Guest Curmudgeon David
Gowrie complains...
Here's my contribution. File this as yet another example of colloquial
laziness...
Who's ever being used in place of
whoever. You hear it all the time. For example: "Who's ever experiencing printing problems, please call the PC
support department."
Another gripe: Whoever being used in a possessive relation. Example:
"Whoever's car is parked out front, your light are on."
Combine the two and I really start to fidget. Example:
"Who's ever car is parked out front, your lights are on."
Heehee, yes, those are good
'uns. We can see what's happening: who's ever is equivalent
to whoever is, and it may be somewhat confused with whosoever.
Whoever's, however, is actually not so bad. Whoever is
a pronoun with the meaning "whatever person or persons", and it
is certainly correct to say "Whatever person's car that is parked
out front has its lights on." The sample construction you
provide is indeed awkward. It would be better to say, "Whoever
parked his car out front has left his (or her) lights on."
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