Who’s vs Whose vs Whom: Easy Guide With Examples

In English, almost all question words except “How” start with the letters “Wh,” which is why we often hear them referred to as “Wh-Questions.”

The problem with these wh-words is that there are so many and have similar spellings with drastic differences in meanings that confuse almost everyone. 

To get them right, you don’t need to memorize 50 grammar rules.

You just need to see these words in use repetitively and recognize some patterns they follow. 

So, I thought to break down these patterns for you in simple terms with real-life examples and clear the confusions around whose vs who’s vs whom, once and for all! 

Let’s first understand why these words are confusing. 

Why These Words Are So Confusing

Some English words seem deliberately designed to mess us up, and whose vs who’s vs whom are among those notoriously confusing words. 

“Who’s” and “whose” sound exactly the same (they’re homophones), so when we write them, it’s very common to mix their spellings up. 

To make matters worse, the apostrophe in “who’s” tricks a lot of people into thinking it’s a possessive, when it’s not!

“Whom,” on the other hand, has a reputation for being stuffy or old-fashioned, and its usage has been declining over the years​, no wonder many of us aren’t sure how to use it. 

What Does “Who’s” Mean?

The easiest way to understand “who’s” is to remember it’s a contraction. It blends two words into one, i.e., who is. 

In some cases, it can also mean “who has,” but only when “has” is used as a helping verb (as in “Who’s been to Paris?” meaning who has been).

• “Who’s at the door?” is exactly the same as saying “Who is at the door?”
• “Who’s already eaten lunch?” means “Who has already eaten lunch?”

The apostrophe in who’s is a placeholder for a missing letter (the i in “is” or the ha in “has”). It never shows possession.

If you cannot expand who’s into who is/has in your sentence, then you’ve got the wrong word.

What Does “Whose” Mean?

“Whose” is a pronoun used to talk about ownership. You use whose when you’re asking or telling about who owns something or has something. 

For example: “Whose phone is ringing?”

Normally, we add an apostrophe (‘s) for possession, but with pronouns, we don’t. 

The word “whose” already indicates possession, so there’s no apostrophe needed.

Think of other possessive pronouns, his, hers, ours, its, none of these have apostrophes either. “Whose” fits that pattern, doesn’t it?

What Does “Whom” Mean?

“Whom” is a pronoun like “who,” but it’s used in a different way.

The simplest explanation is that whom is used when someone is on the receiving end of an action (in grammatical terms, “whom” is an object pronoun). 

In contrast, “who” is used as the subject (the one doing the action).

For example: “Who ate the last slice of pizza?” Here, “who” is the subject; they performed the eating. 

But if I say, “Whom did you invite to the party?”, the action is “inviting” and the “whom” is the person receiving that action (the one being invited). 

In other words, you invited whom, “whom” is not doing anything in that sentence, just receiving the invitation.

In modern English, though, a lot of people don’t use “whom” in casual conversation. It is now mostly a stylistic or formal choice​. 

Quick Comparison Table: Who’s vs Whose vs Whom

In the comparison table below, we’ll look into their meanings, grammar roles, and when to use each one with some examples to clarify any lingering doubts. 

Aspect	Who’s	Whose	Whom
Meaning	Short for “who is” or “who has”.	Shows possession or belonging.	Refers to the person receiving an action (the object).
Grammar Role	Contraction	Possessive pronoun	Objective pronoun
When to Use	When you’re quickly stating “who is” or “who has.”	When asking or saying something belongs to someone.	When referring to the person affected by the action.
Examples	“Who’s coming tonight?” (Who is coming tonight?)	“Whose shoes are these?” (Who owns these shoes?)	“Whom did you invite?” (You invited her.)
Formality Level	Casual, informal	Neutral	Formal, great for writing or formal speaking

Common Mistakes & Fixes

Now, let’s talk about some common mistakes people make when using “who’s,” “whose,” and “whom.

Many of us make the mistake of using “who’s” when we’re talking about ownership. It may sound right in your head because of the pronunciation, but in writing, “who’s” = “who is”.

For instance, “Who’s turn is it to buy coffee?” is wrong because the expanded phrase “who is turn” doesn’t work, so it should be “Whose turn is it to buy coffee?”

The who vs. whom debate also causes a lot of headaches. People tend to use “who” for both the subject and the object of a sentence, but “whom” should only be used when the person is the object of the verb or preposition.

It’s very common (and usually fine in informal settings) to use “who” where strict grammar would call for “whom.” For instance, “Who did you invite?” is conversationally acceptable, even though “whom” is grammatically correct. 

People also mistakenly use “who” where “whom” should be used when following prepositions.

• Incorrect: To who did you send the letter? ❌
• Correct: To whom did you send the letter? (Because “whom” is the object of the preposition “to.”) ✅

How to Remember the Difference

You can easily remember the differences between who’s vs whose vs whom via performing simple tests. 

For who’s, you can do a quick expansion test. When you write “Who’s wallet is this?” expand “who’s” to “who is.” Does “Who is wallet is this?” make sense? Nope! Then it should be “Whose wallet is this?”

If the expansion test fails, you know that you should pick “whose” instead of who’s. 

Next, to check if you’re using “whose” correctly, you perform a his/her test because it is a possessive pronoun. 

All you have to do is try swapping “whose” with “his” or “her” in your sentence. For example, in the sentence, “Whose car is blocking my driveway?” substitute “his”: “His car is blocking my driveway.” It makes perfect sense, and hence, confirms that you used “whose” correctly.

In short: 

• Who’s = who is / who has
• Whose = belonging to someone
  Whom = the object receiving action (replaceable with him/her/them)

How AI Tools Can Help You Master These Words

One of the best ways to learn confusing grammar rules is to get immediate feedback, and AI tools do just that.

Take Undetectable AI Chat, for example, where you can instantly ask questions about the correct usage of these words whenever in doubt.

Not only does it get you the right answer, but you also get explanations and examples that show you why one word is correct in the context.

The AI Essay Writer is the best companion to hold on to when writing formal content, where you really have to avoid any embarrassing grammar mistakes.

It also refines your writing style and produces long-form responses. 

Sometimes, we write a sentence and immediately feel that it doesn’t sound right, but can’t quite pinpoint what. In such situations, you could use the AI Paraphraser to reword these sentences correctly while keeping the meaning intact.

Finally, students working on school projects or assignments don’t want their professor to mark down points for grammar mistakes. With Ask AI, you can run specific queries related to your project.

For example, if you’re writing a research paper and need help with the structure of your sentences, you can ask AI, “I’m talking about a person’s achievements—should I use ‘who’s,’ ‘whose,’ or ‘whom’?”, and it’ll narrow down the right answer for you with reasons. 

Experience the power of our AI Detector and Humanizer in the widget below!

FAQs About Who’s, Whose, and Whom

Final Thoughts

We hope that through this blog, we have settled the confusion around whose vs who’s vs whom.

The bottom line is that “who’s” is short for “who is,” “whose” shows possession, and “whom” is used for the object of a sentence.

They’re easily mixed up because of how they sound and how English grammar twists around. 

It’s always a good idea to smartly use AI tools when learning grammar because it won’t judge you for asking, “Wait, is it whom or who’s here?” for the 400th time, unlike your English professor.

Try using undetectable AI tools as your learning companions that help you improve your writing, sentence by sentence.

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