ENGLISH
REFERENCE

who

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈhu// UK //hˈuː// who Dialect General-service Informal Slang

n. the word you use to ask which person or people did something. You also use it to give more information about a person you just mentioned.

n. an interrogative or relative pronoun used to refer to persons. It functions as the subject of a clause or sentence.


SIMPLE

Who is that person standing by the door?

CONTEXTUAL

The manager is looking for the employee who left the office lights on last night.

COMPLEX

Scholars often debate who actually authored the plays attributed to Shakespeare, citing stylistic inconsistencies that suggest a collaborative effort rather than a single hand.

Usage

Acts as a subject pronoun; in formal writing, it is distinguished from the object pronoun 'whom'.

Pitfall

The car who I bought is blue.The car that I bought is blue.Who is used only for people; use 'which' or 'that' for objects and animals.

Idioms9 entries

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