TeachingEnglish
What kind of/kinds of
Submitted by agapit19 on 7 November, 2011 - 22:06
Could you tell me which option is correct and used nowadays?
What kind of animal is it?
What kinds of animals are they?
What kind of animals are they?- I found in some dictionaries that this option is considered inappropriate, whereas in other it is seen as the correct one. For example Swan in his book claims that sort of, type of, kind of are followed by plural nouns.
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Please, which book from Swan? Practical English Usage? And which entry/page/edition. That helps.
IHO: 'kind of animal is' is correct
animal corresponds with is
'kind of animals are' is also correct if there are muliple animals.
Compare: A: 'I met John yesterday.' B: 'Oh, what kind of person is he?' (just singular)
A: 'I met John's parents yesterday.' B: 'Oh, what kind of people are they?' (plural)
I think I need to read Swan; I cannot believe that 'kind of [singular] would be categorical incorrect.
Hope this help!
What kind of a person is he? (the answer is expected to be in the singular.)
What kind of people are they? (the answer is expected to be in the singular.)
What kind of dessert would you like? (the answer is expected to be in the singular.)
What kind of a teacher are you? (the answer is expected to be in the singular.)
How many different kinds of dessert are there? (several, the answer is in the plural)
How many different kinds of teacher are there? (thousands! The answer is in the plural)
All the above are correct usage of the word kind/kinds.
I hope this helps.