Today’s Word Nerd revolves around a common confusion between the plural and possessive form, and it’s one that’s possibly even more common than the its-it’s confusion. What makes this one more complicated is that it’s not just a question of whether or not to insert an apostrophe; there’s a whole different spelling for the possessive.
who’s: a contraction for “who is”
whose: belonging to whom
whos: residents of Whoville
The confusion comes in because in most cases, an apostrophe indicates a possessive, except when it doesn’t. In this case, as with it’s, the word in question is a contraction.
If you say “who’s car?” you’re asking who car is.
If you say “whose Bob?” you’re asking who owns Bob.
Jim MacQuarrie
When he's not arming children for the zombie apocalypse or coaching the USC Trojan Archery team, Jim is writing about "all the stuff that would have gotten you a wedgie in 1976" at AtomicJunkShop.com and serving as the President of CAPS, the Comic Art Professional Society. His kids are all grown up, and his wife is patiently waiting for him to do likewise.
