Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Yukineko]

Hello teachers.
Could you help me with this question?

I would like to know if these are correct. If not, could you tell me how to express them correctly?

1) What number planet is Mars from the sun?

2) What number planet is Mars from the sun in the solar system?

Thank you for your help.

[redset]

Honestly I think they're both fine. Anyone would understand exactly what you mean, I'm just trying to decide if there's anything grammatically wrong with them. You're asking what number planet Mars is (and we do enumerate them), specifying that we're ordering them from the Sun outwards, and specifying that we're talking about the Solar System. I don't see any problem, someone else might disagree

You could also say "how many planets from the Sun is Mars?"

I don't think you really need to add "in the Solar System" as it's pretty clear which Sun and Mars you're talking about, although it's common in quizzes to start with something like that: "In the Solar System, how many planets from the Sun is Mars?" It's a way of making it clear what the question's subject is, e.g. "in literature, who wrote American Gods?"

[Yukineko]

Hello redset!

Thank you for your sincere and detailed explanation.
I really appreciate it!

Yukineko