"Something whose" -- is it awkward?

[recursivelyenumerable]

It always feels awkward to me when I use it.  Actually, it always feels like the English language is just missing a possessive pronoun.  It makes me want to go file a bug against English.

[Great Rumbler]

Yes, it is.

"Someone whose..."

and

"Something that's..."

[brob]

Not smart enough for this thread... 

[Reb]

Not smart enough for this thread... 

Someone whose confused.

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[Great Rumbler]

yes, i hate that. i always have to force myself not to say/write "which's" or "whiches". lol. as odd as that would sound it still feels more logical.

Yes, it is.

"Someone whose..."

and

"Something that's..."

ouch. i think you might be missing the point:

"this is a person whose nose is..."

"this is an object whose properties are..."

that's what he's talking about.

in your example it's not WHOSE at all, it's "who's".

An object is not a "who" though.

"Someone whose car is fast."

"A car that's windshield is busted."

You wouldn't say "A car whose windshield is busted." anymore than you'd point to a car and say "Who is that?" but you also wouldn't say "A car what's windshield is busted." because then you'd sound like a Brit.

[Great Rumbler]

I'm using the possessive form of that, not that is. No way am I dropping "whose" into a conversation about inanimate objects, that's how furrydom starts.

[Great Rumbler]

I'm using the possessive form of that, not that is. No way am I dropping "whose" into a conversation about inanimate objects, that's how furrydom starts.

that's all nice and dandy, but english doesn't have a possessive form of "that" 

[Great Rumbler]

Hey, I come from the South, or close enough to it, so you guys should all feel lucky that I can even form complete sentences.

[Great Rumbler]

How can a swis teach americans english language

Scary shit. Great Rumbler got massacred.

Yes, pardon me for not subscribing to the anthropomorphism of inanimate objects!

[Great Rumbler]

Someone bring me succotash! I hunger!!

[Great Rumbler]

I'm just a modern-day William Shakespeare, making up awesome words whenever it pleases me to do so.

[Great Rumbler]

oh man southerners turn me on so much   

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[Don Flamenco]

Proper when referring to transexuals, I suppose?  Though they probably don't like being called "things."

[Ganhyun]

Then you must like Kentucky-Bore alot*

*

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And since Archie and I are from Georgia, even further south, we must get alot of love

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[Great Rumbler]

Y'all ain't heard a South'ner talkin' good 'til you heard me wax philos'phical 'bout thangs.

[Mupepe]

whenever i talk to my friend from texas i make him say "y'all" over and over. gets me insta-hard 

You never make me say "ya'll" :'(

[Himu]

As someone from Texas I don't see the problem. "who's" for who is, "whose" for...well, whose.

Obama is someone who's cherry plumb cake fell out of his ass.

Obama is someone whose balls drop regularly.

Which is the correct one?

You wouldn't say Obama is someone who's balls drop regularly because that essentially means "Obama is someone who is balls drop regularly" which makes no sense. Thus, I use whose. It's the only thing that makes sense to me there so it has never felt awkward to me and I don't care about analyzing the English language.

[Himu]

whenever i talk to my friend from texas i make him say "y'all" over and over. gets me insta-hard 

You never make me say "ya'll" :'(

I didn't realize ya'll was bad until the internet was invented  :'( YOU CAN TAKE MY GRAMMAR, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE MY PRIDE OKAY?

[Don Flamenco]

y'all is infectious.  I lived in Arizona for a few years, but the midwest for the rest..."y'all" still slips out every once in a while. :'(

[Himu]

Don't take away my ya'll

DON'T

[Himu]

Oh, I see. No, it's not awkward. It's just a word to me.

[Himu]

:himu

[Flannel Boy]

There tends to be a lot of "folk belief" regarding English usage (e.g. prohibitions against starting sentences with conjunctions or ending them with prepositions). "Whose" can be be used with inanimate antecedents.

