Hello,
Is it correct to ask in English "whose are the books" to get the answer "the books are yours?"
Thank you
Is it correct to ask in English "whose are the books" to get the answer "the books are yours?"
Thank you
is it correct?
It is correct, but you should consider typing this in google before asking such a simple question on the forum...
More topically British English would be not "whose are the books?" but "whose books are these?"
"Whose books are these?" would stand well in AmE too.
bubu,
You would be understood if you asked, "whose are the books?", but this construction is very awkward.
You could also say, "Who owns these books?" or "Who do these books belong to?", but "Whose books are these?" is the simplest construction, closest to your original question.
bubu,
You would be understood if you asked, "whose are the books?", but this construction is very awkward.
You could also say, "Who owns these books?" or "Who do these books belong to?", but "Whose books are these?" is the simplest construction, closest to your original question.
«... but this construction is very awkward.»
Oh, that is why among the results google returned for "whose are these books" and "whose are these" there were many grammar books and articles ;)
Oh, that is why among the results google returned for "whose are these books" and "whose are these" there were many grammar books and articles ;)
«..."whose are these" by itself is perfectly good English.»
Do you mean it is good English if to abstract from it's bad sounding which makes the phrase "awkward"?
Do you mean it is good English if to abstract from it's bad sounding which makes the phrase "awkward"?
Dear Ant_222,
I used to use google whenever ever I had a doubt on any structure. But I found out google has scores of wrong structures too because not all the sites are writen by linguistic experts. There are many grammatical and spelling mistakes.
I had tried google with this one too I found 10 sites with sentences "whose are the books". I could not open the most important of them. That is why I posted this one. I know it is a very simple question but sometime even the simplest of question can be very very tricky for a non- native speaker.
I sincerely thank you and all other friends.
I used to use google whenever ever I had a doubt on any structure. But I found out google has scores of wrong structures too because not all the sites are writen by linguistic experts. There are many grammatical and spelling mistakes.
I had tried google with this one too I found 10 sites with sentences "whose are the books". I could not open the most important of them. That is why I posted this one. I know it is a very simple question but sometime even the simplest of question can be very very tricky for a non- native speaker.
I sincerely thank you and all other friends.
Yes, but incorrect examples are much rarer than correct ones. The pattern "whose are the books" is too specific. You could also try "whose are the" and "whose are these".
«I know it is a very simple question but sometime even the simplest of question can be very very tricky for a non- native speaker.»
Of course, I meant simplicity in relation to the process of finding the answer. And I am a non-native speaker too.
«I know it is a very simple question but sometime even the simplest of question can be very very tricky for a non- native speaker.»
Of course, I meant simplicity in relation to the process of finding the answer. And I am a non-native speaker too.