Answer: Who's vs. whose

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

haldoor asks, “When do you use ‘who’s’ versus ‘whose’?”



Who’s is the contraction of “who is” or, less often, “who has”:

“Who’s this for?” Gojyo wondered, reaching for the lighter on their table.

“Hey, who’s got my box of meat buns?” Goku shouted over the sound of Hakuryuu’s revving engine. “I was saving those for later!”

In the first example, “who’s” should be read as who is: “Who is this for?” In the second example, “who’s” should be read as who has: “Who has got my box of meat buns?” In both cases, “who’s” is a simple contraction of the pronoun who and a verb ending in -s.

Whose, on the other hand, is a possessive pronoun that can be used in a couple of ways. The first helps us ask a question: to whom does something belong?

“Whose stupid idea got us into this mess?” Sanzo snarled. “The idiot kappa’s?”

Here the “whose” tells us that stupid idea belongs to some person—one who isn’t yet definitively identified (though Sanzo has his suspicions).

Whose can also show ownership of an object by a person or thing. In this case, the “whose” clearly signals to whom (or what) something belongs, which is usually the who or the what that appears before the “whose” in the sentence.

They definitely weren’t his, so it had to be someone else whose pants Sanzo was wearing.

They were supposed to meet up in a town whose name Gojyo couldn’t remember. Crap. He hoped it was marked on the map.

In the case of the first example, the answer to “Whose pants was Sanzo wearing?” is built right in to the original sentence: someone else’s, which is the who that the “whose” follows. In the second, the answer to “Whose name can’t Gojyo remember?” is also right there: the town’s.

Some grammarians say that “whose” should only refer to nouns that are animate, like people. According to them, in the second example, of which should be used instead:

They were supposed to meet up in a town of which Gojyo couldn’t remember the name. Crap. He hoped it was marked on the map.

The trouble with using of which is ending up with a sentence that sounds stilted or unnecessarily wordy, and most likely interrupts the flow of your prose. Most of the time, “whose” is a better choice.

So how do you decide whether you should use “who’s” or “whose”? For me, the fastest way to tell is to substitute who is (or sometimes who has) in your sentences.

“Who’s [who is] supposed to help Hakkai carry groceries this time?” asked Goku.

“I don’t know who’s [who is] turn it is,” Gojyo replied.

"Who is supposed to help Hakkai carry groceries?" makes sense, so “who’s” is the right choice in the first example. But "I don’t know who is turn it is" doesn’t make any sense at all, so we should be using “whose” in the second example: "I don’t know whose turn it is." Substituting who is for “whose” and “who’s” might be a simple trick, but I think it’s an effective one.


Sources:
“Who’s” at dictionary.com
“Whose” at dictionary.com

Comments

[diebirchen.livejournal.com]

"Who's" is also a contraction for "who has."
FGoVU

[mendax.livejournal.com]

Read the first sentence again. ;-)

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Ta, mendax!

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[wanted-a-pony.livejournal.com]

Yes! The trick of substituting in who is/has to see whether who's or whose fits is simple & reliable. In fact, it might be effective to move your last two paragraphs (with block-quoted examples) right up to the beginning of the article. You stated it very well, & I can't believe the number of writers who haven't noticed it....

:: wanders off to mutter in a curmudgeonly corner ::

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Thanks; I'm glad you liked the little trick. It always helps me. :D

[horusguard76.livejournal.com]

Good post, thank you. I usually don't have a problem with it but as a non-native speaker I get overcome with doubts at times and the more I start to ponder a grammar issue, the more probable some things become. (they are usually wrong but you probably get what I mean. ;) )

Who's vs. whose

[wanted-a-pony.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean! Isn't it odd how, when one concentrates on a sentence or even a single word for too long, every way of writing it looks wrong?

I only know English but never received much formal instruction in grammar or spelling, so every time I learn a practical rule like this it's a relief.

Re: Who's vs. whose

[horusguard76.livejournal.com]

Yes! Much word to this observation. It's quite funny really.

I hear you, although I am not a native speaker and I actually enjoy reading grammar books - it's still more helpful at times to have someone explain grammar in the most simple terms. With examples from RL life like fanfic for instance. XD

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad this is helpful. And yeah, a lot of the time, the more you think about what's "right" and what isn't, the more muddled you can get. I used to talk myself in circles with lay/lie.

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I thought I had it right, so it's good to have it confirmed! ;-)

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I read a great fic just last weekend that was fairly error free, but the title was Whose on First? *headdesk*

[whymzycal.livejournal.com]

Noooo! Seriously? D'oh!

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I know, right?