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scm14 
Posts: 1220
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 Posted: 03:20PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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I have a question about "what vs. which." It doesn't make sense to me that not all multiple choice questions need the word "which". I understood the rule to mean if the answer has an unlimited number of possible answers, in other words, fill-in-the-blank, the proper word to use is "what." As in "In what city was cheese invented?" If the answer was multiple choice, the correct way to word the question is "In which city was cheese invented?" Can somebody please explain to me when the word "what" is acceptable to use for a multiple choice question, and when it is not?
---This message was edited on 03:25PM Feb 9, 2007---
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PineappleMama
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Posted: 04:45PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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Sources I've found state that for most conversational English the two are interchangable..
Now, the also say what you did... limited=which... but it's kind of stuffy...
Some even think pompous... more suited to the kind of vocab used in Doctoral Thesis for example.
So... yeah... for modern, conversational usage the terms which/what are interchangable,
You can use whichever term you think sounds best.
But that's just what I've been able to find on the subject... anyone else want to chime in??
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scm14
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Posted: 04:47PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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hahaa....so basically you are saying that you can use "what and which" interchangeably. Why the rule then? I'm so confused. 
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best. - Henry Van Dyke |
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Jake 
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Posted: 05:10PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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If you read the guidelines carefully you will see that there is an important difference between what and which. "What" is used when there are an infinite or large number of possible answers. "Which" is used when the number of answers is known. When applying this rule, you have to think of the question all by itself. I realize that this is a little confusing, but as far as the question is concerned, it doesn't know about the multiple choice answers unless you specifically refer to them.
Examples of correct usage:
What is the name of Jack's wife?
A. Jane
B. Jill
C. Jenny
Which of these names is Jack's wife?
A. Jane
B. Jill
C. Jenny
In the first example, you use "what" because as far as the question is concerned, the answer could be any name. The question doesn't know about A, B and C. In the second example, you use "which" because the question knows that you are about to list a few possible answers.
It would never be ok to say: "In what hand do I hold the book." because everybody has 2 hands, so there are a known number of answers. You would always say "In which hand do I hold the book."
Does that make sense?
-Jake
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Jake
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Posted: 05:16PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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I forgot to add, that the most common misusage of which/what that I have seen in the quizzes, is using "what" when you are specifically referring to a fixed number of answers.
You would never say "What of these names is Jack's wife?"
-Jake
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scm14
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Posted: 05:25PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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Hmmm...that does make sense. I've had a couple quizzes returned because I used what instead of which...even though the way I used it was correct. I'm glad you added the qualifier. Thanks. 
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best. - Henry Van Dyke |
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PineappleMama
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Posted: 05:32PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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Okay, lemme make triple sure I understand...
On FITB ones you automatically use What since it could be anything?
On Multiple Choice:
IF you mention that there's a limited number of answers [ie "Of The Following"] then you use Which.
IF you do NOT mention any type of limit then you use What?
^ I think that's what you said up there...
Or on MC, since it's obvious that there are only 2/3/4/5 choices do you automatically use Which
whether you mention that there's a limit or not? That's where I'm confuzzled. Since it's obvious
that there are a limited number of choices... would you have to use which or can you use what?
Or is that what they meant when they said you could use either...?
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scm14
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Posted: 07:04PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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Piney, your explaination in green is what I THOUGHT it was, and why my very first quiz was returned. Because I worded Multiple Choice questions with "what" instead of "which." The way Jake explained it, it sounded more like your purple explaination. Although wording the question "what of the following" just sounds wierd.
Referring to one of my quizzes, "Which grammy award winning song was covered by the Fugees in 1996" and "What grammy award winning song was covered by the Fugees in 1996" sound equally ok. So which one of those two are correct?
Maybe, in order to use "which" you need to qualify it with "of the following" or something of that sort.
---This message was edited on 07:06PM Feb 9, 2007---
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best. - Henry Van Dyke |
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Jake
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Posted: 08:29PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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PineappleMama, please carefully re-read my explanation. It doesn't matter what type of question you choose. Fill in the blank or multiple choice doesn't matter. All that matters is the words in the actual sentence that asks the question and whether the actual words are asking you to name something from an undefined number of choices (what), or to choose something from a limited selection (which).
Your purple statement, your second orange IF statement and your green statement are all wrong because you would never say "What hand does Tom Hanks use to write?" You always say, "Which hand..." because there are only 2 choices.
