What is correct with using “whose” while referring to an object?

Who has used all the people (or which and which are used)? “Whose girl? Is it acceptable to use “whose” by other objects too?
What words would you use for objects?

How do I explain this question more clearly? I am expecting an answer similar to “It’s X’s car.” where X refers to a person. etc. How can I say “a man of good opinion I respect, whose opinion would refer to the opinion of a person.”
Could I say the desk whose drawer was broken by my brother? Should I replace “who” * with another whose?

What is the best way to explain things to a non-English-speaking person?

Asked on February 27, 2021 in Word choice.
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4 Answer(s)

In your first example, you have mixed up whose with who’s. Who’s is a contraction of who is ; whereas whose is the possessive form of who or which. when used as adjective.

What is that girl?

What car this is?

What is Melbourne’s public transport system?

Who are you at the door?

As for your other Example, it’s perfectly valid to use who when referring to an object. Is it correct to say “the desk whose drawer was broken by my brother”? The second example mentioned above is word whose in just that manner.

Answered on February 27, 2021.
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Whose isn’t used when referring to people, whos is, which is the abbreviated form of “who is”.

Who is that girl?

Whose is used when identifying objects?

Which is the best mobile phone?

How can I help someone who has always been a good friend and really easy to deal with?

Answered on February 27, 2021.
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Whose: of whom-what. What?

Who’s Who’s Who?

Since whom’s can refer to objects, but a person, our use it’s (that’s not the point, but still). Where is the meaning of whose?

Answered on February 27, 2021.
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What whose is used in forming relative

  1. clauses?
  2. At a business level, an interrogative whose is used to ask a question.

The former can refer to inanimate objects, but the latter cannot refer to inanimate objects.


Take a look at this sentence, in which relative whose refers to an inanimate object.

Two of these were large marble jars whose manufacture must have represented an enormous amount of work since metal tools were unknown at that time. ( source )

Here, relative whose refers back to the noun phrase large marble jars, an inanimate object. Some of usage is common. What are some surprising examples?

Furthermore, interrogative whose doesn’t has this ability. If you wanted to ask which car engine needed to be replaced, this sentence would be unacceptable.

This is because interrogative whose cannot refer back to cars, an inanimate object.


Huddleston and Pullum use the labels personal and non-personal for this distinction. In these terms, interrogative and relative.


In this answer text, a * mark the sentence

as unacceptable.

Answered on February 27, 2021.
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