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emsr2d2

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Thank you madam.

I think I am misunderstood. I am not saying there are three pens.

"Whose pen among you three did I borrow?" Does it mean that I am talking to the pens? Yes! "You three" means "you three pens"! And you're not talking to pens, you're talking to girls.

What I actually have in my mind is: I borrowed someone's pen but I forgot who that was but I know that I borrowed from those people standing there.So, I go staight and ask them "Whose pen among you three did I borrow?" No. You go to them and say "I borrowed a pen from one of you three [girls]. Which one of you was it?" or something similar. Again, if you want to ask a direct question with no preamble, but containing the words "you three" it has to be "Which one of you three lent me a pen?" or "Which one of you three did I borrow a pen from?"


The reason for asking this question repeatedly is that I haven't understood it properly.So, forgive me if I have created any trouble madam. No problem, I am happy to keep trying to explain it. I'm sure half the problem is my failure to explain properly!

Please see above.
 

TheParser

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Whom should I marry among you three?

or

Among you three whom should I marry?


NOT A TEACHER


(1) The teachers have given you excellent advice.

(2) May I add my two cents?

(a) Maybe native speakers are having a problem with those sentences because

such a question would never be asked in an English-speaking country. If three

women came to a meeting with a man and discovered that he was going to ask them

to explain why he should choose one of them to marry, all three ladies would

slap him in the face and walk out.

(b) There is one very little difference: The first sentence is said without a pause; the

second sentence with a pause (please notice the comma):

Among you three, whom should I marry?

(c) There is also another difference. If the three ladies do not know why you called

them to the meeting, then the second sentence is more dramatic and will make a

bigger impression on them. Why? Because the magic word "marry" is the very

last word in the question.
 

david11

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Thank you for your replies teacher.


For post 20# I have tried the following ways of asking. Please tell me weather they are correct.

1) Whose id card am I supposed to find?

2)Who among you three needs the id card to be found?

3)Which of you three needs the id card to be found?



Thank you.
 

TheParser

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For post 20# I have tried the following ways of asking. Please tell me weather they are correct.

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Like you, I am waiting for the excellent teachers to answer your questions.

(2) Since I know that you are a very serious student, may I gently remind you that it

would be better to spell that word as whether. ("Weather" refers to the condition of the

the skies.)

(a) I congratulate you. I think that many native speakers would have used "if," but

some very strict teachers say that whether is more correct in a sentence such as

yours. It's great that you used whether!
 

bhaisahab

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Thank you for your replies teacher.


For post 20# I have tried the following ways of asking. Please tell me weather they are correct.

1) Whose id card am I supposed to find?

2)Who among you three needs the id card to be found?

3)Which of you three needs the id card to be found?



Thank you.
I would say "Which of you (three) has lost their ID card?"
 

david11

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I would say "Which of you (three) has lost their ID card?"

Thank you for your reply sir.

In that situation , I just want to emphasize that I am going to find it.
 

bhaisahab

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Thank you for your reply sir.

In that situation , I just want to emphasize that I am going to find it.
"Which of you (three) needs me to find their ID card?"
 
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