ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediatecontractionpronoun
Who'svsWhose
'Who\'s' contracts 'who is' or 'who has'; 'whose' asks or states who something belongs to.
Side-by-side comparison
Who's
contraction"Who's" is a contraction of "who is" or "who has". Use the apostrophe form when you can replace it with "who is" or "who has". "Who's there?" = who is there?
Who's responsible for the marketing campaign?
I don't know who's coming to the meeting.
Who's already submitted their report?
Whose
pronoun"Whose" asks or states who something belongs to. "Whose bag is this?" = which person does this bag belong to? "The student whose essay won" = the student to whom the essay belongs.
Whose bag is this on my desk?
The employee whose idea won the award received a bonus.
Could you tell me whose turn it is to present?
Common mistake
- •Using "who's" when you need the possessive: "Who's book is this?" (correct: Whose book).
- •Or "whose" for the contraction: "Whose coming tonight?" (correct: Who's coming).
Trick to remember it
Test: expand to "who is", if it makes sense, use "who's"; if not, use "whose." "Who is book is this?" = nonsense = "whose"; "Who is coming?" = makes sense = "who's."
Quick rule
- •Apostrophe = contraction ("who is"/"who has").
- •No apostrophe = possessive ("belonging to whom").
Did you know?
The WHOSE/WHO'S distinction is part of a repeated pattern in English: IT'S/ITS (it's = it is; its = its own), THEY'RE/THEIR/THERE, YOU'RE/YOUR. All share the same principle: the form with apostrophe is the contraction, the form without apostrophe is the possessive. Interestingly, WHOSE can refer to both people and inanimate things in modern English: "the house whose windows are broken" is perfectly correct, though some formal writers still prefer the longer alternative "the house the windows of which are broken." The WHOSE form is now accepted and preferred by most modern style guides.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Do you know _____ coming to the meeting tomorrow?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
_____ bag is this? Someone left it by the door.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
It'svsIts
The apostrophe contracts 'it is' or 'it has'; without it, the word shows possession.
YourvsYou're
'Your' shows that something belongs to you; 'you\'re' is a shortening of 'you are'.
AcceptvsExcept
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
AdvicevsAdvise
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy