Grammar use of the word whose

example sentences with whosePin

‘Whose’ is a relative pronoun used to express possession. You will find here 70 example sentences with whose.

You can use whose when you wish to say that something or someone belongs to or is related to a particular person

  1. Whose turn is it to do the dishes?
  2. Whose idea was it to take an extra day off?
  3. Whose desk is complete already?
  4. My mother, whose hobby is investing, regularly tries to get me involved in her newest market idea.
  5. You’d better apologize for whose money you borrowed for your vacation.
  6. It’s the man whose house it is.
  7. There was an older woman whose husband was a tailor.
  8. It’s a good thing to be in your debt, but not your debt whose icy foam turns men into moral monsters.
  9. The actor, whose career was over, is coming back.
  10. The man whose son is my boss got the promotion.
  11. The girl whose sister I met at the party had small eyes.
  12. The lady, whose name I forgot, came with her husband.
  13. Sally drove the car whose number had just passed me.
  14. This building is full of people whose names I don’t know.
  15. It is the bank whose codes were used was in Baltimore.
  16. This problem, whose solution requires skill and patience, is virtually impossible to solve.
  17. Hiroshima is the city whose name has become the symbol of humanity.
  18. An audience whose members tend to be quite critical determines whether a performance is good or bad.
  19. Whose shoes are the most comfortable?
  20. Do the children know whose birthday it is?
  21. The teacher knew whose work was best.
  22. The committee met to decide whose idea would be chosen.
  23. He did not wish to adopt the child whose mother had died in childbirth.
  24. I am told that there is a man whose face has been burned beyond recognition in your town.
  25. I didn’t realize whose house it was.
  26. I think that it’s the minister whose nephew killed someone.
  27. The bank whose money was stolen has claimed the insurance.
  28. The photo of the girl whose mother is a famous pop star is on the cover of this issue.
  29. Whose book is on your desk?
  30. Whose dirty dishes are these in the sink?
  31. The man whose coat you borrowed is my uncle.
  32. Whose car is parked outside?
  33. Whose clothes are these?
  34. Whose computer was hacked into?
  35. Whose team won the game?
  36. Whose idea was it to book the tickets six months in advance?
  37. It was a man whose ambition far exceeded his talent.
  38. She had a novel whose characters never really came to life.
  39. It was an actor whose performance was greatly appreciated by the audience.
  40. People whose houses were destroyed by the hurricane have been given free housing for six months.
  41. The company whose shares collapsed last month has had its financial figures taken into account by the purchasing committee at my firm, which led to a small amount of relief on my end.
  42. Many corporations whose stocks spiked earlier today announced late-night press conferences with their CEOs that should reveal why the sudden growth in their stock price.
  43. Into whose hands did they fall?
  44. To whose apartment did he come?
  45. Through whose eyes do I see the world?
  46. On whose authority do you act?
  47. Under whose direction will the work be done?
  48. In whose honor are we gathered tonight?
  49. Never squeeze the orange with whose skin has been peeled off due to health reasons.
  50. A word whose meaning changes depending on its use is called a relative pronoun.
  51. All of the people whose houses were burnt down were given new houses.
  52. Fries are the food whose consumption is most unhealthy in the USA.
  53. The portrait whose colors have faded was painted a long time ago.
  54. I’m looking for a book whose title begins with `H.’
  55. The teacher, whose car broke down, was caught by the bus.
  56. We stayed in a flat whose garden was full of noisy birds.
  57. The man whose house we burgled had been away for months.
  58. The woman whose husband I met at the dance looked very pretty.
  59. The coat with whose collar was covered in snow was mine.
  60. For whose tuition he was borrowing the money, the child had failed the exam again.
  61. For whose care she was making all the arrangements, the family had stopped contacting her.
  62. The lady whose husband works in a bank will leave tomorrow.
  63. The man whose daughter wants to be an actress will come tomorrow.
  64. The man whose son didn’t go to school will go to the party tonight.
  65. The woman whose sister is a nurse will call you tomorrow.
  66. The teacher whose car has just been towed off the school parking lot will be unhappy.
  67. The child whose house was broken into over the weekend will be scared for a long time.
  68. A child whose parents are divorced has to face the consequences.
  69. A person whose credit card is stolen is upset.
  70. A family whose home is threatened by fire is feeling distressed.

