Difference between revisions of "Who's - whose"
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*'''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 English writing.) | *'''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 English writing.) | ||
| − | [[category:spelling common errors]] [[category:Academic English]] [[category:grammar]] | + | [[category:spelling common errors]] [[category:Academic English]] [[category:grammar]][[category:pronouns]] |
Revision as of 16:54, 5 March 2007
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 English writing.)
