Kind of or kinds of

Question

which oen is correct?

1) I have different kind of pen.
2) I have different kinds of pen.

Do we use 'Kinds' here as in this type of context ?

because I have heard of kinds somewhere.

another question:
1) Which is greter John or Mike?
2) who is greater John or Mike?

I read in a book that first sentence is the correct usage.
Is the second one wrong??

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

elcid,

dictionary.com

Idioms:
all kinds of Informal

Plenty of; ample: We have all kinds of time to finish the job.
------
Thus, I believe it is 2, kinds of pens.

I don't understand your second question. Greater what? Height? Wealth? Eye sight?

MountainHiker

BMO · Answer

1. You could say, I have a different kind of pen, or I have different kinds of pens. Both are correct here.

2. Change greater to better, then "who is better, John or Mike?" would be okay.

Elcid · Answer

the greater is in the sense of wealth.
And it was greater in the book where i found the sentence

Mister Micawber · Answer

'Who' is preferred with people, elcid:

'Who is greater, John or Mike?'
'Which man is greater, John or Mike?'
'Which is greater, Star Wars or Star Trek?'

Wai_Wai · Answer

1st question
Neither is correct.
Alternative:
I have a different kind of pen.
I have different kinds of pens.

2nd question
First I would like to confirm "greater" is no problem.
"great" carries quite a few meanings, including healthy, outstanding etc.

Normally, it should be "who" since we are comparing people. "Which" is for things normally.
However if our answer is confined to a limitied number of choices, we can use which (even if we are comparing people!).

Also we use which before a noun (no matter what we are comparing), say:
Which person is greater, Mr. A or B?

In conclusion:
Which person is greater, Mr. A or B? ["who" is wrong]
Who/Which is greater, Mr. A or B?
Who is the greatest in the world? ["which" is barely acceptable.]

Elcid · Answer

could you plz tell me whats the difference between using

i) Kind of pen.
ii) kinds of pens.

Mister Micawber · Answer

(i) 'kind of pen' is singular, and is speaking of only one kind.

(ii) 'kinds of pens' is plural, and is speaking of more than one kind.

(iii) 'kind of pens' is also acceptable informally, with the same meaning as (i).

(iv) As far as I'm concerned, 'kinds of pen' is also acceptable, where the noun 'pen' would be a generic.

Elcid · Answer

ThanK You Mr. Micawber!

Jandi · Answer

Hi, Mr. Micawber!
How about "kind of a pen"?
Is it used informally?
Best Wishes!

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hi Jandi,

Yes, that's a good one too: 'What kind of a pen is this, anyway?' Certainly at least informally used.

Of course, 'kind of (a)' has another use, making statements less definite: 'It's kind of a nice day, isn't it?', 'I'm kind of hungry, aren't you?'

Kind of or kinds of

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