Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PEIGUY]

i walked into my classroom yesterday evening after a korean teacher finished a grammar lesson. This is what i seen on the board: Whose is this book? i thought it was wrong and i talked with a couple other Native English speakers who came to the same conclusion as i did. I talked to the Korean teacher and she said it was in the grammar book they were using. So, the question being is it grammatically correct? I would say whose book is this.. or whose desk is this.. i don't see why you would put the noun at the end..

[gypsyfish]

It might be grammatically correct (I don't think so - it sounds archaic), but stylistically it's not used today.

On the other hand the simple past tense of see has been, and will continue to be, saw.

[xtchr]

I don't think it's grammatically wrong, just stylistically different.
By the way, "This is what I SEEN on the board" might also need to be discussed with your fellow teachers.

[Zenpickle]

Whose is this book? does not sound awkward to me. I'm sure I've used it a few times. It changes "this" from being a noun in Whose book is this? to being an adjective describing "book."

I think it also makes "whose" reflexive.

[manlyboy]

Technically, it's known as an interrogative pronoun.

I think the confusion arises because "whose" is a homonym of "who's". "Whose is..." to start a sentence feels wrong because it sounds like "Who's is...".

I'd say that "Whose is..." only gets used in situations where the context is already clear.

[peppermint]

It's not wrong, but it's far from a common usage, and it's probably best to keep the grammar stuff as simple and straightforward as possible. Much better to stick to standard usage for now, when the goal is communication.

[VanIslander]

"Whose is this?" is a common expression in Canada.

"Whose is this? Is this yours? No? Then,... Whose is it?"

It's entirely natural.

Adding the word "book" does sound awkward however.

[J.B. Clamence]

[hojucandy]

it's perfectly normal to me... i use it often.... and i see no problem teaching it.

[Sage Monkey]

"Whose is this book?" is grammatically correct, however,

[Kwangjuchicken]

The English language has no official grammar, and probably never will.

[PEIGUY]

[some waygug-in]

I always wondered why Headway uses that form. I thought it was a British English thingy or something.

It does sound archaic to me as well.

[teachingld2004]

The books the Korean teachers use have many mistakes. native languages are learned by osmosis most of the time.
Even tho that sentence is correct, it is not the way we speak. I would have told the kids it is correct, but we usually say Who's book it this?".
When I teach I usually give the kids more then one sentence. WHen they have a test, I allow many answers. SOme of the kids give funny ones, and that is ok too.
It is Jim's book.
The book is Jim's.
It's Jim's book.
The book belongs to Jim.

I have had some funny answers, but I encourage that. If there is a picture of a boy behine the tree, I say "where is the boy?"
They can say, "The boy is behind the tree".
"The boy is in back of the tree".
One kid said "The boy is in the book", another kid said, "you not see him? Your glasses where?", and another kid said "He is run from his mother cause he no homework". I like these answers.

[Grotto]

Today's subject is forget about spelling and you will still be OK.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at
Camabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers
in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can
sitll
raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!