whose (genitive relative)
whose (genitive relative) means “whose is the possessive relative pronoun ('of whom / of which'); it links a noun to its owner, for people and things”. Whose shows possession inside a relative clause and is always followed directly by a noun: the woman whose bag was stolen, a house whose roof is red. Formation: N + whose + N + verb ...
whose is the possessive relative pronoun ('of whom / of which'); it links a noun to its owner, for people and things
B2Formation
N + whose + N + verb ...
Explanation
Whose shows possession inside a relative clause and is always followed directly by a noun: the woman whose bag was stolen, a house whose roof is red. It works for both people and things, and the noun after whose can be the subject or object of the clause. Unlike who or which, whose is never dropped because it modifies the following noun.
Examples
Note
For things, whose can sound formal; an of which phrase is an alternative: a book the cover of which is torn = a book whose cover is torn. Do not confuse whose with who's (= who is).
FAQ
whose (genitive relative) — what does it mean and how is it used?
whose is the possessive relative pronoun ('of whom / of which'); it links a noun to its owner, for people and things. Whose shows possession inside a relative clause and is always followed directly by a noun: the woman whose bag was stolen, a house whose roof is red. It works for both people and things, and the noun after whose can be the subject or object of the clause. Unlike who or which, whose is never dropped because it modifies the following noun.
whose (genitive relative) — how do you form it?
N + whose + N + verb ...
whose (genitive relative) — any usage notes?
For things, whose can sound formal; an of which phrase is an alternative: a book the cover of which is torn = a book whose cover is torn. Do not confuse whose with who's (= who is).