Who’s vs. Whose

Who’s vs. Whose

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Who’s and whose are homophones. They sound exactly the same, but they are different words with different meanings.

Who’s = Who Is [OR] Who Has

Who’s is a contraction. It stands for who is or who has.

Examples:

  • Who’s at the door?
    = Who is at the door?

  • Who’s the oldest? You or your brother?
    = Who is the oldest? You or your brother?

  • Who’s been using my mug?
    = Who has been using my mug?

Whose = Possession

Whose indicates possession. It tells us what belongs to whom.

Examples:

  • Whose is this?

  • Whose car is that?

  • Dave is the one whose desk is decorated with Star Wars stuff. You can’t miss him.

Whose can ask questions about ownership or describe someone/something by what belongs to them.

Choosing Between Who’s and Whose

To help us to determine whether who’s or whose is correct in writing, we can use the substitution test:

– Replace the word with who is or who has. If the sentence works, use who’s. If it doesn’t, use whose.

For example:

  • Whose keys are these?

Next, let’s replace whose with who is or who has to see if it still makes sense:

  • Who is keys are these?
  • Who has keys are these?

Neither of these makes sense, so whose is correct here. The sentence is asking which person the keys belong to.

✅ – Whose keys are these?
❌ – Who’s keys are these?

Let’s try another example:

  • Who’s coming to the party later?

Replace who’s with who is:

  • Who is coming to the party later?

Here, who is makes sense, so who’s is correct.

✅ – Who’s coming to the party later?
❌ – Whose coming to the party later?

Quick Practice – Who’s vs Whose

Test yourself on who’s vs. whose with our interactive practice tool:

Who’s vs. Whose
Click anywhere to begin
Fill in each blank with either who’s or whose.

The full question list and answers are below.

Instructions: Fill in each blank with either who’s or whose.

  1. ____________ got a pen?

  2. ____________ pen is this?

  3. ____________ ready to order?

  4. ____________ turn is it?

  5. The student ____________ poem wins gets a £100 prize.

  6. ____________ phone kept buzzing in the exam?

  7. ____________ the manager here?

  8. ____________ cooking tonight?

  9. ____________ bright idea was it to go camping in November?

  10. ____________ been using my tablet? ____________ charger is this plugged into it?
Show Answers [Click]
  1. Who’s (who has)

  2. Whose

  3. Who’s (who is)

  4. Whose

  5. whose (relative clause showing possession)

  6. Whose

  7. Who’s (who is)

  8. Who’s (who is)

  9. Whose

  10. Who’s (who has) / Whose

Next: Who vs. Whom >