2.2.7: The Homonyms- Whose, Who's and Who's

The Homonyms: Whose, Who’s, and Who’s

The words whose, who’s, and who’s are called homonyms.  Homonyms are words that are usually spelled differently and have different meanings and uses but sound the same.  English has lots of homonyms.  The words to, two, and too are also homonyms.  Others are by, buy, and bye, for, four, and fore.  There are many more.

1.  “Whose”

       “Whose” is a possessive question word.  Whenever a person wants to know the owner of something, he/she will ask, “Whose X is this?”  In other words, they want to know who owns X.  Almost always after “whose,” people put the name of the item they are asking about.  In addition, “whose” is a relative pronoun which is used in possessive relative clauses.  “Whose” is also used in possessive noun clauses.

Whose teacher am I?
Whose classroom are we in?
Whose office is in room 211?
Whose coat is that on the floor over there?
I went to the party with Roger, whose wife is a teacher in this college.
The girl whose father is a friend of mine is from China.
The table whose legs are uneven is in front of this classroom.
I know whose coat that is.  It is Bob’s coat.
Do you know whose pencil this is?
Whose wife is from Brazil is your teacher’s wife.

2.  “Who’s” and “Who’s”

       “Who’s” has two meanings.  One is “who is” and the other is “who has.”  A native speaker can tell the difference by the use of “who’s” to tell which one it means.  If the person wants to use the present continuous tense with “who’s,” then “who’s” means “who is” because in the present continuous tense the main verb is in its ing form (present participle).  Also, if no verb follows “who’s,” then “who’s” means “who is.”  If, on the other hand, the person wants to use the present perfect tense, then “who’s” means “who has” because in the present perfect tense the main verb is in its past participle form.

“Who’s talking on the phone?”  Who is …
Who’s cooking in the kitchen?  Who is …
I know who’s making all that noise.  Who is …
Who’s in the kitchen with John?  Who is …
Who’s sitting in the front row?  Who is …

Who’s been to France before?  Who has …
Who’s eaten all of the cheese and bread?  Who has …
Who’s studied for the examination?  Who has
I know who’s seen that new film.  Who has …

Exercise 4:  Fill in the blank with a noun after the word “whose” to show who owns the noun, please.  Work in groups to figure out what the owner owns after whose.

1.  Whose --------------- does the teacher drive to school?

2.  Whose ------------- lives in Japan?

3.  Whose --------------- are you sitting in right now?

4.  Whose --------------- has a long, white beard?

5.  Whose --------------- are you this quarter at SSCC?

6.  Whose --------------- is in room CAS 211?

7.  Whose --------------- are you using to write these answers with?

8.  I know whose --------------- my teacher drives to school in.

9.  I know --------------- lives in Japan.

10.  I am sure whose --------------- I am sitting in right now.

11.  We all know whose --------------- has a long, white beard.

12.  There is no doubt whose --------------- we are in this quarter at SSC.

13.  We are sure whose --------------- is in CAS 211.

14.  I know whose --------------- I am using to write this exercise.

15.  Whose -------------- is on the floor?

16.  I know whose -------------- those are on the floor.  They are Rafael’s shoes.

17.  Whose --------------- just got married to Robert?

18.  I know whose -------------- just got married.  It’s Maria’s sister.

19.  Whose --------------- are you wearing?

20.  I know whose --------------- she is wearing.  It’s her sister’s sweater.

Exercise 5:  Fill in the blank with a noun after the word “who’s” to show either “who is” or “who has,” please.

1.  --------------- drinking coffee in this classroom right now?

2.  --------------- teaching this class now?

3.  --------------- writing this answer?

4.  --------------- sitting in front of this classroom now?

5.  --------------- looking at his students right now?

6.  --------------- not writing anything right now?

7.  --------------- wearing a tie in this classroom?

8.  --------------- sitting in the first row today?

9.  -------------- wearing traditional clothes in class right now?

10.  -------------- eaten breakfast this morning?

11.  --------------- watched television this week?

12.  --------------- spoken a foreign language today?

13.  --------------- studied ESL in this classroom?

14.  --------------- flown in an airplane this year?

15.  --------------- taken a shower this morning?

16.  --------------- drunk coffee or tea today?

17.  --------------- taken the bus to school this morning?

18.  --------------- bought groceries this week?

19.  --------------- driving that car?

20.  --------------- had a car accident this year?

Whose, Who’s and Who’s Exercise

Exercise 6:  Fill in the blanks with the correct form of whose or who’s, please.

1. The man --------------- car is in the parking lot will have a dead battery later on.

2.  My son --------------- a university student lives in Tacoma.

3.  --------------- going to go on vacation during the summer?

4.  The old man --------------- standing in front of you has a dog --------------- eyes are brown and --------------- tail is short.

5.  --------------- the president of the United States?

6.  My sons --------------- friends are all young men like to play video games.

7.  My next-door neighbor --------------- wife works as a physical therapist is a preacher at a Christian church.

8.  The table --------------- leg is broken will cost a lot to repair.

9.  I know --------------- sitting in the front row of seats.

10.  --------------- students are you?  In other words, --------------- your teacher?

11.  I would like to know --------------- the student --------------- native language is Chinese?

12.  --------------- classroom is Room 210?

13.  The house --------------- color is blue has four dormers.

14.  The woman --------------- husband is on a business trip to France wishes she were with him instead of alone at home.

15.  My son --------------- playing the violin right now will be hungry very soon.

16.  --------------- the student --------------- sitting next to the Chinese woman ---------------

hair is long and wavy?

17.  I like people --------------- character is strong and --------------- sense of humor makes them fun to be around.

18.  Roger, --------------- a teacher at this college and --------------- wife also teaches at this college, is my best friend.

Whose, Who’s and Who’s Exercise

Exercise 7: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of whose or who’s, please.

1. The man --------------- wife bought a brand new car without telling him was very angry.

2.  My son --------------- going to go to a classical music concert tonight knows many musicians.

3.  --------------- brother is going to help you fix your car this weekend?

4.  The old man --------------- front yard is a mess and ------------------ lying on the sofa is lazy.

5.  --------------- the student who sits next to you in class and ------------------ hair is red?

6.  My sons’ friends ------------------- parents are immigrants went to high school with them.

7.  My next-door neighbor --------------- written many books is also a good gardener.

8.  The door --------------- handle doesn’t work properly will be expensive to fix.

9.  I know --------------- stolen a lot of computers from the computer lab.

10.  --------------- children were on the bus?  In other words, --------------- their mother?

11.  I can’t comprehend the woman from Florida --------------- killed her two teenage children.

12.  --------------- office is in Room 211 in Cascade Court?

13.  The dog --------------- fur is brown and --------------- fought with my dog is dangerous.

14.  The woman --------------- husband speaks French but ------------- parents are Italian is nice.

15.  My son --------------- playing the piano but --------------- passion is composition is not here.

16.  --------------- the student --------------- leg is broken but --------------- finished his homework?

17.  The book --------------- title is unknown and -------------- author is not famous cost me $1.00.

18.  Doug, --------------- a teacher at BCC and --------------- son teaches at SSC, is my friend.

19.  My sister, --------------- worked as a hairdresser all her life, has a husband --------------- sick.

20.  America, --------------- first president was George Washington, has had 44 presidents in all.

21.  My friend --------------- flown airplanes for 20 years but -------------- only 40 years old wants to get different job.