"How cute this dog is!"

[YAMATO2201]

Please look at the following sentences:

(A) "How cute this dog is!"
(B) "What a cute dog!"

Sentence (A) can be found in a large number of textbooks published in my country, but I suspect (A) sounds unnatural to native English speakers' ears. I would use (B) instead.

Is (A) natural?

Thank you.

 

[GoesStation]

B is much more typical but A is not impossible. A good translation of the Japanese kawaii! is How cute!

 

[emsr2d2]

A is not as common as B in the UK but it's still used, as is the simpler "How cute!" which can be used if it's clear what the speaker is looking at at the time of speaking.

 

[Tdol]

A) is possible, but it sounds borderline natural to me.

 

[Skrej]

I think we're more likely to hear #1 in the form of a (somewhat rhetorical) question - "How cute is this dog?"

I say rhetorical in that you can't really quantify cuteness. You just have to agree or disagree.

 

[YAMATO2201]

A) is possible, but it sounds borderline natural to me.

Thank you, Tdol.

I think what you meant to say in your reply was that (A) is on the borderline between natural and unnatural, but I'm not sure.

By the way, what is the part of speech for the borderline in your reply? Adverb? I thought that borderline was a noun or an adjective, but not an adverb.

 

[GoesStation]

I think what you meant to say in your reply was that (A) is on the borderline between natural and unnatural, but I'm not sure.

That's right.

By the way, what is the part of speech for the borderline in your reply? Adverb? I thought that borderline was a noun or an adjective, but not an adverb.

It's an adverb in that sentence.

 

[Tdol]

I take liberties with the language- the dictionary is a guide and not a master. :up: