Who is this?

[Rachel Adams]

This screenshot is from "Oxford Discover Grammar" by Lesley Koustaff and Susan Rivers. According to the book it's wrong to use "who" when talking about animals but in this text it says: "Who's this?" It's Anak." It's an orangutan. Could you please explain it to me?

 

[Rover_KE]

'Who's this?' is fine when you're asking the name of an animal.

 

[Rachel Adams]

'Who's this?' is fine when you're asking the name of an animal.

Instead of asking someone "what's your dog's or cat's name?" I can say "who is this?" and "who is that?" if referring to more than one animal I can use "who are these/those?" Do I understand correctly?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Instead of asking someone, "What's your dog's or cat's name?" Can I say "Who is this?" and "Who is that?" If referring to more than one animal, can use "Who are these/those?" Do I understand correctly?

Corrections:

Rachel, as I recall, you can't see our italics or colors or boldface when we make corrections. So: Notice the added commas and capitals. Notice that I changed "I can" to "Can I" twice. Questions do not usually start with "I can."

 

[Rachel Adams]

Corrections:

Rachel, as I recall, you can't see our italics or colors or boldface when we make corrections. So: Notice the added commas and capitals. Notice that I changed "I can" to "Can I" twice. Questions do not usually start with "I can."

Thank you. I rephrased the explanation to make sure I didn't misunderstand it. I didn't write the questions but the statements instead. I thought it wasn't wrong. But is my understanding of the original explanation correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

Your original was correct, Rachel. You started with "I can", followed it with three possible questions in quotes, and ended with a full stop. You then asked "Do I understand correctly?" If you hadn't added that final question, you would have had to start with "Can I" and end with a question mark.