Choosing Whose or Who’s

Whose and who’s may sound the same, but they have different meanings. Whose is the possessive form of who, as in “Whose turn is it?” or “the woman whose name I can’t recall.” Who’s is a contraction of the words who and is (as in “Who’s coming with me to meet Dave tonight?”) or of the words who and has (as in “He’s someone who’s always looked on the bright side”).

Part of the confusion has to do with the presence of the apostrophe in who’s. As Merriam-Webster notes, “The confusion between whose and who’s is very similar to the confusion that occurs between it’s and its, where it’s serves as a contraction of it is and its as the possessive form of it. That is mainly due to the fact that we are inclined to interpret automatically any word ending in apostrophe-s as possessive” (“Who’s Who”). Whose is to who as, for instance, his is to he. You wouldn’t say that “he took he’s shoes off when coming inside,” but with homophones such as whose and who’s, the error isn’t as clear.

So remember to forget the apostrophe when you’re looking for the correct possessive form of who. Apostrophes may—but do not always—indicate possession. 

Work Cited

“A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose.'” Merriam-Webster, 2026, www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/whos-whose-difference-usage-pronouns.