字幕表 動画を再生する
-
Hi guys! Dan for BBC Learning English here with this week's Learner Question. Find out
-
what it is after this.
-
OK! This week's learner question comes from Cristina Gutiérrez. And she says: First of
-
all, congratulations on your splendid programmes at BBCLearningEnglish -Thank you so much - They
-
are both entertaining and useful - Good, that's what we want them to be - I'd like to know
-
what's the exact difference in usage between 'what' and 'which' at the beginning of direct
-
questions. Well, Cristina, as you command, so we obey.
-
Now both are often possible with very little difference. For example:
-
'What or which is your favourite food?' Or
-
'Which or What is the best programme on TV at the moment?'
-
When we feel we have a limited number of choices, we prefer which.
-
So with a menu: 'Which dessert shall we have?'
-
Or when looking at a multiple choice test: 'Which one is the answer?'
-
On the other hand, what is used when we feel we have an unlimited number of choices.
-
So for example: 'What shall we have for dinner?'
-
Or 'What's the answer to this question?'
-
Both can be used as determiners in direct questions when talking about people or things.
-
They are always followed by nouns though. So:
-
when looking at a line of cars I might say: 'Which car is yours?'
-
But, in general, I might ask: 'What car do you drive?'
-
In talking about people we can use which to ask about identity and what to ask about job.
-
For example: There's a group of people over there. Which
-
is your friend? Or: 'Tim's a lawyer. What's James?'
-
I hope that answers your question Cristina. Thank you very much for contacting us. If
-
anybody else out there has a question about English they'd like answered, you can email
-
us on: learning.english@bbc.co.uk. Please remember to include Learners' Questions
-
in the subject line and your name and your country. You can also go to our website: bbclearningenglish.com.
-
I've been Dan and I'll see you next time on Learners' Questions.