grammar · academic
whose vs of which (possession: people vs things)
Use whose for possession with people; for things/ideas prefer of which in formal contexts, though whose for things is common in speech.
Examples
“The student whose work was excellent got a prize.”
“The building, the foundation of which is unstable, must be inspected.”
“I read a book whose ending surprised me.”
Band 8 sentence
“The project, the funding for which had been secured late, nevertheless achieved its objectives.”
Collocations
- people whose
- of which
Common mistakes
The company whose policy was criticised was forced to apologize.→The company, the policy of which was criticised, was forced to apologize.
I met a table whose legs were broken.→I met a table whose legs were broken.
Say it for a higher band
5whose (dùng đại trà cho mọi danh từ)→6of which (dùng cho vật trong văn viết)→7+whose (for people) / of which (for things in formal writing)
Synonyms
of which
Easily confused
whose
“A city whose population is growing rapidly faces many problems.”
of which
“A study, the results of which were surprising, was published.”
Related words
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In Relative clauses
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