Who-Is-Whose | Commonly Confused Words
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Who is vs. Whose

Who is

/huː ɪz/
A question phrase used to inquire about the identity of a person.

Examples:

Who's leading the project next quarter?Who's that musician playing the violin?Who is calling at this late hour?

Synonyms:

This word has no synonyms

Antonyms:

This word has no antonyms

Whose

/huːz/
Used to ask or to indicate who something belongs to or is associated with

Examples:

The devil, whose name was Mephostophilis, bowed courteously and disappeared.Whose is it?' The girl moved back, a little shocked.'Whose dog is that?'

Synonyms:

This word has no synonyms

Antonyms:

This word has no antonyms

Ways to tell them apart:

etymology
  • Who is is often contracted to whos. This can make it easily confused with whose, but remember whose' shows possession.
  • Think of who is as a question about identity or status, while whose relates to ownership or association.
  • If you can replace the word with who is and the sentence still makes sense, then the correct word is likely whos'.
  • Whose asks about possession, as in Whose book is this? - the answer will be a person's name or pronoun indicating possession.
  • Remember: who is could answer questions like Whos walking the dog? while whose would be used in Whose dog is this?'
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