sentences with whosePin

Sentences with whose

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Whose is the possessive form of the relative pronoun who. Which and that, the relative pronouns used for animals and objects, lack a possessive form, so whose can be used for their possessive forms as well, as in «the movie, whose name I can’t remember.» Whose is appropriate for inanimate objects in all cases except when it might appear at the beginning of a question: while «Whose book is this?» is fine if the answer to the question is a living being, «Whose pages are torn?» doesn’t really make sense. Instead, a question about a book with torn pages might be «Which book has torn pages?»

English is a pretty impressive language, but sometimes it just doesn’t have the word you’re looking for. Writing handbooks will tell you that the relative pronoun that is used for animals, things, and sometimes collective or anonymous people («the book that won,» «infants that walk»); which is used for animals and things («the river which flows south»); and who is used for people and for animals, especially those treated like humans («the dog, who goes everywhere with its owner»). In addition, whose is the possessive form of who («she asked whose car it was»).

According to the rules, whose then only applies to people and animals, so what is the equivalent possessive for inanimate objects? Truth be told, English doesn’t have one, and writers from the medieval times onward have resorted to borrowing whose in such cases. The list of authors who have used whose for inanimate objects over the centuries includes such last-name notables as Shakespeare, Milton, Austen, and Fitzgerald.

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The mannequin, whose judgmental pose seems to imply disapproval, doesn’t really care which word you use.

I could a tale unfold whose lightest word / Would harrow up thy soul …
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1601

… the fruit / Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste / Brought death into the World …
— John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667

On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into the saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer.
— Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813

I walked out the back way … and ran for a huge black knotted tree whose massed leaves made a fabric against the rain.
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925

It wasn’t until the 18th-century that the sticklers of grammar took notice of this centuries-long peccadillo, emphatically declaring whose to be the possessive only of the relative pronoun who while whispering their acknowledgment that English lacks an equivalent possessive for which and that. Their recommendation has been to use the construction of which for inanimate objects. This might work in some cases, but for the most part, it ends up sounding clumsy or stilted.

For example, compare the following pairs of sentences using whose and then of which.

He was watching the movie whose title I couldn’t remember earlier.
He was watching the movie, the title of which I couldn’t remember earlier.

The car whose windshield is cracked is his.
The car, the windshield of which is cracked, is his.

Of note is how whose creates a smooth flowing sentence compared to of which. It is no wonder writers have chosen not to listen to the sticklers and to use whose in such cases.

Another recommendation for when the possessive for an inanimate object might be called for is simply to construct the sentence without the possessive.

He was watching the movie with the title that I couldn’t remember earlier.

The car with the cracked windshield is his.

The avoidance of whose certainly works, but the fact is it is easier to borrow whose to convey possession for an inanimate object than to work around it.

The persistent borrowing has resulted in filling the gap in modern English grammar, making the notion that you can’t use whose for lifeless things outmoded, like the rules against splitting an infinitive and ending a sentence with a preposition. If you want to use whose in reference to an inanimate object, go ahead; if you choose to rewrite a sentence to avoid using whose, feel free to do that too. In regard to of which: it seems a good choice when a formal or literary tone is desired.

Before closing, the one instance in which whose cannot be used for an inanimate object should be mentioned—and that is in the interrogative case. When whose appears in the beginning of a question, such as «Whose keys are these?,» it can only function as a pronoun for a person or animal.

If you are asking which container a lid belonged to, you would not say, «Whose lid is this?,» because whose in such instances can only refer to a living being. Rather, you would say something like «Which container does this lid belong to?»

You should also pause to ask yourself the important question, «Why am I speaking to containers in the first place?»


Asked by: Bailee Jenkins I

Score: 4.2/5
(22 votes)

Whose is the possessive form


possessive form

Together with a noun, as in my car, your sisters, his boss. … Without an accompanying noun, as in mine is red, I prefer yours, this book is his. A possessive used in this way is called a substantive possessive pronoun, a possessive pronoun or an absolute pronoun.


of the pronoun who, while who’s is a contraction of the words who is or who has. However, many people still find whose and who’s particularly confusing because, in English, an apostrophe followed by an s usually indicates the possessive form of a word.

