whose

1. 1
   of whomdeterminerrelative

   Used to introduce a clause about something that belongs to or relates to the person or thing just mentioned.

   We thanked the neighbor whose ladder we borrowed.

   The singer, whose voice was failing, cut the show short.

   UsageIt can refer to things too (a house whose roof leaks), and a preposition can go first: without whose help.

   Note

   Commas mark a useful split. With no comma, the clause picks out which person is meant (the man whose dog caused the accident). Set off by commas, it adds a detail about someone already identified (Venus, whose sister is Serena).

2. 2
   asking ownerdeterminerinterrogative

   Used in questions to ask which person or people something belongs to.

   Whose idea was the picnic?

   In whose name is the booking?

   UsageDon't confuse it with who's (who is or who has): Whose turn is it? but Who's next?

   Note

   A genitive preserved as a question word: Old English hwæs served as the possessive of both 'who' and 'what', and modern English kept that single form for asking about owners. The noun after it is often dropped once context makes it clear (Whose wallet is this? becomes Whose is this?), and then it shades into the standalone pronoun.

3. 3
   asking ownerpronouninterrogative

   Used on its own in a question, with no noun after it, to ask which person's thing is meant, as in 'This bag isn't mine. Whose is it?'

   That is a lovely garden. Whose is it?

   Whose are these keys on the counter?

   Note

   Here the noun has dropped away and the possessive stands alone, taking its meaning from what came before: after talk of suitcases, Whose have you found? means 'whose suitcases'. My and her change to mine and hers in this position, but this word keeps one shape for both jobs. Only the missing noun tells it apart from the questioning determiner.

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