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Cup cake Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Adjective - what versus which

Hi folks,

I've written the following sentence, and would like to know why we would say which and not what:

I wonder what car is better to drive?
I wonder which car is better to drive?

I think sentence two sounds better, but I don't know why.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Cup Cake.
  

Top answer

"which" suggests choice from a defined group of things, while "what" is a more "open-ended" choice. In practice, you may hear "what" even in the former case, but it can sound unrefined.

— GPY

  • "which" suggests choice from a defined group of things, while "what" is a more "open-ended" choice.
  • In practice, you may hear "what" even in the former case, but it can sound unrefined.
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4 Answers
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"which" suggests choice from a defined group of things, while "what" is a more "open-ended" choice. In practice, you may hear "what" even in the former case, but it can sound unrefined.
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Thanks GPY.

Yes, I totally agree. Emotion: smile
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Cup cakeAdjective - what versus which
"what identifies; which selects."

It sounds like a case of selection to me. I imagine the speaker is already able to identify the cars from which he will be selecting.

CJ
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Thanks CJ.
Another great way of explaining the difference. Emotion: nodding
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