ENGLISH
REFERENCE

whose

pron.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈhuz// UK //hˈuːz// whose General-service

pron. used to ask or tell which person something belongs to. You use it when you want to know who the owner of an object is.

pron. the possessive form of 'who' or 'which', used to indicate ownership or association. Functions as a relative pronoun or an interrogative pronoun.


SIMPLE

Whose bag is this on the floor?

CONTEXTUAL

The teacher asked whose book was left on the desk after the final bell rang.

COMPLEX

The architect, whose previous designs had won several international awards, was commissioned to create the city's new central library.

Origin

From Middle English whos, from Old English hwæs, from Proto-Germanic hwes, genitive case of hwaz (“who”) *hwat (“what”).

Usage

Can be used to refer to both people and inanimate objects. As a relative pronoun, it introduces a clause that provides more information about a noun.

Pitfall

Who's car is that?Whose car is that?Learners often confuse 'whose' with the contraction 'who's' (who is/who has) because they sound identical.

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