Asking about personality.

cftranslate · Post by **cftranslate** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:13 pm

Would you say...

a) How is his personality?

b) What is his personality like?

c) How is he personally?

All three?

Thanks.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:04 am

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?'.

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:39 am

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)?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:41 am

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!

).

EH · Post by EH » Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:08 am

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

Silvercrestagain · Post by **Silvercrestagain** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 8:12 pm

I agree with some of you, a) sounds too temparary, therefore would only use if the person has multi-personalities.