What Is the Difference Between Who’s and Whose?
Who’s and whose can be extremely confusing, especially as they sound alike. Who’s is a contraction meaning who is or who has. Whose is the possessive pronoun of who. The easiest way to check your writing is to replace who’s with who is or who has in your sentence. If it doesn’t make sense, then you need to use the word whose.
Who’s
Who’s is a contraction. It means who is or who has.
e.g. Who’s going to make the tea?
e.g. Who’s been using my laptop?
e.g. She’s the one who’s closing the ceremony.
Whose
Whose is the possessive form of who. It is a possessive pronoun. In simple terms this means that it shows ownership, belonging or association with something or someone.
e.g. Whose book is this?
e.g. He is a talented footballer whose passion is his sport.
e.g. Whose essay shows the greatest improvement?
Sources
- Straus, J., Stern, T., & Kaufman, L. (2014). The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Brand.
- Dowling, D. (2011). Wrong word dictionary: 2,500 Most Commonly Confused Words. Oak Park, IL: Marion Street Press.