Whose commonly confused with who’s
A homophone is a word that sounds identical to another word, but whose meaning is different.
When you’re talking about whose and who’s, however, they’re not typical homophones because who’s is not a word. The apostrophe identifies it as a contraction for who is, who has, who was, etc.
A tip to remember when to use whose and who’s correctly in a sentence is to consider the apostrophe. When you consider who’s, write/read it as who is, who has or who was, as applicable. If it makes sense in the sentence then it is correct. If it does not, whose is the correct choice.
Whose is used to show belonging, which was demonstrated by the italics in the first sentence above. Whose means “belonging to whom or what.” Test yourself to see if the word is being used to show belonging by asking the question — in this case, “whose meaning?” (See the red text.)
In this sentence the answer to the question “whose meaning” would be the word [underlined] that sounds identical to another word.
Examples of who’s and whose in a sentence
1. Who’s confused about when to use whose and who’s in a sentence?
Or: Who is confused about when to use whose and who’s in a sentence?
2. Whose confusion about using whose and who’s in a sentence has been cleared up?
Ask yourself the question: “whose confusion?” Of course the answer here is your confusion.
So, whenever you’re “in a pickle” about deciding when to use whose or who’s in a sentence, remember the apostrophe.
Thanks to Hilary at Positive Letters for requesting this topic.
The tag line on her blog is “Interesting prompts … to start a conversation going … as and when you might need one … a diversion to talk about.”
Check it out. She always has something interesting for you to read. She weaves a nice story with her research, educating you the easy way :)
Is there a grammar question or a pair of commonly confused words you would like me to write about?
Photo Credit: Onecog2many
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“Who’s on first?”
“That’s right. Who’s on first.”
“Who?”
“That’s right.”
Whose confused about who’s on first?
http://youtu.be/sShMA85pv8M
Lol, Mike.
Good example. This is a very clever routine, not to mention hilarious. You really have to listen closely to follow with them. I imagine they did a lot of rehearsing for this one — it moves so quickly!
Are you going to make all your grammar lessons food related? ‘Cause I love pickles…but not being in a pickle?
All though out 4 the grade I wrote hoo’s, my writing teacher finally took me aside and had me miss recess for a week. I filled her side blackboard with Who’s and then did whose the next week. This was also the year that my handsome, dreamy, male 4th grade teacher told me to tell my mum I needed a bra ( and my mother said NO until 6th grade) and then he put my desk next to Vincent Cavenaugh’s desk because he had a crush on me until he threw up on my desk one day. I did not win any assertiveness awards that year.
I ripped up a sheet and pinned it tightly around my chest for 2 years – such as I had read in my beloved 17th and 18th century English novels…..I can now laugh about the whole thing not quite the whole year.
Oh yes, the 4th grade writing teacher said I was not a good writer and I should be steered away from that area – maybe think about becoming a nurse?
My 5th grade teacher bravely tried to convince my parents that I could write
Ah me.
love your posts Davina…:)
Hi Davina .. thanks for posting this .. so simple – but when I get in a paddy sometimes thinking about which word I should use .. who’s or whose – I forget that delightful apostrophe …
… or dreadful apostrophe as so many use it incorrectly with plural words … as here:
Sam reached out to touch Joe, but the younger of the two men shrugged him away.
‘Nay bother, Sam. She made her choices. It’s the bairn I miss. The America’s, can you believe she took off with McDonald — to the America’s?’
I’ve emailed .. and I hope they get corrected …
Summer’s here – the summer of all summers …. at long last – well a thunderstorm is floating around somewhere to spoil the party!
cheers Hilary
Lol, Patricia. Thanks.
I just realized that my second-last post talked about cake. I love pickles too.
I feel badly for what you had to go through in grades 4 and 5 though. It’s an interesting contrast to those girls I heard of in school who stuffed their bras to make themselves look bigger. At least you can laugh about it now though :) Nice to hear that you had some good support from your 5th grade teacher.
Hi Hilary.
You’re welcome. That apostrophe takes a beating sometimes. I always marvel at how many times I automatically type one in when it’s not required, causing one extra keystroke :)
Good of you to point out their error — the America’s what? ;) It’s funny… kind of leaves you hanging.
Glad your summer has arrived. Hope you enjoyed the thunderstorm and that it wasn’t too wild.
I just wrote the word compliment and I couldn’t remember if it should have been complement! I often come across words in teaching English such as there/their or it’s vs. its that get language learners confused. The only problem, however, is that when I come across exercises on these subjects I get bad memories of English teachers who had us do so many pages of homework on knowing the difference, I lost interest! Now, I try to do my best and I think that’s about as much as anyone can ask for.
Thank you Davina!
Julie
Hi Julie.
You’re welcome. And my apologies for not responding to your comment sooner! Those are two other commonly confused words for sure. There are so many out there! A little trick I use to help me remember when to use compliment, is to focus on the “i” as opposed to “e,” and consider that a compliment makes the “i” feel good.
Yes, all anyone can ask is that you do your best. These days we are fortunate to have the Internet to use as a resource when we have a question.