Whose and who’s may sound the same, but they have different meanings. Whose is the possessive form of who, as in “Whose turn is it?” or “the woman whose name I can’t recall.” Who’s is a contraction of the words who and is (as in “Who’s coming with me to meet Dave tonight?”) or of the words who and has (as in “He’s someone who’s always looked on the bright side”).
Whose is a possessive adjective meaning “of or relating to whom or which.” Grammatically speaking, we use the term possessive to refer to relationships beyond simple ownership.
Whose means “belonging to whom” or, occasionally, “of which.” Use it when you’re asking or declaring to whom something belongs. In other words, whose is about possession. She is a writer whose books have inspired many people. The teacher praised the student whose project was the most creative.
Who's and whose are easy to confuse. Who's means who is or who has. Whose shows possession (e.g., Never trust a doctor whose plants have died).
Many English learners feel confused about Who’s, Whose, and how to use them correctly. These words look similar, but they have different meanings and uses. In this blog post, you will learn how “who’s” is a short form of “who is” or “who has,” and how “whose” shows possession.
Whose as a question word We use whose to ask a question about possession: Whose birthday is it today? Whose house was used in the film ‘Gosford Park’? Whose are these gloves? We use whose in indirect questions: Juliet wondered whose the sports car was.