"a car whose windshield is busted"

Alternatives:

A car with a busted windshield. . . . (This does not convey the same meaning.)
A car, the windshield of which is busted. . . .  (This is formally correct, but very awkward.)

Recast:
The windshield on that/this/the car is busted. (This is inappropriate if the focus is on the car itself.)

[Ganhyun]

Truly southern people use , and I'll just spell it out how it sounds, wallago. (Hint: It means a while ago)

example in a sentence: Hey, did y'all hear about Tony? He got arrested wallago.

[Flannel Boy]

A car, the windshield of which is busted. . . .  (This is formally correct, but very awkward.)

'A car of which the windshield is busted' sounds better. And I don't think it's awkward at all.

It sounds very awkward out loud. Why use a stilted construction when a more idiomatic alternative exists?

[cool breeze]

I like y'all better than "you guys." Say you guys to a group that includes southern women and you'll get some stares. :'(

who says "you guys"? in my head I imagine a white guy saying it as he watches his two roommates play grab ass without him.

[Dickie Dee]

"that has its"  <---- yes/no?

[Great Rumbler]

who says "you guys"?

[youtube=560,345]mkB5-BHxKZI[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]TFYMijdQ_sA[/youtube]

[cool breeze]

that is not suitable evidence!

I like y'all better than "you guys." Say you guys to a group that includes southern women and you'll get some stares. :'(

who says "you guys"? in my head I imagine a white guy saying it as he watches his two roommates play grab ass without him.

Where the fuck are you from?

a mix of east coast america and persia

[brob]

where do 'yous' fit in?

[CajoleJuice]

da two utes

[Donono]

Swiss hipster even... smh @ Amerika

[youtube=560,345]xFVdvXGIT34[/youtube]

Coca-Cola

Sometimes war!
 

[Fresh Prince]

Do people in the south go, 'Dag nab it!'?

[Bocsius]

a bit ot but i was never quite sure of this: is saying "some-n" instead of "something" a southern thing or did that originate somewhere else? for some twisted reason i really love that. that's how i say it, but i don't remember why i started, it's been years.

Where I'm from (North Carolina), people might (mis)pronounce "something" as "SUH-um". Still (barely) two syllables, but all middle consonant sounds removed and "ng" replaced with an "m" ending. It's could be a regional thing, or it could be a "you say po-TAY-to, I say tater" thing.

[Ganhyun]

Do people in the south go, 'Dag nab it!'?

That's heard, but usually from old people. You will also hear "dadgumit" as well.

Also, you will hear the word fix used in weird ways.

Example: I'm fixing to go to the store.

[Bocsius]

Also, you will hear the word fix used in weird ways.

Example: I'm fixin to go to the store.

Fixed.

[Ganhyun]

Also, you will hear the word fix used in weird ways.

Example: I'm fixin to go to the store.

Fixed.

yea thats probably more accurate

[BlackMage]

jarosh is a filthy swede and he knows more about english than us. this is terrible

[Brehvolution]

who says "you guys"?

[youtube=560,345]mkB5-BHxKZI[youtube]

[youtube=560,345]TFYMijdQ_sA[youtube]

Sloth and a PBS kids show? That isn't very compelling evidence. 

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[Diunx]

smh, great rumbler aren't you a man that's a writer?

[Fresh Prince]

jarosh is a filthy swede and he knows more about english than us. this is terrible

Swiss and probably knows more about German than Germans and French than the French. Probably knows more about Italian than the Italians. smh

[Great Rumbler]

smh, great rumbler aren't you a man that's a writer?

I'll refer you to an earlier post I made:

I'm just a modern-day William Shakespeare, making up awesome words whenever it pleases me to do so.

[Himu]

Do people in the south go, 'Dag nab it!'?

That's heard, but usually from old people. You will also hear "dadgumit" as well.

Also, you will hear the word fix used in weird ways.

Example: I'm fixing to go to the store.

100% accurate