Difference between revisions of "Who's - whose"
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'''Whose''' and '''who's''' sound exactly the same. But they are spelled differently, and have rather different meanings: academic teachers hate it if you use the wrong one. Both are derived from the [[wh- word]] '''who'''. | '''Whose''' and '''who's''' sound exactly the same. But they are spelled differently, and have rather different meanings: academic teachers hate it if you use the wrong one. Both are derived from the [[wh- word]] '''who'''. | ||
* '''Whose''' is the [[possessive]] form. It means 'of whom', and comes in sentences like "<u>Whose</u> is this?" (~ 'to whom does this belong?', or less formally, 'who does this belong to?' (see [[who - whom]]), and "This is the friend <u>whose</u> bike I borrowed." | * '''Whose''' is the [[possessive]] form. It means 'of whom', and comes in sentences like "<u>Whose</u> is this?" (~ 'to whom does this belong?', or less formally, 'who does this belong to?' (see [[who - whom]]), and "This is the friend <u>whose</u> bike I borrowed." | ||
| − | * ''' | + | * '''Who's''' is the contracted form of 'who is'. (Contracted forms, like isn't, I'm, she's and can't should be avoided in [[academic writing]].) |
[[category:spelling common errors]] | [[category:spelling common errors]] | ||
[[category:pronouns]] | [[category:pronouns]] | ||
Latest revision as of 09:10, 6 June 2016
Whose and who's sound exactly the same. But they are spelled differently, and have rather different meanings: academic teachers hate it if you use the wrong one. Both are derived from the wh- word who.
- Whose is the possessive form. It means 'of whom', and comes in sentences like "Whose is this?" (~ 'to whom does this belong?', or less formally, 'who does this belong to?' (see who - whom), and "This is the friend whose bike I borrowed."
- Who's is the contracted form of 'who is'. (Contracted forms, like isn't, I'm, she's and can't should be avoided in academic writing.)