Whose or who’s in a sentence?

Remember, whose is possessive. That means that whose is normally followed by a noun. If the sentence has a noun immediately after the whose or who’s, you should use whose. If there’s no noun or an article, use who’s.

Whose or who’s example?

Who’s is a contraction, meaning it’s two words stuck together. The formula: who + is, or who + has. For example: who’s hungry? Whose is a possessive pronoun. Use it when you’re asking (or telling) to whom something belongs.

Whose and who’s sentence examples?

Chicago, a city (who’s, whose) architecture is admired all over the world, has a population of over 2 million residents. (Who’s, Whose) yellow car is parked in front of your house? William Faulkner, (who’s, whose) books I read in high school, remains one of my favorite authors.

Who’s or whose ownership?

If you forget, remember that who’s is often a question — it has a little space waiting for an answer. That apostrophe stands for «is.» Whose owns it all. It’s possessive, like a kid who keeps all the toys close. The bottom line is that who’s is short for «who is,» and whose shows ownership.

27 related questions found

Who’s birthday or whose?

«Who’s» is a contraction of «who is» or «who has». «Whose» is the possessive form of «who».

Who’s fault or whose fault?

First off, you need the possessive pronoun of who in front of the noun fault; that’s whose, not who’s. Who’s is the contraction of who is or who has. Second, the sentence is not in the interrogative.

Who used in a sentence?

Who is used to provide more information about a person or people mentioned previously in a sentence. It is also a subjective pronoun. A subjective pronoun is a pronoun (I, me, he, she, etc.) that is used as the subject of the sentence.

Can you use Whose for objects?

Which and that, the relative pronouns for animals and objects do not have an equivalent so «whose» can be used here as well, such as in «the movie, whose name I can’t remember.» Whose is appropriate for inanimate objects in all cases except the interrogative case, where «whose» is in the beginning of a sentence.

Who or whom or whose?

‘Whom’ is an object pronoun like ‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘us’. We use ‘whom’ to ask which person received an action. … ‘Whose’ is a possessive pronoun like ‘his’, and ‘our’. We use ‘whose’ to find out which person something belongs to.

How do you use Whose in a sentence?

We use whose to introduce a relative clause indicating possession by people, animals and things:

  1. John works with that other chap whose name I can’t remember.
  2. Shirley has a 17-year-old daughter whose ambition is to be a photographer.
  3. This is the book whose title I couldn’t remember.

Who’s son or whose son?

The correct choice is whose. So what is the difference between whose and who’s? The word whose is the possessive form of the pronoun who. It is used in questions to ask who owns something, has something, etc.

Who’s idea or whose idea?

Here, the correct phrasing is whose idea, not who’s idea. The question is actually “to whom does this idea belong” or “who came up with this idea?” As a result, the phrase is about finding out who possesses the idea. Therefore, we need a possessive pronoun like whose instead of a contraction like who is.

Who’s dog or whose dog?

So, in this case, whose is a possessive adjective, because it describes who owns something. Traditionally, whose was only used to describe a person or several persons, as in “Sarah, whose dog is cute, just arrived.” In this case, whose indicates which person’s (Sarah’s) dog we’re talking about.

Who’s who or who’s whom?

When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”’ or “’she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” use whom. Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence. Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition.

How do you use than And then?

Than is used in comparisons as a conjunction (as in «she is younger than I am») and as a preposition («he is taller than me»). Then indicates time. It is used as an adverb («I lived in Idaho then»), noun («we’ll have to wait until then»), and adjective («the then-governor»).

What is another word for whose?

Synonyms: to whom, to who, of whom, of which the, belonging to what person, more…

Can whose refer to things?

To summarize, when the word «whose» is used as an interrogative pronoun, it can only refer to a person; however, when it is used as a relative pronoun, the word «whose» can indeed refer to things and objects.

What is the difference between which and whose?

