Skip to main content

whose

Relative possessive​

Whose is a relative possessive word, used as a determiner before nouns in the same way as his, her, its or their. It can refer back to people or things. In a relative clause, whose + noun can be the subject, the object of a verb or the object of a preposition.

  • I saw a girl whose beauty took my breath away. (subject)
  • It was a meeting whose purpose I did not understand. (object)
  • Michel Croz, with whose help Whymper climbed the Matterhorn, was one of the first professional guides. (object of preposition)
  • I went to see my friends the Forrests, whose children I used to look after when they were small. (object of preposition)

Whose can be used in both identifying and non-identifying clauses.

Things: of which; that … of​

Instead of whose, we can use of which or that … of (less formal) to refer to 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.

We do not normally use noun + of whom in a possessive sense to talk about people.

  • a man whose name I’ve forgotten (not a man of whom I’ve forgotten the name)

Only used as a determiner​

Relative whose is only used as a possessive determiner, before a noun. In other cases we use of which/whom or that … of.

  • He’s married to a singer of whom you may have heard. or … that you may have heard of. (not … a singer whose you may have heard.)

Formality​

Sentences with whose are generally felt to be rather heavy and formal; in an informal style other structures are often preferred. With (see here) is a common way of expressing possessive ideas, and is usually more natural than whose in descriptions.

  • I’ve got some friends with a house that looks over a river. (Less formal than … whose house looks over a river.)
  • You know that girl with a brother who drives buses? (Less formal than … whose brother drives buses?)
  • She’s married to the man over there with the enormous ears. (More natural than … the man over there whose ears are enormous.)
note

For whose in questions, (see here).