‘Who’s’ vs. ‘Whose’

“Who’s” and “whose” are homonyms, meaning they sound the same but have different meanings. Alice Underwood, writing at Grammarly, lays out the basics to help you remember the correct form to use in different contexts.

Who. “Who” is a subject pronoun like “he,” “she” and “they.” It’s commonly used at the start of sentences to ask about an individual’s action or role. Examples: “Who is in charge here?” and “Who asked you to go to the dance?”

Whom. “Whom” is an object pronoun, making it equivalent to the pronouns “him,” “her” and “them.” To test whether to use “who” or “whom” in a sentence, say the sentence with “he”/”him.” If “he” fits, use “who”; if “him” fits, “whom” is the way to go. Examples: “Whom are you referencing?” and “To whom are you speaking?”

Who’s. “Who’s” is a contraction for “who is” or “who has.” An apostrophe in a contraction stands for the letter or letters that were taken out of the original words to create a new, shorter word. Example: “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?”

Whose. “Whose” is used to ask about possession. This is one area that can be confusing, because many possessives are indicated with an apostrophe-s construction — but not in such cases as “who’s” and “it’s,” where the possessive forms are “whose” and “its.” Example: “Whose Line is It Anyway?”

— Adapted from “How to Use Whose,” Alice E.M. Underwood, Grammarly.