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Difference between which and what
Which and what are often both possible with little difference of meaning.
•
Which is the coldest region in the world? OR What is the coldest
region in the world?
Which train did you come on? OR What train did you come on?
•
Which is preferred when the speaker is thinking of a limited number of choices.
•
Which color do you like ? blue, pink or green? (More natural than ?
What color do you like ? blue, pink or green?'
What is preferred when the speaker is not thinking of a limited number of choices.
•
What language do they speak in Indonesia?
Which and what
Both which and what can be used before nouns to ask questions about people and
things.
•
What writer do you like best? OR Which writer do you like best?
Before a pronoun or a noun with a determiner we use which of. What is not
possible in this case.
•
Which of these books are yours? (NOT What of these books are
yours?)
•
Which of us is going to do the shopping? (NOT What of us is going
to do the shopping?)
