# Whose is this car? / Whose car is this?



## azdi

Hi there, 
 If I made a question to this answer: This new car belongs to Paul, this would be: Whose is this car? / Whose car is this? or Who owns this car?, but is *Who is the owner of this car? *a correct question to the answer?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Mr.Dent

Whose is this car?
Whose car is this? 
Who owns this car?
Who is the owner of this car? **


----------



## azdi

Thanks a lot. You were so fast!


----------



## Forero

azdi said:


> Hi there,
> If I made a question to this answer: This new car belongs to Paul, this would be: Whose is this car? / Whose car is this? or Who owns this car?, but is *Who is the owner of this car? *a correct question to the answer?
> 
> Thanks in advance


Yes.

I have no problem with "Whose is this car?" or any of your other options. "Who owns this car?" is most direct, and a little shorter than "Who does this new car belong to?", which is also a correct question.


----------



## IMD90

Who does this car belong to
To whom DOES this car belongs.


----------



## Forero

_Who does this car belong to*?*
To whom does this car *belong?*_


----------



## IMD90

Forero said:


> _Who does this car belong to*?*
> To *whom does* this car *belong?*_


Thanks Forero, error corrected.


----------



## Amapolas

Mr.Dent said:


> Whose is this car?
> Whose car is this?
> Who owns this car?
> Who is the owner of this car? **


Hi, Mr Dent. 
Why is the first one wrong in your opinion?


----------



## Englishmypassion

I'm also surprised to see the first sentence in post #2 marked wrong by Mr Dent.


----------



## azdi

I have got the same question!


----------



## Mr.Dent

Mr.Dent said:


> Whose is this car?





Amapolas said:


> Hi, Mr Dent.
> Why is the first one wrong in your opinion?


I am sorry, but I cannot explain it. I am a native speaker, not a grammarian. We do not speak that way. It sounds awkward and unnatural.


----------



## Bevj

Sorry Mr.Dent, it sounds completely normal and natural to me.


----------



## gato radioso

azdi said:


> I have got the same question!


I was taught:
Whose car is this?
Whose wife Patricia is?
Whose books are those?


----------



## Bevj

Whose car is this?  
Whose is this car? 

Whose wife Patricia is?


----------



## Forero

Bevj said:


> Sorry Mr.Dent, it sounds completely normal and natural to me.


It sound fine to me too, but it is a less common question.


----------



## OtroLencho

Bevj said:


> Sorry Mr.Dent, it sounds completely normal and natural to me.


I agree with Mr. Dent, "Whose is this car" sounds awkward to me.

But I WOULD say "Whose is this one?"

Why?  You want LOGIC?  Sorry, this is spoken language... ;>


----------



## BOSBO

IMD90 said:


> Thanks Forero, error corrected.


¿Es correcto lo siguiente?: Whom does this car belong to?


----------



## Mr.Dent

To whom DOES this car belongs.


----------



## Rocko!

Bueno, ni siquiera tengo un buen nivel de inglés, pero estoy de acuerdo con esto:



Mr.Dent said:


> Whose is this car?
> Whose car is this?



No estoy diciendo que la frase tachada por Mr.Dent no se pueda decir, ya que Forero y Bevj (en #4 y en #12, respectivamente) han dicho que a ellos les suena natural, y eso basta para considerarla natural, pero dentro de lo estrictamente gramatical solamente lo que dijo Mr.Dent es válido, porque se trata de una pregunta que usa un posesivo debido a que hace referencia a un caso genitivo; muy diferente a las preguntas que hacen referencia a un caso acusativo.

Pero bueno, esto no lo entiendo mucho, pero va más o menos así:

Sandra's car (caso genitivo) = Whose car?

This is the *Sandra's car* ( = This is the *whose car*) → *Whose car* is this?

Entonces, cuando se hace la pregunta no se debe separar "whose" del sustantivo (_car_, en este ejemplo) porque hace referencia al caso genitivo que existe en la estructura "Sandra's car".

*No entiendo mucho de la diferencia entre "genitivo", "caso genitivo", "posesivo" y "caso posesivo", solo sé que hay cierta diferencia y que estoy repitiendo como loro.


----------



## Agró

Este lío debe de ser una vez más un caso de discrepancia oceánica.

Dice el maestro Swan (_English Practical Usage_, 628):

*whose */hu:z/: interrogative

_Whose _can be used both as a pronoun and as an adjective.
*Whose *_is that car outside?
*Whose *is this?
*Whose *car is that outside?
*Whose *garden do you think looks the nicest?
(...)_


----------



## KalAlbè

OtroLencho said:


> I agree with Mr. Dent, "Whose is this car" sounds awkward to me.
> 
> But I WOULD say "Whose is this one?"
> 
> Why?  You want LOGIC?  Sorry, this is spoken language... ;>



I also agree. I can't say it's ungrammatical, but it definitely doesn't sound natural to me.


----------



## jannr

"Whose car is this?" is certainly correct, but not used as often, in comparison to "Who does this car belong to?" in casual, spoken US English. That's why it sounds wrong to some speakers. It may be more common in some regions than others. As a speaker of a subdialect of Southern US English, it sounds fine to me and I think I use this question frequently.

I suppose "Whom does this car belong to?" is technically acceptable, but I'd say it's almost never used. If one is going to use "whom" (relatively formal in US English), why not bring the proposition to the front with it? Choose one or the other: "Who does this car belong" to (ordinary, spoken style US English) or "To whom does this car belong?" (careful, formal style, more common in written English). Or like me, be happy with "Whose car is this?"


----------



## heatherelaine

Bevj said:


> Sorry Mr.Dent, it sounds completely normal and natural to me.


I agree. Although I don't use it as often, the phrase, "Whose is _this_ car?" Sounds fine to me.  Here's how I might use the phrase:
I'm walking through a parking lot, trying to figure out who all have arrived at an event. I ask, "Whose car is this?" about lots of cars. Then I come across a *really* different car (awful or super impressive), and now I say, "Wow! Whose is _this_ car?" or "Whose is this one?"

Side note. I've lived in Western and Southern US, I grew up reading a lot of UK authors, and I have a bilingual (English/Spanish) family full of teachers and linguists and grammar nerds. So it's hard to say where I got the idea that this sounds right from! I did notice that several other people who think it sounds OK are also from the South (US).


----------



## MR.3bduallah

Excuse me, can i say: Do you know whose car is this? Or
Do you know whose car this is?


----------



## Agró

MR.3bduallah said:


> Excuse me, can i say: Do you know whose car is this? Or
> Do you know whose car this is?


Do you know whose car this is?


----------



## gengo

jannr said:


> "Whose car is this?" is certainly correct, but not used as often, in comparison to "Who does this car belong to?" in casual, spoken US English. That's why it sounds wrong to some speakers.


I don't think anyone in this thread has said that "Whose car is this?" sounds wrong.  That is indisputably correct and sounds perfectly natural in all varieties of English (as far as I know).  It is the other version that is in question:  "Whose is this car?"

Here is a graph comparing the two versions, which shows that the first one is vastly more common than the second, but that the second one is indeed in use by some speakers (well, writers, since this only measures written usage).  What is odd is that if you change the filter to either American or British English, the second one disappears completely.

I have used "Whose is this X?" myself from time to time, but for learners of English, I recommend learning only the more common version ("Whose X is this?")


----------

