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Elcid Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

What or which

i have doubt in ..

What firm is better qualified than McKinsey?

shouldnt we use which? If we shouldnt then why it is so.

Another question on my own sentence. Should I put questionmark after "If we shouldnt then why it is so"?
thank you..
  

Top answer

" Shouldn't we use "which"? If not, then why? ______ 'what' identifies; 'which' selects.

  • " Shouldn't we use "which"?
  • If not, then why?
  • ______ 'what' identifies; 'which' selects.
  • 'which' would probably be better, but 'identification' and 'selection' are often not that easy to differentiate.
  • So 'what' often substitutes for 'which'.
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7 Answers
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I have a question about

"What firm is better qualified than McKinsey?"

Shouldn't we use "which"? If not, then why?
______

'what' identifies; 'which' selects.

'which' would probably be better, but 'identification' and 'selection' are often not that easy to differentiate. So 'what' often substitutes for 'which'.

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(1) 'Which' and 'what' are pretty much interchangeable. 'Which' is used when the speaker has a limited number of alternatives in mind, and 'what' if s/he is considering a wide range of choices.

(2) Several mistakes of punctuation--

"Shouldn't we use 'which'? If we shouldn't, then why it is so?"

You should proofread before you post; I do.
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Thanks !That was a new knowledge for me.
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Hi MM!

I have a question regarding the sentence you corrected:

"Shouldn't we use 'which'? If we shouldn't, then why it is so?"

Shouldn't it be [...] then why is it so?

Thanks a lot!

Mara.
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Better: If we shouldn't, then why not?
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CalifJimBetter: If we shouldn't, then why not?
Why not do what???

Thanks for your reply.
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Then (can you please explain) why (we should) not (do that)?

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