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whose

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determiner, pronoun American English pronunciation: whose /huz/
Whose can be used in the following ways:
as a determiner (introducing a direct or indirect question): Whose idea was it to come here? (introducing a relative clause): The winner was a Brazilian player, whose name I have forgotten.
as a question pronoun: Whose is this jacket?
 
  1. 1
    used for asking who someone or something belongs to or who they are connected with

    Whose fault is it that we are losing all this money?

    What about these glasses? Whose are they?

    Whose little girl is she?

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of whose
    1. a.
      used when someone knows or says who someone or something belongs to or who they are connected with

      I've found a bunch of keys, but I don't know whose they are.

      He wouldn't say whose names were on the list.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of whose
  2. 2
    used for showing that someone or something belongs to or is connected with the person or thing that you have just mentioned

    Help is needed for families whose homes were destroyed in the bombing.

    The defense minister, under whose authority the agency operated, was forced to resign.

    They live in a house whose roof could collapse at any time.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of whose

This is the American English definition of whose. View British English definition of whose.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for whose.

 

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