who’s vs. whose

By | May 21, 2017
who’s vs. whose
I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favour of the kings of the world.
Ho amici in tuta da lavoro la cui amicizia non cambierei neppure con il favore di tutti i sovrani del mondo.
– Thomas Alva Edison
✓ Do you know whose car this is? It’s blocking the traffic.
✗ Do you know *who’s* car this is? It’s blocking the traffic.
Sai di chi è questa macchina? Sta bloccando il traffico.
Even native speakers may get this wrong when writing, as who’s and whose are pronounced in exactly the same way!
Who’s is a contraction of who is or who has. For example:
✓ The problem with this place is that nobody knows who’s really in charge. (= who is)
Il problema di questo posto è che nessuno sa chi comanda veramente.
✓ Guess who’s just arrived! (= who has)
Indovina chi è appena arrivato!
In simple terms, whose indicates or asks about possession.
✓ I don’t remember whose idea it was to change the ending of the film.
Non so di chi è stata l’idea di cambiare la fine del film.
Whose is this jacket?
Di chi è questa giacca?

Now try the quiz below! There are TEN answers. The pass mark is 90% (9 out of 10). Click on the blue arrows to go to the next or previous question. You can check your answers immediately or when you’ve finished the quiz.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.