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Grammar question: "What/which" person would you ch
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:00 am
by hereinchina
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?
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:37 am
by fluffyhamster
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.
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:43 pm
by Metamorfose
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
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:16 pm
by fluffyhamster
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

thank you
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 3:45 pm
by hereinchina
Hello,
I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 5:19 pm
by Metamorfose
Oi Fluffy...I really didn't know what scare quotations are...
Living and learning always!
Have a great New Year!
José
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:21 pm
by fluffyhamster
You have a great New Year too, José! (Oh, and you too, HIC! In fact, to everybody on Dave's: HAPPY NEW YEAR!).
