# Editing and Writing

**Who’s** and **whose** actually follow the same rule as it’s and its. **Who’s** is always short for **who is**; **whose** shows ownership.

Two former workmates taught me a good way to remember this – have you heard of **_Who’s Who_**? It’s a British publication that gives basic information about a number of well-known people (you can find out more about it at [_Who’s Who_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Who) on Wikipedia). In the publication’s title, **Who’s** is short for **Who is**.

My workmates used the phrase “Whose _Who’s Who_ is it?” as a quick check of which one to use. They knew that the book was **Who’s**, short for **who is**, so therefore **whose** meant who did it belong to.

(*thank you to Gabrielle and Mary for teaching me this example in the dim, dark, distant past.)*

Briefly:

- who’s = who is
- whose = possessive form of who (“whose is it?”).

For more about apostrophe use (and abuses to avoid), check out my post [Using apostrophes](/content/2017/10/30/using-apostrophes/index.html).