WHO’S or WHOSE?

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. Today, we are going to be looking at two very

commonly confused words, and they are: "Who's" and "Whose". Now, as you can

tell, they sound exactly the same. These words are called homonyms. And though

they sound the same, they don't look the same, and they don't mean the same

thing. All right? And so it's really important to know the difference and to

write the correct one, when you need it. All right? Now, these are just... This

is one example of a set — a pair — that people get confused. There are many

other homonyms like that in English; for example: "you're" and "your", "they're"

and "their", and so on. There are many more.

And actually, I have a course called, "Correct Your English Errors in 10

Minutes a Day", and in that course, we look at homonyms like this, these very

common ones, and we help you to correct them so that you can start to write

correctly. Homonyms matter more when you're writing —okay? — because, as I

said, they sound the same. So, when you say it and when you're speaking, you

can't... It doesn't matter; nobody can tell. If you're... if you think you're

using this word or this word; but when you're writing, it shows. All right? And

you don't want to make these mistakes, because very often, these homonyms are

very basic. So, these are some of the things that I cover in the course. If

you're interested, please check out the course. I'll leave the link for you in

the lesson description.

But for now, let's get started first with a little pre-quiz. Okay? So, let's

look at these four sentences or questions, and you tell me whether you

think we should be using this one or this one. And later, I will explain to

you exactly what the difference is, and how you can know. But let's see if

you're using them correctly right now. So, number one, do we say...? Well,

they're going to sound the same. Okay? But: "Who's/Whose cellphone is this?"

You want to ask: "Who's/Whose cell phone is this?" Do we say the first one or the

second one? How do we write that? Think about it. Okay, so the correct answer is

this one. Okay? "Whose". Right now I'm not going to explain why; I'm going to

explain that right... very soon on the next board. Okay? Right now let's just

see if you're getting them right.

Number two. "Do you know who's/whose giving the lecture? Do you know

who's/whose giving the lecture?" So, do we use the first one or the second one?

So, here, we should use this one (who's). All right? Good. Number three:

"Who's/Whose in charge today?" So, do we use the first one or the second one? We

use this first one. All right? And number four: "The band who's/whose music

I like is on TV." So, which one do we use there? First or second? Here, we use

this one. All right?

So, how did you do with that short quiz? Did you get them all right? Did you get

them wrong? And if you got them right, do you know for sure that that was the

right one, or were you guessing a little bit? Maybe a little bit of both. So, now

let's make sure exactly that you understand by seeing: What are the

differences between these two homonyms?

Now let's look at our two homonyms: "who's" and "whose". So, again,

"homonyms" are words that, what? They sound the same. Right? "Who's", "whose",

but the spelling is different, and the meaning is different. So, let's

understand exactly what they are and how we use them. So, the first one: "who's"

— w-h-o apostrophe "s" — is a contraction. That means that it is a

shortened form of something. Let's see what that is. So, when we write "who's"

like that, it could mean: "who is" or "who has", and we're going to understand

that in our examples. So, let's look at those.

So, we could say: "Who's there?" Usually when someone knocks on the door — knock,

knock, knock, right? — then we might answer if we're inside: "Who's there?"

Okay? It means: "Who is outside?" Right? So, here, what does it stand for? "Who

is there?" But we say: "Who's there?" All right? Let's look at the next

example: "Who's driving?" Okay? Again, what does it stand for here? "Who is

driving?" All right? And the last example: "Who's been to the

Philippines?" That means: "Who has visited the Philippines?" So, here, it's

"Who's been", right? We have a present perfect here: "Who has been to the

Philippines?" All right? So, as I said, this "who", apostrophe "s" can only be

"who is" or "who has". So, if that makes sense in your sentence, that if you

write it out, then you would need "who is" or "who has", then use this form.

All right?

Now let's go to the other side. This one: "whose" — w-h-o-s-e — is also a

homonym, it's also a pronoun, like this one; and it can also be used in

sentences and questions, just like here. However, it has a completely different

meaning. This word is the possessive form of "who" or "which". What does that

mean? We use this word to say that something belongs to someone or refers

to someone. All right? For example: "Whose phone is ringing?" Right? So,

we're talking about the phone, and we say: "Whose phone?" In other words: "Who

does that phone belong to?" Right? "Whose phone is ringing?" And here:

"Whose house are we going to?" Again: "Whose" — what? — "house". "Whose house?

The house of whom are we going to?" That's kind of what you're asking.

And here, let's look at another example: "These are the passengers whose flights

were cancelled." Okay? So, again, we're using this form and not this, because

we're not trying to say in any of these sentences: "who is" or "who has". So,

when you're not sure, break it up and say: "Am I trying to say 'who is' or

'who has'?" If yes, if your answer is yes, then use this form; but if your

answer is no, then you're going to use that form. All right? So, that's the

basic explanation. Let's do one last, quick quiz to make sure that you've

understood this.

So, before we start this quiz, let me just point out something. If you use a

device that has autocorrect, very often it makes mistakes with homonyms. So,

don't count on or don't depend on your device to autocorrect and choose the

right homonym, because unfortunately, it does not always do that. Okay? So, it's

much better if you know what is correct. So, let's go ahead and check that now.

Number one: "Did you find out who's/whose books these are?" Is it the

first one or the second one? Think about it. So, here it is: "whose", okay? "Did

you find out whose books these are?" Okay? So, you're asking, kind of: "Who

do these books belong to?" Right? So, we're saying: "whose books are these?"

We need this one. We're not trying to say: "Did you find out who his books?"

No. See? If you're not sure, try out. Is it "who is"? Is it "who has"? No? If

that makes no sense, then it's this one. Okay?

Next, number two: "Who's/Whose leading the meeting?" Number one or number two,

which one do we use here? So, here it is the first answer because when we say it

out, when we break up the contraction, it would be: "Who is leading the

meeting?" All right? Good.

Number three: "Who's/Whose had dinner?" You want to order something, so you say:

"Who's/Whose had dinner?" You don't just say it, but you type it on your phone.

All right? So, what would you write there? This one or this one? So, here,

it would be the first one. Because, here, what does it stand for: "Who's"?

"Who has had dinner?" Remember I said: "Who's" — this one — can be: "Who is" or

"Who has". So, here it is: "Who has had dinner?" Good.

Number four: "Who's/Whose laptop is this?" Somebody forgot it. "Who's/Whose

laptop is this?" So, which one do we choose, the first one or the second one?

It is this one, because we are really asking: "Who does this laptop belong

to?" Right? And whenever we're talking about possession, we need to use this

form. And in case you tried the other way, and you tried to break this up and

say: "Who is laptop" — no, that doesn't make sense. So, this is the one we want;

we want to show possession: "Who does the laptop belong to?" or "Who does it

refer to?" Right? So, we want this form.

And the last one: "Who's/Whose the manager?" So, what would that be? It

would be this one because we are asking, what? "Who is the manager?" All right?

So, I hope this has given you a good idea of what exactly these two homonyms

mean, how to use them, how to spell them, how to write them; and how to

choose, most of all, which one is right in the... in the right context. Okay?

And homonyms are very important because they're very basic words very often,

like this: "Who's/whose", "you're/your", "they're/their/there", and so on. Okay?

So, as I mentioned, I have many homonyms, as well as lots of other

points of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, expressions, and so on,

in the Correct Your English Errors course. So, if you're interested, please

have a look at that, and check the link in the lesson description:

https://10.bexenglish.com . Okay? So, thanks very much for watching, all the

very best with your English, and bye for now.