Whose and who’s are often confused, but it’s easy to tell when to use each if you take a second to think about the two.

Who’s is a contraction for “who is.” That, by itself, is enough for you to tell when to use each. Isn’t that simple?

Who’s going to the mall with me?

You can mentally translate this to “Who is going to the mall with me?”

Whose car is that?

Try to translate this to “who is.” You get, “Who is car is that?” It doesn’t make sense, does it?

So, while it may take a moment to think through, the difference between the two isn’t as difficult as it might first appear. Thanks to Kristy for the topic suggestion!