Who's Who?
The Mystery of Who, Whom, and Whose Unraveled!
Who
- “Who” is used as the subject of a sentence or clause. It refers to a person, and it’s often used to ask about someone’s identity or to describe someone. For example: “Who is coming to the party?” or “The woman who wrote the book is famous.”
- Use “who” instead of “whom” in informal speech or writing, or when you’re not sure which one to use.
- If you can substitute “he” or “she” for the word you’re trying to decide between, then use “who.”
- Example: “Who wrote this book?” (You could answer saying, “She wrote this book.”)
Whom
- “Whom” is used as the object of a verb or preposition. It refers to a person, and it’s often used in formal writing or in situations where grammar is important. For example: “Whom did you invite to the party?” or “To whom did you give the book?” For example: “To whom did you give the gift?”
- Use “whom” when the word could be replaced with “him” or “her.”
- If you can substitute “him” or “her” for the word, then use “whom.”
- Example: “This gift is for whom?” (You could answer saying, “This gift is for her.”)
Whose
- “Whose” is used to show possession. It refers to something that belongs to someone. For example: “Whose bike is this?” or “The man whose car broke down needs a ride.”
- Remember that “whose” is used to show possession, so it should be followed by a noun. For example, you would say “Whose book is this?” instead of “Whose is this book?”
- If you can substitute “his” or “hers” for the word, then use “whose.”
- Example: “Whose turn is it to play?” (You could answer saying, “It is his turn is it to play.”)
- Do not confuse whose and who’s. Whose is a possessive pronoun. Who’s is a contraction of the words ‘who is’.
- Remember that a possessive pronoun never has an apostrophe.
Remember:
- Who is used when talking about the subject of the sentence.
- Whom is used when talking about the object of the sentence.
- Whose is used to show possession.
- Whose is not a contraction. It is completely different from who’s.
