who

who

W1S1 [hu:] pron

[: Old English; Origin: hwa]

1.) used to ask or talk about which person is involved, or what the name of a person is

▪ Who locked the door?

▪ Who do you work for?

▪ Who's that guy with your wife?

▪ They never found out who the murderer was.

▪ She wondered who had sent the flowers.

who to ask/contact/blame etc

▪ He doesn't know who to vote for.

who on earth/in the world etc

(=used for emphasis when you are surprised, angry etc)

▪ Who on earth would live in such a lonely place?

▪ Who the hell are you?

2.) used after a noun to show which person or which people you are talking about

▪ Do you know the people who live over the road?

▪ the woman who was driving

▪ She was the one who did most of the talking.

3.) used, after a ↑comma in writing, to add more information about a particular person or group of people that you have just mentioned

▪ I discussed it with my brother, who is a lawyer.

▪ Alison Jones and her husband David, who live in Hartlepool, are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.

4.) informal used to introduce a question that shows you think something is true of everyone or of no one

▪ We have the occasional argument. Who doesn't? (=everyone does)

▪ Who wants to come second? (=no one does)

5.) who is sb to do sth?

spoken used to say that someone does not have the right or the authority to say or do something

▪ Who is she to order me around?

6.) who's who

a) if you know who is who within a particular organization or group, you know what each person's name is and what job they do or what position they have

▪ I'm just getting to know who's who in the department.

b) a who's who of sth

a list of the important people within a particular organization or group - often used to emphasize that many important people are involved in something

▪ The list of competitors reads like a who's who of international tennis players.