Whose VS Who’s: What’s The Difference?

Examples of How to Use Whose vs Who’s Correctly

Whose is a possessive pronoun? It shows that something belongs to someone. That’s its job — to be a possessive pronoun. Who’s is a contraction of who is or who has. When you contract two words, you put an apostrophe in the place of the missing letter or letters. So in the case of whose vs. who’s, the apostrophe goes where the I is missing.

Who’s coming to the party? Could be either one: “Who is coming to the party?” Or: “Which person’s party are we talking about?” If you want to show possession, use whose.

• If you want to create a question or a compound subject, use who’s. Correct: Whose book is this on the floor?
• Incorrect: Who’s book is this on the floor? (This means “Who is book?” which doesn’t make sense.)

• Correct: Of all the people here, whose song do you like the best?
• Incorrect: Of all the people here, who’s song do you like the best? (Remember, who’s = who is.)

• Correct: The cat whose tail was stepped on yowled in pain.
• Incorrect: The cat who’s tail was stepped on yowled in pain. (Again, who’s = who is.)

Just remember in whose vs. who’s: if you can substitute he/she/it/they in your sentence, use who’s. Otherwise, use whose. Pronouns are tricky little devils, but don’t let them trip you up!

Conclusion

Whose is used to indicate possession, while who’s is used to indicate a contraction of who is. For example, “whose book is this?” would be asking who the book belongs to, while “who’s going to the party?” is asking who is going to the party. In general, if you can replace the word with “who is,” you will use who’s.

Can I use who’s in place of whose all the time?

While who’s can be used as a stand-in for whose in some cases, it is not always appropriate. Who’s should only be used when it is acting as a contraction for “who is.” If you are asking about possession, you should use whose. For example, saying “Who’s pencil is this?” would technically be correct, but it would sound more natural to say “Whose pencil is this?”

What are some other examples of when to use each word?

• Whose car is that?
• Who’s going to the movies with me?
• I don’t know who’s responsible for this mess.
• Whose turn is it to take out the trash?
• Who’s been eating my cookies?