whose

[hooz]

pronoun

1. (the possessive case of who used as an adjective).

   Whose umbrella did I take? Whose is this one?

2. (the possessive case of which used as an adjective).

   a word whose meaning escapes me; an animal whose fur changes color.

3. the one or ones belonging to what person or persons.

   Whose painting won the third prize?

whose

/ huːz /

determiner

1. 1. of whom? belonging to whom? used in direct and indirect questions

      I told him whose fault it was

      whose car is this?

   2. ( as pronoun )

      whose is that?

2. of whom; belonging to whom; of which; belonging to which: used as a relative pronoun

   a house whose windows are broken

Usage

Sometimes the phrase of which is used as the possessive of which: Chicago is a city of which the attractions are many or Chicago is a city the attractions of which are many. The use of this phrase can often seem awkward or pretentious, whereas whose sounds more idiomatic: Chicago is a city whose attractions are many.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whose¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English whos, early Middle English hwās; replacing hwas, Old English hwæs, genitive of interrogative pronoun hwā who

Word History and Origins

Origin of whose¹

Old English hwæs, genitive of hwā _who and hwæt _what

Example Sentences

The ultimate fate of the company rests on the question of what will become a commodity first, said McCardel, the startup founder whose employees persuaded him to use Cursor.

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In the video, Juan Carlos also urged Spain to support his son Felipe VI, in whose favour he abdicated in 2014, "in this difficult task of uniting all Spaniards".

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"You will be completely lost in terms of your sense of direction and reference points in relation to the outside world," JR, whose real name is Jean Rene, told AFP in a recent interview at his studio in Paris.

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She has also received France’s i-Lab innovation prize and been called one of “100 geniuses whose innovation will change the world” by the magazine Le Point.

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The mNAV for the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, whose share are down 38% this year, currently stands at 1.19, but reached as high as 2.5 times in 2024 and around 1.7 times in June.

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