While so many are fretting about "albeit" and "whom," millions of your fellow native speakers of English are replacing inanimate "whose" ("of which") with "thats," "which's" (or "whiches"), and even "which."


It's based on a superstition that "whose" can only refer to people and animals.

I first noticed this forty years ago, when I was teaching at a large American university. Back then, fewer than half of undergraduates polled could correctly fill in the blank: "It's an idea _______ time has come."

It's found mostly in "folk" writing, even of people who are otherwise literate.

Here's an excellent example from the 'Net:

"Seems like a shame when so much bad material is rushed to DVD. 20th Century Fox should do something about this. After all they have released A YANK IN THE R.A.F which main claim to fame is Betty Grable and Tyrone Power."

"That his/ her/ its" is commonly used in speech:

"This is the lady that her car was towed."

"Which is the novel that its [or "thats"] hero turns out to be the killer?"

I'm peeved.