How about this:
Always use "what" unless:
1) The question specifically refers to the multiple choice answer. ("Which of these..", "From the following, which..."
OR
2) The question asks for you to pick from an implied/known/small number of choices. ("Which gender is Chris?" "Which finger is the ring finger?")
Better?
-Jake
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Dontrelle
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Posted: 08:50PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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Do you think a Jumble, would get accepted? Okay a Jumble is were I mix a word, and ask you to find out what word it is! I could do the thing were you have to type the answer. 
Example: orseh ~~ Horse
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scm14
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Posted: 08:53PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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I think that would belong in teasers. Although I don't think jumbles are accepted as teasers either.
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Dontrelle
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Posted: 08:55PM Feb 9, 2007 |
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scm14 wrote: I think that would belong in teasers. Although I don't think jumbles are accepted as teasers either.
They can be. Check my teasers.
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brainster
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Posted: 01:06AM Feb 10, 2007 |
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A jumble would be more suited to the teaser section Dontrelle, since it is not really Trivia.
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brain_dead
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Posted: 01:59AM Feb 10, 2007 |
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i am wondering, what do i do if my quiz has been submitted for a week and knowboy has accepted or rejected it? sorry if this is the wrong section for htis question
---This message was edited on 02:01AM Feb 10, 2007---
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brainster
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Posted: 02:57AM Feb 10, 2007 |
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In the "Your Quizzes" section, does it say "Under Review" next to the quiz you're waiting on or "Returned"? If it says "Returned" you might need to make some changes and resubmit. If it's still under review, it should be out soon, either on the site or with a return status back to you for changes.
Hope that was helpful. If you need any more clarification, feel free to ask.
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npf2005 
Posts: 344
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Posted: 10:15AM Feb 10, 2007 |
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This is a sentence I corrected with the instructions of corrections that needed to be done:
What is the special method of communication that the Order of the Phoenix uses between it's members?
Does the "that" make sense?
Also, I was told to:
Please remove the final , at the end of your answer.
There was not a final comma in my answer.
Also, I'm concerned (  ) of the mistakes in the review. Here they are:
Spelling mistakes:
explantion - meant to be explanation
Harru's - I doubt Harry Potter's first name is Harru
Also, a mistake:
holly is not capitalized. Add the phrase, "long, made of" between inches and Holly in the explanation.
Each holly in the question, answer and explanation was capitalized.
Maybe if reviews were checked over more carefully? (no offence to any of the quizmasters)
---This message was edited on 10:26AM Feb 10, 2007---
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Jake
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Posted: 12:28PM Feb 10, 2007 |
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The statement "holly is not capitalized" is meant to be an instruction to you that holly should not be capitalized.
-Jake
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Dontrelle
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Posted: 03:49PM Feb 10, 2007 |
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brainster wrote: A jumble would be more suited to the teaser section Dontrelle, since it is not really Trivia.
But it's still fun. Do you think it would get accepted?
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Sunrose
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Posted: 04:45PM Feb 10, 2007 |
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I have a few Jumbled Teasers. They can't be just words jumbled up though Don.
Take a look at mine, and there are others on the site. 
Scrambled Description & Scrambled Description 2
Made your bed, now lay in it....But you can always add a bedside table, change the sheets, take out the trash...it doesn't have to stay the same unless you want it to. |
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paul726
The Way, The Truth, The Life
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Posted: 05:18PM Feb 10, 2007 |
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npf2005 wrote: This is a sentence I corrected with the instructions of corrections that needed to be done:
What is the special method of communication that the Order of the Phoenix uses between it's members?
Does the "that" make sense?
Also, I was told to:
Please remove the final , at the end of your answer.
There was not a final comma in my answer.
Also, I'm concerned ( ) of the mistakes in the review. Here they are:
Spelling mistakes:
explantion - meant to be explanation
Harru's - I doubt Harry Potter's first name is Harru
Also, a mistake:
holly is not capitalized. Add the phrase, "long, made of" between inches and Holly in the explanation.
Each holly in the question, answer and explanation was capitalized.
Maybe if reviews were checked over more carefully? (no offence to any of the quizmasters)
I think your use of "that" works fine there. Please refrain from pointing out typo's in QM's comments. They aren't retained once the quiz is accepted, so such comments are not so carefully examined for errors. It's also not germaine to the intended topic here, nor constructive.
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