Grammar question: "What/which" person would you ch

hereinchina · Post by **hereinchina** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:00 am

Hello,
I'm not sure if I should use the word "what" or "which" in the following sentence:
If you could ask any one person three questions, and they had to answer honestly, "which / what" person would you choose and "which/what" questions would you ask them?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:37 am

The first choice seems a bit forced i.e. 'who' might be more natural than 'which person' (and that 'which person' likewise sounds a bit more natural to my ear than the "least preferable" choice/phrasing of 'what person'). For the next item I'd probably choose 'what questions' rather than 'which questions' (the former question word seems the more 'open'), but a use (subconscious ~) of the latter would not IMHO necessarily mean or even imply that there was any already-established range of questions to be selecting from.

Metamorfose · Post by **Metamorfose** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:43 pm

and that 'which person' likewise sounds a bit more natural to my ear than the "least preferable" choice/phrasing of 'what person'

Is what person by any means grammatical in English, even if not highly accepted?

José

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:16 pm

Oh, it's grammatical and acceptable enough (What [sort of] person would really think it wasn't?!), José! I just meant that it seemed to be the "least preferable" to me (though I don't know about others) and given the limited choices/context that HIC had set, hence my use of the scare quotes ("least preferable"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

hereinchina · Post by **hereinchina** » Fri Dec 31, 2010 3:45 pm

Hello,
I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

Metamorfose · Post by **Metamorfose** » Fri Dec 31, 2010 5:19 pm

Oi Fluffy...I really didn't know what scare quotations are...

Living and learning always!

Have a great New Year!

José

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:21 pm

You have a great New Year too, José! (Oh, and you too, HIC! In fact, to everybody on Dave's: HAPPY NEW YEAR!).