main noun + whose + noun + clauseUse whose before the possessed noun. The noun after whose belongs to the person or thing named first.
Relative Whose
B1Use whose to show possession inside a relative clause: the woman whose car was stolen. Put whose before a noun.
What you'll learn
- Link a person or thing to something they have with whose.
- Place whose directly before the noun: whose car, whose office.
- Use whose for people, things, places, and organizations.
- Build defining noun phrases without commas.
Structure
main noun + whose + noun + be + complementWhose is followed by a noun, then the rest of the clause. Do not say whose + full clause without the noun.
Build a sentence
Main noun
Possessed noun
Clause ending
The womanwhosecarwas stolen
The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
Use whose + noun to show possession inside the clause.
When to use
People and belongings
Use whose to identify a person through something connected to them: the woman whose car was stolen, the manager whose office is upstairs.
Things and places
Use whose with things and places too: a house whose roof leaks, a city whose airport is closed.
Common mistakes
Wrong
The man who has car is outside is my uncle.
Correct
The man whose car is outside is my uncle.
Inside this relative clause, possession is shown by whose + noun.
Wrong
The woman car was stolen called the police.
Correct
The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
You need whose to connect the woman to the noun car inside the clause.
Wrong
The student whose was absent emailed the teacher.
Correct
The student whose brother was absent emailed the teacher.
Whose must be followed by a noun such as brother, office, or car.
Wrong
The woman whose was car stolen called the police.
Correct
The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
The noun comes right after whose: whose car, not whose was car.
Wrong
The woman, whose car was stolen, called the police.
Correct
The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
In defining use, the whose-clause identifies which woman you mean, so no commas are used.
Common misconceptions
❝ Whose is only for people. ❞
Whose also works with things, places, and organizations: a company whose sales are growing, a house whose roof leaks.
❝ After whose, the noun is optional if the meaning is clear. ❞
After whose, name the noun: whose car, whose idea, whose office. Without the noun, the clause is incomplete.
Skills in this rule (4)
USE_WHOSE_FOR_POSSESSIONw5Use whose to link a person or thing to something they have
Use whose when the next noun belongs to the person or thing you are talking about. It connects two ideas into one noun phrase.
PLACE_WHOSE_BEFORE_NOUNw5Put whose directly before the noun it introduces
Whose is followed by a noun: whose car, whose idea, whose office. Do not leave whose alone before a full clause.
USE_WITH_PEOPLE_AND_THINGSw4Use whose with people and with things or organizations
Whose can refer to a person, but also to a thing, place, company, or country when you mean possession or connection.
BUILD_DEFINING_NOUN_PHRASESw4Build defining descriptions with whose
Use a whose-clause to identify which person or thing you mean. The clause is part of the noun phrase and is not separated by commas in defining use.