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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Who or Which?

Which of these is correct? Important: I need a grammatical rule.

"Who of us would not be afraid?"

"Which of us would not be afraid?"

(my boss misuses this all the time in his writing, and I would like to have a rule to give him for the correct usage.)
  

Top answer

Hello Anon I'm a mere learner but I'd say either is OK. OED suggests "which of us" is commoner than "who of us", and indeed if you google, you will see the ratio of "which of us" users to "who of us" users is 20 : 1 in UK sites. But in America, the ratio is only 3 : 1 to 4 : 1.

— Paco2004

  • Hello Anon I'm a mere learner but I'd say either is OK.
  • OED suggests "which of us" is commoner than "who of us", and indeed if you google, you will see the ratio of "which of us" users to "who of us" users is 20 : 1 in UK sites.
  • But in America, the ratio is only 3 : 1 to 4 : 1.
  • Even contributors to CNN or NY Times are using "who of us".
  • paco
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5 Answers
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Hello Anon

I'm a mere learner but I'd say either is OK. OED suggests "which of us" is commoner than "who of us", and indeed if you google, you will see the ratio of "which of us" users to "who of us" users is 20 : 1 in UK sites. But in America, the ratio is only 3 : 1 to 4 : 1. Even contributors to CNN or NY Times are using "who of us".

paco
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I think it would be more common to hear "who among us..." than "who of us...", and it would sound more formal than "which of us".
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Hi Khoff

However, how about the case of "us being two"? "Who among us two" or "who of us two"?

paco
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You're right, Paco, "who among us" doesn't work if there are only two of us. I was thinking of it more as a rhetorical flourish a politician might use in a speech. I'm not saying either is incorrect, but "who of us" and "which of us" both sound rather awkward to me. I would probably say "which one of us," and if the answer might be more than one I would try to ask the question a different way.
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AnonymousWhich of these is correct? Important: I need a grammatical rule.
"Who of us would not be afraid?"
"Which of us would not be afraid?"
(my boss misuses this all the time in his writing, and I would like to have a rule to give him for the correct usage.)
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