They sound exactly the same, but they do different jobs. One of them has an apostrophe, and that apostrophe is a clue.
- Whose shows belonging: whose bag, whose idea.
- Who's is short for who is or who has.
Whose: who owns it?
Use whose to ask about, or talk about, who something belongs to.
Whose bag is this?
Whose turn is it to feed the fish?
I know a girl whose dog can skateboard.
Whose idea was it to bring a trumpet?
It sits in front of a noun, like bag, turn, dog or idea.
Who's: who is, or who has
Who's is a short form with an apostrophe. The apostrophe replaces letters that are missing.
Who's coming to the party? (who is)
Who's eaten my sandwich? (who has)
I wonder who's at the door. (who is)
Who's been sitting in my chair? (who has)
If you can unfold it to who is or who has, it's who's.
Easy way to tell them apart
Say it again with who is:
- Does who is fit? Use who's. Who is coming? = Who's coming?
- Does who is sound wrong? Use whose. Who is bag is this? does not work, so it's Whose bag is this?
💡 The OddLingo Trick
An apostrophe means something is missing.
In who's, the missing letters are the i of is or the ha of has. If nothing is missing, there is no apostrophe, and the word is whose.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Is it belonging? Use whose.
❌ Who's jacket is this?
✅ Whose jacket is this?
Is it who is? Use who's.
❌ Whose coming to lunch?
✅ Who's coming to lunch?
Is it who has? Use who's.
❌ Whose done the homework?
✅ Who's done the homework?
Good to know
This is the same kind of puzzle as its vs it's and your vs you're: an apostrophe means a letter is missing, and no apostrophe means "belonging".
Want to hear the two together? Try If a Dog Chews Shoes: whose shoes does he choose?
💬 In a conversation
Sam: Whose sandwich is this?
Mia: Who's asking?
Sam: I am. Whose is it?
Mia: It's Leo's.
Sam: Who's Leo?
Mia: The one whose sandwich you just ate.