Who’s is a contraction of who is or who has. Whose can ask who owns something or show how one person or thing is connected to another.
Expand who’s to check it
- Who’s bringing the umbrella? The full form is Who is bringing the umbrella?
- Who’s left an umbrella by the door? The full form is Who has left an umbrella by the door?
- Whose umbrella is by the door? The question asks who owns the umbrella. You can also ask Whose is it? when the object is already clear.
Use whose in a relative clause
In The guest whose umbrella got wet left it by the door, whose links umbrella to guest. The same pattern can refer to a thing, as in a coat whose lining is torn. See relative clauses for how the extra detail fits into the sentence.
