You use whose at the beginning of a relative clause where you mention something that belongs to or is associated with the person or thing mentioned inthe previous clause.
I saw a man shouting at a driver whose car was blocking the street.
...a speedboat, whose fifteen-strong crew claimed to belong to the Italian navy.
...tourists whose vacations included an unexpected adventure.
2. pronoun & determiner
You use whose in questions to ask about the person or thing that something belongs to or is associated with.
Whose was the better performance?
'Whose is this?'—'It's mine.'
'It wasn't your fault, John.'—'Whose, then?'
Whose car were they in?
Whose daughter is she?
3. determiner
You use whose after certain words, especially verbs and adjectives, to introduce a clause where you talk about the person or thing that something belongs to or is associated with.
I'm wondering whose mother she is then.
I can't remember whose idea it was for us to meet again.
Whose is also a conjunction.
I wondered whose the coat was.
That kind of person likes to spend money, it doesn't matter whose it is.
English Easy Learning GrammarInterrogative pronounsThe interrogative pronouns who, whom, and whose are used only for reference to people.The interrogative pronouns which and what are used for reference ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarRelative clausesRelative clauses tell us more about nouns. They function rather like adjectives, andare found as postmodifiers in a noun phrase. The noun that is modified ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarRelative pronounsThe relative pronouns are the words who, whom, which, and that. person thing subjectobject who or thatwhom or that which or thatwhich or that possessive ... Read more
whose in British English
(huːz)
determiner
1.
a.
of whom? belonging to whom? used in direct and indirect questions
I told him whose fault it was
whose car is this?
b.
(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
Word origin
Old English hwæs, genitive of hwāwho and hwætwhat
whose in American English
(huz)
pronoun
1.
that or those belonging to whom
used without a following noun
whose is this? whose will look best?
possessive pronominal adjective
2.
of, belonging to, made by, or done by whom or which
whose book is lost? a song whose popularity endures
Word origin
ME whos, hwas < OE hwæs, gen. of hwa, who
Examples of 'whose' in a sentence
whose
There was little doubt about whose side the public were on.
The Sun (2017)
And what about the ones whose applications fail?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Praise from the one person whose opinion matters most gets important plans working.
The Sun (2016)
That's not to mention clauses whose parentage and application is a matter of legal dispute.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is one man who bears overwhelming responsibility for this disaster ; a man whose barbaric military tactics have caused the vast majority of those 400,000 deaths.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Town halls across the UK have paid 12 million in compensation over four years to motorists whose cars were damaged by potholes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A PREGNANT woman whose car rolled backwards off a harbour wall blamed it on a faulty electronic handbrake.
The Sun (2016)
The person whose holidays you dread because of the six hours of sunset snaps that will follow.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
And the person whose opinion matters most to you will be impressed.
The Sun (2016)
You can tell who the leader is in advance by watching for the person whose movements set other people moving.
O'Connor, Joseph & Seymour, John Training with N.L.P. (1994)
This is to give us time fully to reflect on the life and work of the person whose memory we honour.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
For those whose car parks are accessible from the open street, clamping is the only answer.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The benefits appear to be confined to women; men whose wives exercised did not experience the same improvement in mood.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
LAST month you sent 300 to a family making trips to hospital whose car needed repairs.
The Sun (2012)
Of course, this can lead to the selection of a person whose undisclosed background makes him or her a risk of harm to others.
Christianity Today (2000)
Critics say urban chargers are best suited to an early generation of electric cars whose maximum range of about 100 miles has failed to impress buyers.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But this is a car whose faults you easily forgive, especially when you hear the V8 bark.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The point is that it's a painting about temptation, whose opening gambit is to tempt you.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
MY heart goes out to the people in the Cumbrian towns whose property and belongings have been ruined by the floods.
The Sun (2009)
THE first heavy snow of the season is a timely reminder to millions of drivers whose cars are unprepared for the extra problems winter can bring.
The Sun (2008)
In other languages
whose
British English: whose /huːz/ DETERMINER
You use whose to ask who something belongs to.
Whose bag is this?
American English: whose
Arabic: لـِمَنْ
Brazilian Portuguese: de quem
Chinese: 谁的
Croatian: čiji
Czech: čí
Danish: hvis
Dutch: van wie
European Spanish: de quién
Finnish: kenen
French: à qui
German: dessen
Greek: τίνος
Italian: di chi
Japanese: 誰の
Korean: 누구의
Norwegian: hvem sin
Polish: czyj
European Portuguese: de quem
Romanian: al cui
Russian: чей
Latin American Spanish: cuyo
Swedish: vars
Thai: ของผู้ใด
Turkish: ki onun
Ukrainian: чий
Vietnamese: của ai
British English: whose /huːz/ PRONOUN
You use whose to explain who something belongs to.
He shouted at the driver whose car was blocking the street.
American English: whose
Arabic: الَّذِي
Brazilian Portuguese: cujo
Chinese: 谁的
Croatian: čije
Czech: čí
Danish: hvis
Dutch: van wie
European Spanish: cuyo
Finnish: kenen
French: dont
German: wessen
Greek: του οποίου
Italian: di chi
Japanese: 誰のもの
Korean: 누구의 것
Norwegian: hvem sin
Polish: czyj
European Portuguese: cujo
Romanian: al căruia
Russian: чей
Latin American Spanish: de quién
Swedish: vars
Thai: ของใคร
Turkish: kimin
Ukrainian: чий
Vietnamese: của ai
Chinese translation of 'whose'
whose
(huːz)
adj
(interrogative) 谁(誰)的 (shuí de)
(relative) ... 的 ( ... de)
pron
谁(誰)的 (shuí de)
whose is this?这(這)是谁(誰)的？ (zhè shì shuí de?)
whose are these?这(這)些是谁(誰)的？ (zhèxiē shì shuí de?)
whose book is this/coats are these?这(這)本书(書)是谁(誰)的/这(這)些外套是谁(誰)的？ (zhè běn shū shì shuí de/zhèxiē wàitào shì shuí de?)
whose tent did you borrow?你借了谁(誰)的帐(帳)篷？ (nǐ jièle shuí de zhàngpéng?)
the woman whose car was stolen汽车(車)给(給)偷走的那个(個)女的 (qìchē gěi tōuzǒu de nàge nǚ de)
Jane Smith, whose voice you liked so much, is performing live简(簡)·史密斯-她的嗓音为(為)你所喜欢(歡)-正在做现(現)场(場)表演 (Jiǎn Shǐmìsī-tā de sǎngyīn wéi nǐ suǒ xǐhuan-zhèngzài zuò xiànchǎng biǎoyǎn)
I know whose it is我知道这(這)是谁(誰)的 (wǒ zhīdào zhè shì shuí de)
All related terms of 'whose'
whose is this?
这(這)是谁(誰)的？ zhè shì shuí de?
whose are these?
这(這)些是谁(誰)的？ zhèxiē shì shuí de?
whose go is it?
轮(輪)到谁(誰)了？ lúndào shuí le?
I know whose it is
我知道这(這)是谁(誰)的 wǒ zhīdào zhè shì shuí de
whose tent did you borrow?
你借了谁(誰)的帐(帳)篷？ nǐ jièle shuí de zhàngpéng?
the woman whose car was stolen
汽车(車)给(給)偷走的那个(個)女的 qìchē gěi tōuzǒu de nàge nǚ de