Who's and Whose

Use 'who's' to mean 'who is' and 'whose' to ask about ownership.

'Who's' and 'whose' follow the same pattern as 'it's' and 'its'. 'Who's' is a contraction for 'who is' or 'who has': 'Who's ready for lunch? ' means 'Who is ready for lunch? ' 'Whose' asks or tells about ownership: 'Whose jacket is this? ' asks who owns the jacket. To choose, expand the word into 'who is'. If the sentence makes sense, keep the apostrophe. Try: '___ turn is it?

' Expanded, 'Who is turn is it? ' sounds wrong, so the answer is 'whose'. Try: '___ coming to the game? ' 'Who is coming to the game? ' works, so the answer is 'who's'. Once you know the pattern, these pairs become much easier.

• 1who's = who is or who has.
• 2whose = belongs to whom.
• 3Same pattern as it's and its: expand to test.