Language tip of the week: who, who’s and whose

In this weekly microblog, we bring to English language learners more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary. These tips are based on areas of English (e.g. spelling, grammar, collocation, synonyms, etc) which learners often find difficult.

This week’s language tip helps with the word who.

Don’t confuse who’s (the short form of ‘who is’ or ‘who has’) with whose (the possessive form of ‘who’, meaning ‘of whom’ or ‘of which’):
✗ Who’s view of the facts are we getting through television?
✓ Whose view of the facts are we getting through television?
✗ …an international organization who’s role is to keep peace and stability.
✓ …an international organization whose role is to keep peace and stability.
The short form who’s (‘who is’ or ‘who has’) is used mainly in spoken English and informal writing:
‘Who’s going to do that?’ ‘You, of course.’
Who’s been using my computer?

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