A-Z of Bloopers - W

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While/Whilst

Whilst is an old-fashioned word. Use while.

Whose or Who's?

Many people confuse these words because the way to form the possessive of most words is to add an apostrophe and 's'.

For example:

Mary's desk, John's advice.

However, pronouns like whose do not follow this rule. Whose is possessive but it does not need an apostrophe.

For example:

"The person whose suggestion is chosen will receive a special award."

Who's is a contraction meaning 'Who is'.

For example:

"Who's the right person to ask about petty cash claims?"
"Martha is the person who's co-ordinating this project."

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