Gateway to Grammar: Who, Whose, and who’s?

Who, who’s, and whose? Who’s asking? You? OK, that’s enough of that. These words all have different meanings but look very similar. Let’s have a look at what they mean.

Who

• Who is a question word used to ask which person is doing something (Me, my Mum, Catherine).

• “Who do you live with?”, “Who do you want to marry?”, “Who attached balloons to the dogs?”

Whose

• Whose is a question word used to ask which person something belongs to (his, hers, Jamilia’s).

• “Whose basket of kittens is this?”, “Whose car is parked on my foot?”, “Whose balloons are those?”

Who’s

• Who’s is a contraction (short form) of either “Who is” or “Who has” (Me, my Mum, Catherine).

• Who has – “Who’s eaten all the doughnuts?”, “Who’s given the cat a whole turkey?”

• Who is – “Who’s sending the dogs into space?”, “Who’s leaving fluff everywhere?”

So, ‘who?’ Is a question about a person, and ‘whose?’ is a question about a thing belonging to a person. Who’s can be ‘who is’ or ‘who has’