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 2 down vote favorite

If I look at a book about vehicles, can I say “What kind of vehicle is it?" to get the answer “It’s a bike." (or a truck, a car, a motorcycle, etc)? Is that question correct or not? How should I ask?

share|improve this question

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

What kind of vehicle is it? is grammatical, but it might, depending on the circumstances, be more appropriate to say What kind of vehicle is that?

share|improve this answer
thank you. How about" what is it? "it is more appropriate to say "what is that? or what is this?" than " what is it?. Right? – Kid123 May 15 '12 at 22:04
@Kid123: Impossible to answer a question like that in isolation, and certainly not in a comment. It depends on the circumstances. – Barrie England May 16 '12 at 6:00
up vote 1 down vote

Yes - that is a correct way to ask your question.

You could also ask:

  • what sort of...
  • what type of...

These are all functionally equivalent ways of asking the same thing.

share|improve this answer
Thank you very much every one and Can I ask "What kind of vehicle are they/those/these?" to get the answer “they are bikes." and how about "what kinds of" when can I use it? – Kid123 May 15 '12 at 22:15
Yes, you might ask "What kinds of vehicles do you offer?" – TecBrat May 31 '12 at 13:24
up vote 0 down vote

You could also say, 'which type of vehicle is a Jeep Grand Cherokee?' Answer might be: Midsized SUV

But then you would need a list available for them to pick from.

share|improve this answer
Can I say "which type of vehicle is a Toyota? To get answer "Sedan" – Kid123 May 15 '12 at 22:12

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

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