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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Questions with WHOSE
Questions with WHOSE
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abba
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Questions with WHOSE
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Hi everybody!!! I hope all of you have a had a nice day. Today I was correcting an exercise in which students had to make questions and I had a doubt with the following one:
Whose baby cries when he �s hungry?
I �d say it is correct, but in class I wasn �t 100% sure so I said I whould check.
Thanks
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22 Sep 2010
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anitarobi
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I was actually taught that we use it for babies, since gender is unclear, but I �ve always found it so horrible to call a baby it... perhaps it �s just my motherly instinct kicking in... Otherwise I think the question is fine. But I �m sure there will be other, perhaps more objective answers. |
22 Sep 2010
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yanogator
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I don �t understand why there �s a question. If the sentence were incorrect, what would the alternative be? Yes, "whose" is used correctly here.
Anitarobi, many people do use "it" for babies, and many people (and not just mothers, you �ll be happy to know) object to it.
Bruce |
22 Sep 2010
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abba
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Students must write a question that answers the word underlined.
Tim �s baby always cries when he �s hungry.
and the answer was the question in the post above.
By the way, I also find odd �it � to refer to a baby, although it �s grammatically correct when my daughters were babies I wouldn �t have referred to them as �it �
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22 Sep 2010
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GIOVANNI
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I was taught that when you see a small baby and you don �t know the gender you refer to the baby as it. It �s hard to look under a diaper. Once the gender is know the proper pronoun is used.
As to you question, it looks fine to me.
It �s similar to this:
Mary �s purse is black.
Whose purse is black?
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22 Sep 2010
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ldthemagicman
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Abba,
I �m with the mothers on this. A baby is not an �it �.
However, I try to use the phrase �the baby � whenever possible.
"How old is the baby?" "What is the baby �s name?" "Is the baby on solid food yet?"
When the Mother/Father replies: "She �s 4 months old", I know that the baby is a girl.
Be careful of what some people teach! I think that many British Universities and teaching establishments would expect something similar to the following sentences:
"Whose baby cries when he or she is hungry" or "Whose baby cries when s/he is hungry".
Here is a direct quote from a British University Student Handbook.
"Avoid gender-specific words e.g male-sounding nouns, when you want to refer to males and females. It sounds as if you are not considering half the population. Use nouns that could be male or female or both. Avoid using the pronoun �he � and adjective �his � to refer to people of both sexes".
I realise that these instructions refer to the writing of Assignments but the idea is the same. My College has a similarly-worded Equal Opportunities Policy and all teachers adhere to it.
Buena suerte.
Les |
23 Sep 2010
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PhilipR
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Another way of avoiding gender-specific words that has crept into the language is using the plural pronoun. Although considered incorrect at first, this has now become grammatically accepted by many.
Whose baby cries when they �re hungry? - instead of (s)he or he/she I need a good teacher who knows what they �re doing. If your child is thinking about a gap year, they can get good info on this website.
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23 Sep 2010
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