English Reference

whose vs who's

Whose shows possession, while who's is a contraction for who is or who has.

whose

the possessive form of who

The manager is looking for the employee whose car is blocking the main entrance.

who's

contraction of who is or who has

I need to know who's coming to the staff meeting on Friday afternoon.

Watch out

  • I wonder who's umbrella this is because it was left in the hallway.

    I wonder whose umbrella this is because it was left in the hallway.

  • The teacher is looking for the student whose responsible for the mess.

    The teacher is looking for the student who's responsible for the mess.

Remember Who's = Who is. If you can't swap it, use whose.

Quick check

Fill the gap with one of the two options.

  1. 1.

    I need to find out phone has been ringing for the last ten minutes.

  2. 2.

    She is the only person been to the new office in London.

More like this in Grammar and structure.