In this example, the word whose introduces “high school graduation” as a relative clause, since whose is taking the place of the person who in possession of the graduation. The party was filled with the world’s elite. When to use whose: Whose acts as a pronoun. –, “Parents, guardians, partner NGOs whose job it is to care for children, and medical doctors were always on hand everyday, to ensure everyone had all they needed.” –, To remind Richardson: Marshall, who’s now with the Giants, said during a radio interview that he didn’t think he’d fare well on his former team because he believes the Jets don’t have much of a chance to win this season. Anyone who’s attended the show, whose name I can’t remember, knows why it reviewed poorly. It’s essential to never use whose when we are trying to say “who is” or who’s.We can check for correct usage by replacing whose with “who is” and vice versa.. It is also possible to use whose and who’s in the same sentence, although ensuring their proper use is tricky because they are indirect pronouns. Part of the reason why whose and who’s are mistakenly used for one another is becausethey’re examples of homophones, which are two words that sound the same but are spelled differently and carry different meanings. Present tense: Do we know whose purse this belongs to by chance? The newsletter includes useful lessons, competitions and book reviews. When to use who’s: Who’s is a contraction of the pronoun who and either the verb is or has. Now try and complete the sentences below using whose or who's.. the owner of a blue Ford? In other words, it tells or questions which person has possession or ownership of something. It can question to whom something belongs. –, ‘I’m a Civilian. Both words deal with the pronoun who yet they aren’t interchangeable. For example, while you wouldn’t say, “The book, who is 500 pages, was released in 1923,” you could say, “The book, whose 500 … I’m, you’re, they’re, she’s, he’s, and we’ve are all examples of contractions. Correct: Do you know who is moving to New York in 2020? Using the contracted form of “who is” is also easier to say quickly and more concise. The police officer was not sure ____________ fingerprints those were, but she thought they belonged to the criminal. Future tense: Whose house are we going to later? Using the information above can help to ensure that you don’t mix up these two different words. Whether – How to Use Each Correctly. Because the pronoun who’s is a contraction of “who is” and “who has,” it’s easy to confuse them with whose. There’s an easy way to keep track of these two words by look at the apostrophe. ___________ been to this restaurant before? For example, in the contraction don’t, the apostrophe replaces the missing o. Remembering that contractions use apostrophes can help you know when to use who’s. e.g. Incorrect: She is taking an ESL class, who is title I can’t remember. The word whose originated from the Old English term hwæs, which stemmed from the words hwā for “who,” and hwæt for “what.” The word who’s does not derive from one particular origin, however, because it’s a spoken contraction utilizing “who” with “is” or “has.”.