Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -1 down vote favorite

For example:

"You have a beautiful smile" vs "Your smile is beautiful".

What's the difference between these phrases?

share|improve this question
Please only ask one question at a time. – Matt Эллен May 3 '12 at 8:08
2  
The expressions are not the same in your mother tongue, either, or in any language for that matter. ("У тебя красивая улыбка" vs. "Твоя улыбка красива(я)".) Closing as not specific to English. – RegDwighт♦ May 3 '12 at 8:41
@Reg +1 for mother tongue. – Kris May 3 '12 at 9:22

closed as too localized by RegDwighт♦ May 3 '12 at 8:43

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

In (1) I'm talking about you. In (2) I'm talking about your smile.

share|improve this answer
And what's the difference? – Alex Maslakov May 3 '12 at 9:36
1  
You may use the form "You have a ..." when say, comparing with others. On the other hand, "Your ... is" can be useful when talking about various aspects of the same person. The context and the subject of the discussion will determine which is preferable. This especially useful in writing because you can show the shift in emphasis and subject. In speech, the emphasis can be achieved by changing the stress from one word to another in the same sentence. – Kris May 3 '12 at 9:50

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.