Mekita Rivas, SNR communications associate, publishes a biweekly feature called "Grammar Guru."
Every other week, the Grammar Guru will share writing tips to help make your work as polished as possible. Some of these tips may address common spelling errors, while others will examine the many nuances of the English language.
Grammar Guru Tip #34
Use "who's" when you mean "who is" or "who has." "Whose" is the possessive of "who" or "which."
Examples:
Who's that man wearing a red coat? Who's the scientist who conducted that research? Who's been to Europe?
Is he the man whose coat is red? Whose research is this? Whose travel plans include a trip to Europe?
Pro tip: The trouble with this grammar rule stems from the apostrophe, which on 99% of English words indicates possession. However, in this situation, it simply indicates a contraction. If you can replace the word with who is or who has, use "who's." If not, use "whose."
Need some grammar guidance? The UNL Style Guide (http://unlcms.unl.edu/ucomm/styleguide/) is a great resource for all university employees. If you have writing questions that the style guide doesn't answer, feel free to email the Grammar Guru at mrivas@unl.edu.