whose vs. who’s

English translation: whose

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	whose vs. who’s
Selected answer:	whose
Entered by:	Caryl Swift

12:20 Aug 24, 2006

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / grammar

English term or phrase: whose vs. who’s

Group alignment options will be explained in more detail below with reference to two sample objects (in this case - images), [whose OR who’s ? ] starting position on the screen is as follows.

Alexander Onishko

whose

Explanation:
'whose' - relative pronoun of possession

'who's' short form of who is - relative pronoun used to speak of a person

In this structure, 'whose' refers to possession and is not used only about people but about anything which posessess something else:

I stayed in a hotel whose staff were very friendly
(the staff belong to the hotel)

So, in your sentence, the starting position on the screen 'belongs' to the two sample objects - it's 'their' starting position

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Note added at 39 mins (2006-08-24 12:59:40 GMT)
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Re. 'whose' v. 'which' - although I agree in principle with CMJ_Trans et al regarding 'which', I also agree with sergey - 'whose' is used in this context in many grammar and course books (includiing those for the FCE, CAE and CPE)- which seems to suggest that such usage is now bith common and generally accepteped.

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Note added at 39 mins (2006-08-24 13:00:06 GMT)
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'bOth' - sorry

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Note added at 10 hrs (2006-08-24 23:16:32 GMT)
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'accepted' - sorry again - it seems to have my day for typos . . .

Selected response from:

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 23:51

Grading comment

many thanks to all !

Actually, as all the three answers are substantially identical, I had a difficult choice ...

Please forgive me and consider that I have selected all the three answers
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +17

whose

sergey (X)

5 +8

whose

Marie-Hélène Hayles

4 +7

whose

Caryl Swift

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

whose

Explanation:
whose = belonging to, pertaining to

who's = who is

Marie-Hélène Hayles
Local time: 23:51
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +17

whose

Explanation:
who's = who is

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Note added at 22 mins (2006-08-24 12:42:38 GMT)
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to cmj_trans: 'of which' was not an option in the asker's question. 'whose' is perfectly acceptable for inanimate objects in modern english , i've read about this quite recently in my 'practical english usage' book by michael swan. i don't have it with me as i spend my days in the british library where they offer wi-fi connection for my macbook - i am having my kitchen and bathroom replaced, and can't stand all that noise of hammering and drilling...

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Note added at 4 hrs (2006-08-24 17:09:40 GMT)
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now that i am back home :-) here is what my book says:

WHOSE and WHO'S

WHOSE is a possessive word meaning 'of whom/which', used in questions and relative clauses. WHO'S is the contraction of WHO IS or WHO HAS. compare:
e.g.
- WHOSE is that coat? (NOT: who's is that coat?)

- it was a decision WHOSE importance was not realised at the time. (NOT... who's importance...)

- do you know anybody WHO'S going to france in the next few days? (NOT: ... anybody whose going...)

- i've got a cousin WHO'S never been to london. (NOT... whose never been...)

there is a similar confusion between ITS and IT'S

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Note added at 5 hrs (2006-08-24 17:30:13 GMT)
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also found about OF WHICH; THAT... OF - they just sound less formal - there is nothing about old age ;-)

things: OF WHICH ; THAT ... OF

instead of WHOSE, we can use OF WHICH or THAT ... OF (less formal) to refer things, and these are sometimes preferred. the most common word order is NOUN + OF WHICH or THAT... OF, but OF WHICH... + NOUN is also possible.
compare the following four ways of expressing the same idea.

- he's written a book WHOSE NAME i've forgotten.
- he's written a book THE NAME OF WHICH i've forgotten.
- he's written a book THAT i've forgotten THE NAME OF.
- he's written a book OF WHICH i've forgotten THE NAME.

'practical english usage' by michael swan. oxford uni press 2005.

sergey (X)
Local time: 22:51
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Angela Dickson (X): yes. a very large proportion of English native speakers get confused by this.//treading carefully on the age question... for me 'whose' is fine but I think I would probably write 'of which' for the reasons CMJ mentions.

1 min

agree

Marie-Hélène Hayles: I would use "whose", but CUP's Advanced Grammar In Use says: 'In formal written English, we often prefer ... "of which" ... to talk about things'

1 min

agree

Andrey Belousov (X)

6 mins

neutral

CMJ_Trans (X): in English today people use this though it is technically incorrect - whose is for people and of which is for things: it should thus be "the starting position of which" - you have to be my age to know that

6 mins

agree

LukaszPL

9 mins

agree

Will Matter: It's simple. "Who's" is always an abbreviation for "who is". If you can't substitute the one for the other the sentence needs revision. Kak dyela, sergey?

9 mins

agree

Rachel Fell: I agree with CMJ, actually, although this form is acceptable; I don't just thnk it's about age

11 mins

neutral

EmmanuelleAn (X): CMJ is right about the which and whose difference. which would be the correct answer.It is still being taught in language schools.Nothing to do with age!

17 mins

agree

Alison Jenner: Agree with both CMJ and Rachel on this - and it's definitely not to do with age

19 mins

agree

lafresita (X)

20 mins

agree

Leny Vargas

20 mins

agree

Olga Layer

29 mins

agree

tappi_k

37 mins

agree

Jack Doughty: I also prefer "of which", which may or may not be due to my advanced age.

48 mins

agree

Rachel Nkere-Uwem (X): Agree with CMJ, Jack, Rachel et al

1 hr

agree

Mark Nathan: while I agree that "of which" is grammatically correct, "whose" does sound more natural in this sort of informal computer speak context.

1 hr

agree

RHELLER: in the U.S. we could also say "for which the"

3 hrs

agree

Suzan Hamer

8 hrs

agree

Alfa Trans (X)

1 day 5 hrs

6 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +7

whose

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 23:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20

Grading comment

many thanks to all !

Actually, as all the three answers are substantially identical, I had a difficult choice ...

Please forgive me and consider that I have selected all the three answers

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