Because “which” isn’t necessarily a possessive noun. “Whose” defines some sort of ownership, but “which” by itself doesn’t. Dictionary.com has several definitions for “which” and “whose”, but not until “which” adds prepositions does it become a possessive (e.g. of which, on which).

Which used in sentence?

We also use which to introduce a relative clause when it refers to a whole clause or sentence: She seemed more talkative than usual, which was because she was nervous. People think I sit around drinking coffee all day. Which, of course, I do.

Who vs whom examples sentences?

“Who,” the subjective pronoun, is the doer of an action. For example, “That’s the girl who scored the goal.” It is the subject of “scored” because the girl was doing the scoring. Then, “whom,” as the objective pronoun, receives the action. For instance, “Whom do you like best?” It is the object of “like”.

Who I met or whom I met?

Who is used as the subject of a sentence or clause. Whom is used as the object of a preposition and as a direct object. In your sentence, the pronoun would refer to the direct object, so to be correct, you should say, «The boy whom I met at the party.»

Whose personality or who’s personality?

Mixing up «whose» and «who’s» is a common grammar mistake. People tend to believe any word with a contraction, such as «who’s,» is a possessive form. In fact, «whose» is the possessive form, while «who’s» is a contraction for «who is» or «who has.»

Who’s at fault meaning?

If someone or something is at fault, they are to blame or are responsible for a particular situation that has gone wrong.

Whose birthday is today correct grammar?

Yes, it’s grammatical. The more common and complete version is look at whose birthday it is (today).

Clauses with whose

We use relative clause beginning with the relative pronoun whose + noun, particularly in written English, when we talk about something belonging to or associated with a person, animal or plant:

Jonson is an architect whose designs have won international praise.

Mary was taking care of rabbit whose ears were badly damaged in a fight with a cat.

We can use whose in both defining and non-defining relative clauses.

We generally avoid using whose to talk about something belonging to or associated with a thing:

I received a letter, and its poor spelling made me think it was written by a child. (more natural than «I received a letter, whose poor spelling made me think…»)

However, we sometimes use whose when we talk about towns, countries, or organisations:

The film was made in Nigeria, whose wildlife parks are larger than those in Kenia.

We need to learn from companies whose trading is more healthy than our own.

In academic writing whose is used to talk about a wide variety of «belonging to» relationships:

Students are encouraged to use an appropriate theory in order to solve problems whose geographical limits are clear.

Clauses with when, whereby, where and why

We can begin relative and other clauses with when (referring to time), whereby (method or means; used mainly in formal contexts), and where (location). In formal English in particular, a phrase with

preposition + which can often be used instead of these:

He wasn’t looking forward to the time when he would have to leave. (or …the time at which…)

Do you know the date when we have to hand in the essay? (or …the date on/by which…)

The government is to end the system whereby (=»by which means») farmers make more money from leaving land unplanted that from growing wheat. (or …the system in/by which farmers…)

This was the place where we first met. (or …the place at/in which we…)

In academic English, we can also use where to refer to relationships other than location, particularly after words such as case, condition, example, situation, system:

Later in this chapter we will introduce cases where consumer complaints have resulted in changes in the law. (or more formally … cases in which…)

We can also use a/the reason why or a/the reason that or just a/the reason:

I didn’t get a pay rise, but this wasn’t the reason why I left. (or …the reason (that) I left.)

Clauses with who and what; whatever, whatever and whichever

Some clauses beginning with a wh-word are used like a noun phrase in a sentence. These are sometimes called nominal relative clauses:

Can you give me a list of who‘s been invited? (=the people who have been invited)

I didn’t know what I should do next. (=the thing that I should do next)

Notice that we can’t use what in this way after a noun:

I managed to get all the books that you asked for. (not …all the books what you asked for)

We use clauses beginning with whatever (=anything or it doesn’t matter what), whoever (=person/group who or any person/group who), or whichever (=one thing or person from a limited number, to

talk about things or people that are indefinite or unknown:

I’m sure I’ll enjoy eating whatever you cook.

Whoever wins will go on to play Barcelona in the final.

Whichever one of you broke the window will have to pay for it.

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