Difference between who’s and whose

Another pair of words that seems to confuse people is that of “who’s” and “whose”, but telling the difference between the two is easy.

Who’s

“Who’s” is a contraction, a word formed by omitting or combining some of the sounds of a longer phrase. Other examples include won’t, can’t, shouldn’t. In this case, who’s actually means “who is”.

Here are a few examples of sentences using “who’s” properly:

• Who’s going to the party?
• Who’s up for a hot pepper eating contest?
• Who’s there?

Whose

“Whose”, on the other hand, is the possessive form of “who”. We use “whose” to speak of something that belongs to something else (e.g. whose ball, whose doghouse, whose wings).

Here are a few examples of sentences using “whose” properly.

• Do you know whose gun that is?
• She’s a leader whose opinion I respect.
• He’s the one whose the creator of those sick beats.

This is part of the difference between series.