Who + Name/ Name + Who?

Question

If someone calls one and says, "I am Sarah" and the receiver knows too many people by that name, which one of the following is correct to say?A. Sarah who?B. Who Sarah?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

If someone calls one and says, "I am Sarah" (more normal is to say 'This is Sarah') and the receiver knows too (say 'a lot of people', 'too many' is not correct here) many people by that name, which one of the following is correct to say?

A. Sarah who? This is said, but except to close friends it can sound quite rude and even uneducated.
B. Who Sarah? This is not said at all, incorrect. However, you could say 'Which Sarah?' That would sound acceptable and normal.

You could also say a lot of other things, eg 'Sorry, I don't recognize your voice'.

Best wishes, Clive

Kooyeen · Answer

Hi,
is it ok to use "what" with people? Like "What Sarah?"

Sarah punched his boyfriend in the...
Hold on... Sarah? I don't think I know any Sarah/(?any Sarahs?) What Sarah? What Sarah are you taking about?

Thanks

Clive · Answer

Hi,

What Sarah sounds a little crude to me. Better is Which Sarah, because you are trying to distinguish one from many.

Clive

Kooyeen · Answer

Well, maybe... but it's not wrong, is it?
You can use "what" with people:
What president are you talking about?
What presidents did you not support?
What singer?
etc.

I know you can say "What state do you live in" instead of "Which state do you live in", but I've never thought about the usage of "what" with people. You wouldn't use "who", so "what" is the only one that makes sense... maybe.

Thanks.

Khoff · Answer

Sarah punched his boyfriend in the...

This particular Sarah sounds a bit crude herself!

By the way, Kooyeen, did you mean to say that "Sarah punched her boyfriend..."? Or should we assume that you had previously mentioned a gay guy and Sarah punched his boyfriend?

Kooyeen · Answer

LOL, no, that's a mistake, sorry. I tend to make that kind of mistake (the adjective refers to Sarah, and I made it refer to the object, the boyfriend).
Well, it's ok to use "what", isn't it? I don't think I have to say "Who president are you talking about, who presidents did you not support?". And I don't think "which" is the only option available when you refer to people... that wouldn't be fair.

Khoff · Answer

First -- don't say "who president" or "who Sarah" -- no one says it that way and it sounds very strange.  People do sometimes say "what president" or "what Sarah," but as Clive has pointed out, "which" sounds much better -- I'm not sure if it's more polite, or more grammatical for some reaosn I can't identify.  Actaully, I think it sounds better even if you are not referring to people -- "Which book do you want?" sounds better to me than "what book do you want?"    I'm afraid I can't explain why -- maybe someone else can.  Maybe a good rule would be that if you are talking directly to the person (like asking "which Sarah is this?" on the phone) or in a situation where you are speaking in a somewhat formal, particularly polite way (to your boss, say, or to the Queen -- or to Clive!) use "which."

Yankee · Answer

I think it's just the fact that we usually ask "which (one)?" when the possible choices are known or limited.

We ask "what?" when the possible answers are unknown or not restricted.

So, even if we know twenty people named Sarah, we ask "Which Sarah?" because the number of possibilities is limited to the ones that we know.

Kooyeen · Answer

YankeeI think it's just the fact that we usually ask "which (one)?" when the possible choices are known or limited.
We ask "what?" when the possible answers are unknown or not restricted.

So, even if we know twenty people named Sarah, we ask "Which Sarah?" because the number of possibilities is limited to the ones that we know.
Hi Amy, thanks... but...
heh, that would be simple! Do you really think you use "which" every time the possible choices are limited? As far as I know, a lot of people say "What state... are you in, are you from, do you live in...", when referring to the US. How come? The number of states is limited and known, isn't it? The answer is probably that "what" identifies, and "which" select (this stuff should have been invented by Jim, if I'm not mistaken, but this time I'm not playing gotcha, LOL). So in the end "which" and "what" can be used interchangeably on many occasions. In Italian there is the same difference between "quale" and "che".
Che Sara? = What Sarah?
Quale Sara? = Which Sarah?
Maybe "quale" (= which) is better (better style, higher register), but "che" (= what) is not wrong.

What do you think.

Yankee · Answer

Hi Kooyeen

I think saying that 'what and whichcan be used interchangeably' is a dangerous statement -- even though you did limit it by saying 'on many occasions'.

I do agree that there are sometimes gray areas -- i.e. times when it's not crystal clear which word you should use. If I meet someone new and find out that they work at XYZ Company, I might choose to say "What department do you work in?" because I'm not terribly familiar with the company and all of its departments. On the other hand, if I meet someone new and and find out that we both work at XYZ Company, I might choose to ask "Which department do you work in?" In this case, I would be much more aware of the range of the possible answers, and therefore, from my point of view, the possible choices are quite limited.

Who + Name/ Name + Who?

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