which ones/which one/which

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

Which ones do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?
Which do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?

Dear all,
Are all these sentences above correct? And why? Thanks.

Xianyu

 

[tedtmc]

Which ones do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?
Which do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?

Dear all,
Are all these sentences above correct? And why? Thanks.

Xianyu

They are all correct.
It depends on whether you are referring to the insects as a type/group or separately.
I prefer 4 and 5, without using 'one'.

not a teacher

 

[Raymott]

Which ones do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which one do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?
Which do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?
Which do you like more, butterfly or dragonfly?

Dear all,
Are all these sentences above correct? And why? Thanks.

Xianyu

Only 4. sounds natural to me.

 

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

They are all correct.
It depends on whether you are referring to the insects as a type/group or separately.
I prefer 4 and 5, without using 'one'.

not a teacher

Thank you so much, tedtmc.

 

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

Only 4. sounds natural to me.

Hi Raymott, thank you for your help!

Why do you think only 4. sounds natural to you? Are the rest ones correct grammatically but are not spoken by native speakers in daily life? Especially the #1., which was taken from my textbook, why is it not natural?

And how about the both:
Which one do you like more, a butterfly or a dragonfly?
Which do you like more, a butterfly or a dragonfly?

Do native speakers speak like this?

 

[Raymott]

Hi Raymott, thank you for your help!

Why do you think only 4. sounds natural to you? Are the rest ones correct grammatically but are not spoken by native speakers in daily life?
That's right. There are an infinite number of sentences that are grammatical but not normally used in English.

Especially the #1., which was taken from my textbook, why is it not natural?
1. "Which ones do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?"
It's not incorrect. You certainly can say "Which ones" for "Which". In fact, small children probably would.
Who wrote your textbook?

And how about the both:
Which one do you like more, a butterfly or a dragonfly?
Again, you could say it, but it's not idiomatic English.
Which do you like more, a butterfly or a dragonfly?
Not idiomatic.
Do native speakers speak like this?
With this construction, probably not. Let's say a person is handing out decorative stickers. If the sentence were, "Which would you prefer - a butterfly or a dragon?", then that would be normal.

R.

 

[羡鱼-Xianyu]

1. "Which ones do you like more, butterflies or dragonflies?"
It's not incorrect. You certainly can say "Which ones" for "Which". In fact, small children probably would.
Who wrote your textbook?

R.

Thank you, Raymott. You're quite right! :up:This sentence was taken from a book which is designed for little children, and written by a Chinese teacher. When I initially read the sentence, I had a hunch that it might be 'wrong' or not an idiomatic English, but I failed to figure out. That's why I started the thread.

Have a nice day!