HOW or WHAT

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Freeguy

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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?
Click to expand...

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.
 
What about this example. Is this correct?

How beautiful are the flowers !
 
I thought so. But, this is Micheal Swan's example. He says it's correct !!!!
 
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.
 
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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 !!!!
Click to expand...

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 !
Click to expand...

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