whom' is considered more formal and less frequently used in everyday language.

Show examples from the web [+]

The translator identifies himself with the author's beliefs.
In the first resolution, Parliament expresses concern about the recent attacks against Coptic Christians in Egypt and welcomes the efforts to identify the authors of the 6 January 2010 attack, a drive-by shooting killed seven individuals: six Coptic Christians and a policeman.
Affirms the right of the Chilean people to identify the authors of the flagrant violations of fundamental rights committed under the Pinochet dictatorship, to pin responsibility on those concerned and draw the necessary consequences, and to see the victims or their relatives properly compensated;
In this article, the authors identify a clear link between product market reforms aimed at increasing competition and the rise in labour productivity, which constitutes a key determinant of long-term output growth.
The Director-General of Unesco, Irina Bokova, has already issued a public condemnation of this and other cases of murders of media professionals, and has called on countries where such crimes have occurred to make all possible efforts to identify and punish their authors.
If so, the authors are most likely in possession of my stolen laptop.
The authors are expressly opposed to animals being patented, as that would be interference in creation.
As the authors are not present, Question Nos 44, 45 and 46 lapse.
I understand where the authors are coming from and I share their views.
As the authors are not present, Question Nos 6 and 7 lapse.
Questions Nos 73, 74 and 78 lapse, as the authors are not present.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 14, 15, 16 and 18 lapse.
However, the authors are not trying to do the work of historians.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 lapse.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 32 and 33 lapse.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 12, 13 and 14 lapse.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 46, 47 and 48 lapse.
As the authors are not present, Questions Nos 20 to 24 and 27 lapse.
Other parts of the & kdm; code are copyright by the authors, and licensed under the terms of the GNU; GPL. Anyone is allowed to change & kdm; and redistribute the result as long as the names of the authors are mentioned.
One has the impression that the authors are well acquainted with the problems and have analysed them well but that, as soon as it comes to combating them, they fail to penetrate beneath the surface.

Alternatives:

to identify the authors
to determine whom the authors are
to recognize whom the authors are
to find out whom the authors are
to establish whom the authors are

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to identify who the authors are vs to identify whom the authors are