HOW or WHAT

Which alternatives is/are correct?



a. What a good flower!
b. What good flower!
c. How good flower!
d. How a good flower!

I would choose a. Is there any possibility for d?

Freeguy said:

Which alternatives is/are correct?



a. What a good flower!
b. What good flower!
c. How good flower!
d. How a good flower!

I would choose a. Is there any possibility for d?

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I'm not a teacher, but I know that 'What' is correct.

Some English teachers claim that we can use HOW in this sense too ! I want to know that is it really common or not.

Freeguy said:

Some English teachers claim that we can use HOW in this sense too ! I want to know that is it really common or not.

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You can find more information here
Difference Between How and What | Difference Between | How vs What

Freeguy said:

I would choose a. Correct
Is there any possibility for d? No

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5

What about this example. Is this correct?

How beautiful are the flowers !

Freeguy said:

What about this example. Is this correct?

How beautiful are the flowers !

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I think "How beautiful flowers they are" is more correct

englishlearner77 said:

I think "How beautiful flowers they are" is more correct

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No, it isn't. That would require "What".

I thought so. But, this is Micheal Swan's example. He says it's correct !!!!

You're right

Look at this claim :
In a rather old-fashioned literary style, inversion is sometimes found in exclamations after HOW and WHAT.

EX: How beautiful are the flowers !
EX: What a peaceful place is Skegness !

If this claim is acceptable, then we can use d in my first question, I suppose !

Let's pause here a moment before I lose the will to live.:roll:

englishlearner, please stop contributing until we get this sorted out.

Freeguy, Are you saying that 'How beautiful are the flowers!' is from Michael Swan? That's obviously correct. (Don't leave a space before the exclamation mark.)

From this, you are concluding that 'How a good flower!' must also be acceptable?

No, no. The constructions are entirely different. 'How a good flower!' is not a sentence, for a start.

can we say What a good weather? ( I think we MUST say what good weather )

We must say 'What good weather!'

Freeguy said:

I thought so. But, this is Micheal Swan's example. He says it's correct !!!!

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Does he also say that leaving a space before an exclamation mark is correct, or that using three exclamation marks in a row is correct? Or that your comma after "But" is correct?

I don't understand what you want to get at by this sarcastic reply!
No, neither Michael nor the other grammarians say that style would be acceptable!

Freeguy said:

If this claim is acceptable, then we can use d in my first question, I suppose !

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I'm afraid not- it doesn't work without the verb.