Difference Between Whose & Who

Whose vs Who

We are aware that “who” is a pronoun and belongs to the family of pronouns such as he, she, it, they, and we. “Whose” is a word that is a possessive form of “who” and indicates the ownership of something in a sentence. Both “who” and “whose” are pronouns, but they can be confusing to students who find it challenging to use them correctly in the English language. This article aims to clarify their differences through usage and meaning to help readers use these pronouns correctly.

Whose

Similar to his, her, and ours, “whose” is a possessive pronoun. This pronoun informs us about the person to whom something belongs. If we want to know the entity that owns or possesses a thing, we need to use “whose” in the sentence. Consider the following examples:

• Whose watch is this?
• Whose mobile is ringing?
• Whose bag has been left behind?

Who

“Who” is a pronoun that tells us the person performing an action and the individual upon whom this action has some effect. Consider the following examples:

• Who has won the race?
• Who is the girl in the red dress?
• Who is the President of the country?
• Who has made this recipe?
• I don’t know who the captain of the team is

Key Takeaways

• “Whose” is a possessive pronoun that indicates the ownership of something, while “who” tells us about the person performing an action in a sentence.
• “Whose” is a better choice when it is not correct to use “who is.”
• “Whose” is the possessive form of “who” and is used to indicate the belongingness of an object with a subject.