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Index W
- waive
- warmist
- warranty
- wary of
- wave
- Web (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- whatsoever
- when and if
- whereas
- where … at
- whether
- which
- while
- whiskey
- whisky
- Whitehorse
- Whitehorser
- Whitehorsian
- who
- whom
- who’s
- whose (1)
- whose (2)
- wide
- widow
- widow of the late
- Winnipeg
- Winnipegger
- with a view to
- withhold from
- with reference to
- with regard to
- with the exception of
- woman
- worship
- would
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who’s, whose
Because who’s and whose sound alike, they are easily confused. Writers mistakenly treat the contraction who’s as a possessive form because of the apostrophe s.
Use who’s
- as the contraction of who is
- Jenna is the cross-country skier who’s (who is) winning the most races this year.
- Who’s (Who is) your dentist?
- as the contraction of who has
- Who’s (Who has) been eating my chocolate fudge brownies?
Use whose
- as the possessive form of who
- Jenna is the cross-country skier whose performance is the most outstanding this year.
- Whose cat is sitting on my new car?
- These are my snowshoes. Whose are those?
- as a possessive form of which
- This is a nation whose time has come.
[= the time of which has come] - The bicycle whose chain is broken is mine.
[= the chain of which is broken)
- This is a nation whose time has come.
Note: Use the possessive whose not only for people but also for animals and even things, in order to avoid the awkward construction of which.
Tip
If you can substitute who is (or who has) in your sentence, then who’s is correct. In all other cases, use whose.
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