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Asking about personality.
Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:13 pm
by cftranslate
Would you say...
a) How is his personality?
b) What is his personality like?
c) How is he personally?
All three?
Thanks.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:04 am
by fluffyhamster
a) and b). c) is more a stance adverbial to my ear ('Personally, I think he's great!').
There's also 'What's he like (as a person)?' and 'Personality-wise (though), what's he like/how is he?'.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:39 am
by lolwhites
a) sounds weird to my ears. I think that "How is..." tends to describe a temporary state (compare How's your sister? with What's your sister like?), while someone's personality is a permanent, or at least semi-permanent feature (head injuries and drug overdoses notwithstanding).
If I had to choose one of cf's 3 options I'd go for (b), though I much prefer What's he like (as a person)?
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:41 am
by fluffyhamster
Ooh, right, I should've said b) was also my top choice of the 3 on offer ('How's...' sounded OK to me last night - guess I should lay off of the relaxational drugs a bit before posting, then!
).
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:08 am
by EH
I agree with lolwhites. (b) sounds best, but "What's he like?" is even more natural.
And if you actually want to get information, rather than just a two word reply, ("He's okay..."), then change it to an open-ended question:
"Tell me about him."
-EH
Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2006 8:12 pm
by Silvercrestagain
I agree with some of you, a) sounds too temparary, therefore would only use if the person has multi-personalities.