A contraction of “who are” as defined in the dictionary, “who’re” is our word of the day. So, what does who’re mean? It is simply a contraction of “who are” and not “who were”. But first, let’s break some confusions regarding this word or contraction of two words.
It’s good to note that:
Technically, it’s a legitimate contraction (provided, as Dan Smith notes, that you put the apostrophe in the correct place). In practical speech, the difference sound-wise between ”who are” and ”who’re” is fairly minimal, which perhaps explains why ”who’re” isn’t in more common use.
Some people may confuse between “who’re” and “whore” (without the apostrophe), especially if the two words or either of the two words is new to them. However, aside from the fact that they differ in pronunciation and that the latter doesn’t have an apostrophe in it; whore is not a contraction but rather a word which means a prostitute or sex worker (female) as defined in the dictionary.
In other words, it refers to a woman who engages in sexual activities to gain money. Though, in Urban Dictionary, this can sometimes refer to a man as well, especially one that sleeps with a prostitute.
Whore: An offensive way to call someone
Moreover, this is usually an offensive term if you call a certain person this way, whether or not he or she is a prostitute. In other words, it’s a derogatory or offensive term for a prostitute for anyone. Usually, whore is meant to be hurled as an insult, so it doesn’t always mean that one is a prostitute when someone calls him/her a whore. This was in fact confirmed by Cambridge Dictionary. If you’ll search it, the word refers to a person who is promiscuous.
In Spanish, this is equivalent to the term “Puta”, which is also an offensive term to “Prostituta” (Spanish word for female prostitute) or “Prostituto” (Spanish word for male prostitute).
So now you see that “who’re” and “whore” are not synonyms. They’re not even related. But before we move on to “who’re” (contraction), let’s give you some examples of the word whore.
Examples:
- She stole my husband from me but I’m even not surprised; she’s a whore!
- Joan never wanted to be a prostitute. It’s just that she has a broken life, and it breaks her heart even more when people insult her and call her whore.
- Jenny is very protective of her best friend Linda because she thinks that Linda’s boyfriend is secretly dating other girls; she perceives him as more of a whore, actually.
- Although Harold and Christina are related by blood, Harold has no shame in telling everyone that Christina is a prostitute, insulting and calling her whore in front of everyone.
- Hannah married an English man whom she thought would save her from her messy life but later called her a whore.
Whew! Those are some unpleasant, heartbreaking examples, but we have to define it. Now you see why it’s dangerous to replace “who’re” with the word “whore”; not just because they’re not synonyms! English can indeed be so tricky.
Who’re definition
So, let’s go back to our main word of the day, “who’re”, the contraction of “who are”. In English, when “who are” is spoken, you’ll barely distinguish it from its contraction “who’re” because they’re pronounced the same. So what is the purpose of shortening “who are” to “who’re” in English?
In English writing, contractions are used to make your sentence flow better. It also gives you a friendlier and most casual tone in writing. As you may have already known, the apostrophes in contractions replace the letters that have been omitted in the original words. Therefore, the apostrophe in who’re refers to the omitted letter “a”.
Now that we know the who are contraction, let’s give you some examples of sentences that use “who are” and “who’re”. Which sentences flow better?
Examples:
- The town is too small that there are people who are related to each other but they’re not even aware of it.
The town is too small that there are people who’re related to each other but they’re not even aware of it.
- Loida and Ysa, who are not even related to each other, treat each other as a sister.
Loida and Ysa, who’re not even related to each other, treat each other as a sister.
- Those who judge you are probably the ones who are very jealous of you.
Those who judge you are probably the ones who’re very jealous of you.
- One day, some friends won’t be there for you as they used to, but those who are real will stay.
One day, some friends won’t be there for you as they used to, but those who’re real will stay.
- Those who make it a habit to search for English synonyms other than what he/she already knows are those who are going to build his/her vocabulary fast.
Those who make it a habit to search for English synonyms other than what he/she already knows are those who’re going to build his/her vocabulary fast.
- Those who continually search for new ways to learn are those who are most likely to succeed.
Those who continually search for new ways to learn are those who’re most likely to succeed.
- English Grammar isn’t easy to learn, but those who are passionate and consistent learners will be very good at it in no time.
English Grammar isn’t easy to learn, but those who are passionate and consistent learners will be very good at it in no time.
As you can see in the examples, sentences that use the contraction “who’re” flow better and sound friendlier.
Is who’re a word?
Here is another question that might leave you wondering now. Yes, it can be confusing whether or not “who’re” is a word, considering that they are two words merged together. To put it simply, “who’re” is considered as one word. This is confirmed when you search the dictionary too. However, if you use the non-shortened or non-contracted form “who are”, then, of course, they’re considered as two words.
Whore or who’re?
Now that you know that these words aren’t even related to each other, you know that you should be really, really careful about this! This is a perfect example of how one punctuation, like an apostrophe, can totally change the meaning of a word. Yes, the English language can be sometimes confusing, especially if you are a non-native English speaker. There are a lot of synonyms, related words and so on.
Fortunately, a reliable online dictionary via Google now comes in handy. So, next time you’re unsure of something, always make it a point to search for that word in a dictionary online for its definition. It might save your life. In any case, we hope this article helped you in building your English vocabulary in our word of the day!
Clap
