Who’s vs Whose

Who’s  

= who is/ who has

Ex: “Who’s” going to the party this weekend?

Ex: “Who’s” calling my phone at midnight?

Ex: “Who’s” that?

Whose

= possessive pronoun

* Whose can refer to things in addition to people

Ex: “Whose” umbrella is this? (Who owns this umbrella?)

Ex:  I’m thinking of a word “whose” meaning I forgot.

Test:  If you replace who’s/ whose in a sentence with “who is” or “who has,” does the meaning of the sentence change?

If yes, then you want “whose.”  If no, you want “who’s.”

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