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Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Which, what
You often hear, e.g., "Of all of the colors here, what one do you like?". Shouldn't it be "Which one do you like?" "I wonder what book he will choose?" rather than "I wonder which book he will choose." Perhaps it depends on the context, e.g., "Of the 12 books here, which one will he select?" On the other hand, of an individual in a library not knowing what he wanted to read, you might say "what book will he select?" meaning what type of book, ficition, psychology, etc.
Top answer
"what" names. "which" selects. Your interpretation is correct.
- "what" names.
- "which" selects.
- Your interpretation is correct.
- Nevertheless, since the difference between naming and selecting can be subtle, actual usage tends to ignore the difference in many situations.
- Moreover, people don't always prefix their statements with "of all the colors here" or "of all the languages you mentioned" or other "of all" expressions.
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2 Answers
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"what" names. "which" selects.
Your interpretation is correct.
Nevertheless, since the difference between naming and selecting can be subtle, actual usage tends to ignore the difference in many situations. Moreover, people don't always prefix their statements with "of all the colors here" or "of all the languages you mentioned" or other "of all" expressions. Therefore, when some
Your interpretation is correct.
Nevertheless, since the difference between naming and selecting can be subtle, actual usage tends to ignore the difference in many situations. Moreover, people don't always prefix their statements with "of all the colors here" or "of all the languages you mentioned" or other "of all" expressions. Therefore, when some
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Perhaps it is just me, but I think when a person asks 'what', he usually asks for the type of book, and what the book is about. So, the answer should be something like 'I'm reading a book about... ...' or simply 'My History textbook'.
On the other hand, 'which' seem to appear that the person asking knew what books the person asked had, which is somewhat like what the above 'Guest' has said.
On the other hand, 'which' seem to appear that the person asking knew what books the person asked had, which is somewhat like what the above 'Guest' has said.
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