Of, belonging to, made by, or done by whom or which.
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Their recommendation has been to use the construction of which for inanimate objects.
Whose and inanimate objects. If you want to use whose in reference to an inanimate object, go ahead; if you choose to rewrite a sentence to avoid using whose, feel free to do that too. ", You should also pause to ask yourself the important question, "Why am I speaking to containers in the first place? As in that last example above, whose—unlike who or who’s—may apply to inanimate objects or other non-person entities. ", fly All Rights Reserved. Definition and synonyms of whose from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. Whose should not be confused with ‘who’s’, which is the short form of ‘who is’ or ‘who has’. ), We saw several houses whose roofs are falling off. 2as determiner Of whom or which (used to indicate that the following noun belongs to or is associated with the person or thing mentioned in the previous clause). Are You Learning English? The mannequin, whose judgmental pose seems to imply disapproval, doesn't really care which word you use.
Before closing, the one instance in which whose cannot be used for an inanimate object should be mentioned—and that is in the interrogative case. Whose is the question word used to ask to whom a thing or things belongs. Another recommendation for when the possessive for an inanimate object might be called for is simply to construct the sentence without the possessive.
(possessive of who) de quién loc adj locución adjetiva: Unidad léxica estable formada de dos o más palabras que funciona como adjetivo ("de fácil manejo", "a contraluz", "de fiar"). WHOSE can also be used in front of a verb, to represent a noun that is not included in the sentence but is understood from the context.
According to the rules, whose then only applies to people and animals, so what is the equivalent possessive for inanimate objects? "Whose is appropriate for inanimate objects in all cases except the interrogative case, where "whose" is in the beginning of a sentence. Of note is how whose creates a smooth flowing sentence compared to of which. — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925. This is still a delicate topic to this day, but the prohibition on whose as a possessive for which seems to be waning.
1Belonging to or associated with which person. It is no wonder writers have chosen not to listen to the sticklers and to use whose in such cases. Harris describes threat of climate change.
The car whose windshield is cracked is his. In addition, whose is the possessive form of who ("she asked whose car it was"). The car, the windshield of which is cracked, is his.
Rather, you would say something like "Which container does this lid belong to?
Cute (Dates to 1731) Today’s Meaning: Pretty in a youthful way. Under this understanding of whose, the first example would be acceptable since it refers to people. Of whom or which (used to indicate that the following noun belongs to or is associated with the person or thing mentioned in the previous clause), These Foreign Words And Phrases Are Now Used In English. Nineteenth-century politician Thomas Chandler Haliburton used the word to … He was watching the movie whose title I couldn’t remember earlier. In regard to of which: it seems a good choice when a formal or literary tone is desired. Whose book is lost? It wasn't until the 18th-century that the sticklers of grammar took notice of this centuries-long peccadillo, emphatically declaring whose to be the possessive only of the relative pronoun who while whispering their acknowledgment that English lacks an equivalent possessive for which and that. (=The roofs are falling off several houses we saw. Whose is appropriate for inanimate objects in all cases except the interrogative case, where "whose" is in the beginning of a sentence.
‘The attacker, whose face was covered by a hood, grabbed her from behind in the dark alley.’ ‘He's a workaholic whose goal is to be the first man to put hackers permanently out of business.’ ‘In his place is a man who trades on trust but whose personality offers limited reassurance.’
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An example of whose is when you find a dog without an owner and you ask who the owner is. The car with the cracked windshield is his. Fly steals focus during debate, litany
It's allowed, with one important exception, Harris describes threat of climate change, 9 Pairs of Words That Look the Same But Different, Set your young readers up for lifelong success, Study Up With Our Official SCRABBLE Dictionary. He was watching the movie with the title that I couldn't remember earlier. The list of authors who have used whose for inanimate objects over the centuries includes such last-name notables as Shakespeare, Milton, Austen, and Fitzgerald. If you are asking which container a lid belonged to, you would not say, "Whose lid is this?," because whose in such instances can only refer to a living being. (=This man's dog caused the accident. whose adj adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house." When whose appears in the beginning of a question, such as "Whose keys are these?," it can only function as a pronoun for a person or animal.
Original Meaning: Clever, shrewd. I could a tale unfold whose lightest word / Would harrow up thy soul ... — William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1601, ... the fruit / Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste / Brought death into the World ... — John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667, On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into the saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer. The persistent borrowing has resulted in filling the gap in modern English grammar, making the notion that you can't use whose for lifeless things outmoded, like the rules against splitting an infinitive and ending a sentence with a preposition. For example, while you wouldn’t say, “The book, who is 500 pages, was released in 1923,” you could say, “The book, whose 500 …
The avoidance of whose certainly works, but the fact is it is easier to borrow whose to convey possession for an inanimate object than to work around it. Truth be told, English doesn't have one, and writers from the medieval times onward have resorted to borrowing whose in such cases. The second example, which refers to a river, would be an unacceptable use of whose . Which and that, the relative pronouns for animals and objects do not have an equivalent so "whose" can be used here as well, such as in "the movie, whose name I can't remember." whose definition: Whose is the question word used to ask to whom a thing or things belongs. Old English hwæs, genitive of hwā ‘who’ and hwæt ‘what’. He was watching the movie, the title of which I couldn’t remember earlier. What to Know. For example, compare the following pairs of sentences using whose and then of which.
This is the British English definition of whose.View American English definition of whose.
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Here Are Our Top English Tips, The Best Articles To Improve Your English Language Usage, The Most Common English Language Questions. Delivered to your inbox! This is the man whose dog caused the accident. Writing handbooks will tell you that the relative pronoun that is used for animals, things, and sometimes collective or anonymous people ("the book that won," "infants that walk"); which is used for animals and things ("the river which flows south"); and who is used for people and for animals, especially those treated like humans ("the dog, who goes everywhere with its owner"). a song whose popularity endures. English is a pretty impressive language, but sometimes it just doesn't have the word you're looking for. A literary term used to describe a man (or woman possibly) that is currently killing the game, or doing something that really shouldn't be done in public Whose is the possessive version of the relative pronoun of who.Which and that, the relative pronouns for animals and objects do not have an equivalent so "whose" can be used here as well, such as in "the movie, whose name I can't remember.
— Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813, I walked out the back way ... and ran for a huge black knotted tree whose massed leaves made a fabric against the rain. The gentleman whose cell phone was stolen was very upset. Name that government! In this case "whose" must refer to a living being. Whose is the possessive version of the relative pronoun of who.
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