Who’s vs Whose
Published January 27, 2023. Updated January 27, 2023.
Who’s and whose are similar because they’re homophones (words with the same pronunciation) with similar spellings, but they have very different functions. Who’s is a contraction of the words “who” and “is” (who + is -> who’s), similar to how “you’re” is a contraction of “you” and “are,” or how “it’s” is a contraction of “it” and “is.” Whose is a determiner and a pronoun that is used as an interrogative to ask who the owner of something is, or a relative determiner/pronoun that marks ownership of something.
Here are some definitions and examples to help make the use of these words clearer.
Who’s (contraction)
Combination of “who” and “is.” Sometimes a contraction of who has or whom is.
Examples:
Who’s [who is] going to the party next weekend?
Who’s [who has] been saying rude things about my dog?
Who’s [whom is] this banquet in honor of?
Whose (determiner)
1) As an interrogative, used to ask what/who belongs to whom or is owned by whom.
Examples:
Whose hat is this?
Whose sister bought forty guinea pigs last year?
2) As a relative determiner, used to mark what/who belongs to whom or is owned by whom. Usually used for living things, but sometimes used for inanimate objects.
Examples:
This is the dog whose owner hasn’t been cleaning up after walks.
The woman, whose mother rented the entire stadium, nearly fell down the stairs.
This is the building whose builder is famous in Sweden.
Whose (pronoun)
1) Same as the determiner’s first definition, but the pronoun form doesn’t take a noun.
Examples:
Whose is this?
Whose were those?
2) Same as the determiner’s second definition, but the pronoun form doesn’t take a noun.
Examples:
I don’t care whose it is, I want that car moved out of my neighborhood by tomorrow.
We didn’t want to ask whose it was because we didn’t want to find the owner.
Main Points
- Who’s and whose are homophones with similar spellings, but they have different meanings.
- Who’s is a contraction of “who is,” although it sometimes is also used for “who has” and “whom is.”
- Whose can be used as a determiner or as a pronoun. Both have interrogative and relative forms. The interrogative form is used for asking to whom something or someone belongs, while the relative form marks it.