- 3-minute read
- 20th December 2016
Word Choice: Whose vs. Who’s
Like ‘who’ and ‘whom’, the words ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ are often confused due to sounding similar when spoken.
However, while ‘who’ is widely accepted in place of ‘whom’, there’s a major difference between ‘whose’ and ‘who’s’ that you should keep in mind, especially in formal writing.
Whose (Possessive Adjective)
Simply put, ‘whose’ is the possessive form of ‘who’. We therefore use it to show that something belongs to someone, such as in:
Donald is a man whose opinions I cannot endorse.
It’s also common to use ‘whose’ when asking a question about ownership:
Whose idea was it to put him in charge?
(Photo: Professionell-Pflegende)
It’s worth noting that some suggest ‘whose’ should only be used for living things, not inanimate objects or organisations. In such circumstances, the alternative is using ‘of which’:
The company of which the CEO was recently sacked is now performing strongly.
However, ‘of which’ can sound pretty awkward in this situation. And since ‘whose’ is generally accepted for use with inanimate objects, it’s often the better choice:
The company whose CEO was recently sacked is now performing strongly.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid this controversy, you could just rephrase the sentence:
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Since sacking its CEO, the company has performed strongly.
The key thing to remember about ‘whose’, though, is that it indicates possession.
Who’s (Short for ‘Who Is’)
As the apostrophe in this word shows, ‘who’s’ is actually a contraction of two words: either ‘who is’ or ‘who has’. In the former case, we’d use it in place of ‘who is’:
Who’s the cat who won’t cop out when there’s danger all about?
(Photo: CBS Television/wikimedia)
In the latter case, we’d use it in place of ‘who has’:
Who’s seen that film starring Richard Roundtree as a private detective?
However, since contractions are typically considered informal, you wouldn’t usually use ‘who’s’ in professional or academic writing.
Whose or Who’s?
Since there’s a big difference between these terms, you should make an effort not to confuse them in your work. As long as you keep in mind that the apostrophe in ‘who’s’ indicates missing letters in a contraction, though, it should be easy to tell them apart. Remember:
Whose = Possessive form of ‘who’
Who’s = Short for ‘who is’ or ‘who has’