spelling 1 min read

who has as a contraction

who's /huːz/, contraction of who has (also who is), homophone of possessive whose

A closer look

who's /huːz/

It contracts who has (and who is). The apostrophe marks the dropped ha; the s gives /z/ after /uː/.

Who's got the keys?

Trap: who's is a homophone of whose /huːz/, the possessive, which takes no apostrophe. The two sound identical, but only the contraction carries the apostrophe marking the dropped ha.

Who's is the standard contraction of who has, pronounced /huːz/, and it is completely common and accepted in everyday English. In formal or academic prose, many editors prefer who has written out in full; who's belongs to everyday speech and informal writing, so the choice is a matter of register rather than correctness.

In standard varieties, who's and whose share the pronunciation /huːz/. The /w/, /uː/ and /z/ sounds are identical, so sound alone cannot separate them; only the spelling and the apostrophe do.

The trap runs the other way too. Because apostrophe-s usually marks possession, writers reach for who's in possessive phrases. The possessive is whose, with no apostrophe: Whose coat is this?

In this card, who's contracts who has. The same spelling also contracts who is, and context tells the two apart: Who's been here? uses who has, while Who's ready? uses who is.

All articles

spelling

who had contraction

Who had contracts to who'd, pronounced /huːd/.

spelling

who will contraction

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spelling

who are contraction

Who're /ˈhuː.ɚ/ (US), /ˈhuː.ə(r)/ (UK) is the contracted spelling of who are. Within the contraction, the unstressed *are* is reduced so that only its final /r/ survives in fast speech.

spelling

is contraction

The contraction of is is 's, pronounced /z/ or /s/ depending on the sound before it, attached to the preceding word.

usage

is whore a word

A situational usage guide: when who're fits, with condition-first sentences grouped by reader situation, plus one qualifier that changes the decision.

usage

is it has

### Asking about possession in the moment You're about to write something like *Is it has a warranty?* and it feels off. It is. *Is it has* puts two verbs side by side where only one can go. In a simple-present question, *has* is already the main verb, and main verbs don't move in front of the subject. The auxiliary *do* does that job instead. So the form depends on one condition: in American English and standard neutral English, *have* is an ordinary main verb, so questions take *does* and the base form *have*. - Asking whether something includes or owns something: **Does it have a warranty?** - Asking about a person: **Does she have a spare key?** - Checking right now, in speech: **Do I have something stuck in my teeth?** If you're writing for a British-leaning or informal audience, there's a second option. *Have got* treats *have* as the auxiliary, so it can invert directly: - Informal check, especially UK English: **Has it got a warranty?** Both questions ask the same thing. The difference is which verb does the inverting. ### The one qualifier that changes your choice The distinction that decides your wording is whether *have* is acting as a main verb or as part of *have got*. With plain *have*, only *does* can move forward: *Does it have...?* With *have got*, *has* is already auxiliary-like, so it moves by itself: *Has it got...?* Pick one system per sentence. *Is it has* fails because it tries to invert the main verb, and mixing the two systems, as in *Does it have got*, fails the same way. **Check yourself:** Which question fits a neutral American English email about a used car? - good_result: *Does it have a service record?* Correct. *Have* is the main verb, so *does* carries the question. - wrong_result: *Has it a service record?* Not in standard American or neutral English. Without *got*, *has* is a main verb and can't invert. Use *Does it have...?* For a related deeper comparison, see the unit on *have* vs *have got*. **Quick practice:** Turn these statements into questions. 1. It has a backup camera. → *Does it have a backup camera?* 2. It has got a scratch on the door. → *Has it got a scratch on the door?*