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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Who Questions
I always thought that "Who" questions about the subject have to be in the singular.
I saw somewhere " Who are watching the teenagers?"
Is it correct? Shouldn't it be "Who is watching the teenagers?"
as "Who likes books?" " Who is there?", etc. even if the answer is in the plural?
Thank you.
I saw somewhere " Who are watching the teenagers?"
Is it correct? Shouldn't it be "Who is watching the teenagers?"
as "Who likes books?" " Who is there?", etc. even if the answer is in the plural?
Thank you.
Top answer
Normally it takes the singular, but both are heard, depending on what the speaker is thinking. Swan (Practical English Usage) says that 'who' and 'what' are usually singular "even if the question expects a plural answer.... g.
- Normally it takes the singular, but both are heard, depending on what the speaker is thinking.
- Swan (Practical English Usage) says that 'who' and 'what' are usually singular "even if the question expects a plural answer....
- g.
- ' "
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1 Answers
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Normally it takes the singular, but both are heard, depending on what the speaker is thinking. Swan (Practical English Usage) says that 'who' and 'what' are usually singular "even if the question expects a plural answer.... When 'who' and 'what' are used to ask for the complement of a clause, they can have plural verbs-- e.g. 'Who are your closest friends?' "
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