GRAMMAR | Homonyms - Word Pairs - Apostrophe - Its/It's - Whose/Who's - Your/You're

Who - Whom - Who's - Whose

It's very easy to get these words mixed up in English. Are you clear about how each one of these words is used?  Test your knowledge! (Reload the page for a new question.)

Here are some tips to help keep these words straight:

1. Who

The word "who" is used for two purposes: in questions (including indirect questions) and in relative clauses. The word "who" needs to stand for the SUBJECT of the sentence or the relative clause.

• Who winds our sundials? God winds our sundials.

  (direct question: who = subject of the verb "winds")

• At the end of the game, you'll see who is the winner.

  (indirect question: who = subject of the verb "is")

• Those who stumble twice over the same stone are fools.

  (relative clause: who = subject of the verb "stumble")

2. Whom

The word "whom" is used for two purposes: in questions and in relative clauses. The word "whom" needs to stand for the OBJECT of the verb or the OBJECT of a preposition: 

• He whom the fire warms must bear the smoke.

  (whom = object of the verb "warms")

•  
• To whom is he any good, if he is no good to himself?

  (whom = object of the preposition "to")

3. Who's

This is a contraction for "who is" or "who has." So, if you understand the rules for "who," you won't have any trouble knowing when to use "who's" (just replace it with "who is" or "who has" to make sure the sentence still makes sense).

• At the end of the game, you'll see who's the winner.

  (who's = "who is")

• He who's stolen a calf will steal a cow.

  (who's = "who has")

4. Whose

The word "whose" is the possessive form of "who" (just as "yours"  is the possessive form of "you"), so it means "belonging to whom" or "of whom."

• Before you beat a dog, find out whose it is.

  (whose it is = who it belongs to)

• Mention not a rope in the house of one whose father was hanged.

  (whose = the father of whom)