A Complete Guide to Using Whose Vs Who's

Short Answer: Whose is a possessive adjective or pronoun used to show ownership and possession either in interrogative sentences or relative clauses, whereas who's is the contracted form of "who is" or "who has" which also is used in interrogative sentences or relative clauses. 

So, the best trick to remember whether to use whose or who's is this: use whose if you want to show that something belongs to someone or something, and use who's when you want to ask a question about who is doing or has done something.

Wait a minute! you must know the difference between whose and who's, when to use whose vs who's and example sentences with clear explanation in order to be sure about what to use in a given situation. So, give it a full reading to learn the the meaning, rules, tricks and differences between who's and whose.

This article covers:

• Whose vs who's definition and meaning 
• Examples of whose and who's 
• When to use whose vs who's 
• who's vs whose 
• FAQs about whose vs who's 

 Whose Vs Who's - A Detailed Note

How to Use Whose 

Do you know the possessive adjectives, his, her, your? Yes, you must be aware of them. What are these called? Possessive adjectives? If yes, then you got it right. What do these words do? They show ownership or possession, right? you're going right. 

Just as the above-mentioned possessive adjectives (his, her or your), whose is a possessive adjective or pronoun, and its main function is to show ownership or possession. That is, the possessive adjective or pronoun "whose" is used in interrogative sentences or relative clauses to indicate that someone owns something or something belongs to someone. 

3 Uses of Whose

Whose is used the following three ways.

1. As a possessive adjective 
2. As a possessive pronoun 
3. As a relative pronoun 

Look at the below-given examples containing whose:

1. Whose car is this?
2. Whose is this car?
3. The boy whose name is John is my friend.

Example 1 contains the possessive adjective whose which is used in an interrogative sentence by the use of which the questioner wants to know the person who this car belongs to. So, the question, "whose car is this?" means "who does this car belongs to?" or "who is the owner of this car?".

Example 2 contains whose which is used as a possessive pronoun which also shows possession or ownership. So, "whose is this car?" also means "who is the owner of this car?". 

Example 3 also contains the possessive adjective whose which is used in the highlighted relative clause. The use of whose in example 3 is to introduce the highlighted relative clause by showing possession. So, the expression "whose name is John" means "the person who owns the name John". 

Note that if a noun is used immediately after whose, then this "whose" will be called possessive adjective as in "whose car is this?", and if no noun is used after whose, then "whose" will be known as possessive pronoun as in "whose is this car?". 

Also note that the possessive adjective whose is the possessive form of who like his is the possessive form of he.

How to Use Who

You must be aware of the contractions such as he's, you're or she's, aren't you? Yes, you are. When you expand the contractions, you come to know that he's is the contracted form of "he is", you're is of "you are" and she's is of "she is".

In the similar fashion, who's is the contracted form of either "who is" as in who's there in the room?" or "who has" as in who's done this?". Here are a few examples of who's. 

1. Who's there at the door?
2. Who's done this?

Example 1 contains who's which is the contracted form of "who is". Here, who acts as the subject of the linking verb "is".

Example 2 contains who's which is the contracted form of "who has". Here, who acts as the subject of the auxiliary verb "has". 

Now that you've understood how the two words, whose and who's are used in sentences, you must be coming up with the question, "what is basically the difference between whose and who's?". Continue to read to know the differences between whose and who's covered in the following portions of the article.

What's the Difference between Whose and Who's?

No doubt that the two words, whose and who's are similar in that they're wh question words; however, the two words are different from each other. The major differences between whose and who's are these: 

Difference 1. The main difference between whose and who's is that whose is used to indicate ownership or possession, whereas who's isn't.

For example: _______laptop are you buying the charger for? (whose or who's)

You can see we can't use who's (who is or has) in the above-mentioned example, because we want to express ownership. To indicate ownership, we use whose, not who's. 

Also look at the below-given example:

For example: ______there at the door? (whose or who's)

You can't use whose in the example above, because our intention here is not to show possession, but rather to use the contracted form "who is". To do so, we have to use the contracted form "who's", and not "whose". 

Difference 2. Whose is one word which doesn't have an apostrophe -s ( 's), whereas who's is a contracted form of "who is" or "who has" which has an apostrophe plus s.

Simply put, one of the obvious differences between whose and who's is that whose is a single word which doesn't have an apostrophe-s, whereas who's is a combination of two words, who plus is. 

Difference 3. The third difference between whose and who's is that whose can be used as both a possessive adjective and possessive pronoun, whereas who in "who's" is used as interrogative pronoun.

Example of whose as possessive adjective:

• Whose laptop are you using?

This example uses the word, whose as possessive adjective, because we can see that a noun is immediately used after the word, whose. 

Example of whose as possessive pronoun:

• Whose is this pen?

This example uses the word whose as a possessive pronoun, because there's no noun immediately after the word whose. 

Also read: It's me or It's I?

Whose Vs Who's Exercises 

Select the appropriate option put against the sentences given below. 

1. ______is this expensive car? (who's or whose)

2. ______boy does this car belong to? (who's or whose)

3. ______coming to teach you now? (who's or whose)

4. ______there waiting for you? (who's or whose)

5. ______is this pen? (who's or whose)

FAQs - Whose Vs Who's 

Whose vs who's vs whom

Whose is a possessive adjective or pronoun used to show possession, whereas who's is a contraction of who is or who has, whereas whom is an object pronoun. 

In simple language, whose and whom are the two which are derived from the word, who in "who's". Who is a subject pronoun, whom an object pronoun and whose a possessive pronoun or adjective. 

Who's vs whose Examples in Sentences 

1. Who's next?

2. Whose brother have you talked to?

3. Who's done this all?

4. Whose bike is this?

5. Who's coming now?

6. Whose laptop are you looking for?

7. Whose is this book?

8. Who's coming with us?

9. Whose father's name is John. 

When to Use Whose Vs Who's

The time or situation to use whose and who's is this: use whose when you want to express ownership as in "Whose car is this?", and use who's when you contract the subject and verb in "who is" or "who has" as who's as in "who's coming now?"

Is whose a possessive adjective?

Yes, whose is a possessive adjective used before a noun as in "whose phone is this?"

Is whose a possessive pronoun?

Yes, whose can also be used as possessive pronoun as in "whose is this car?"