Whose

[ROBINDESBOIS]

this is the car whose windows got broken


what is the function of whose in this sentence, D.O?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

this is the car whose windows got broken


what is the function of whose in this sentence, D.O?

It is the genitive of the pronoun who, and for inanimate objects is usually substituted by of which. So the sentence would read (if I were to say it) this is the car the windows of which got broken. I'd say it was a genitive relative pronoun used as a subordinating conjunction. But I may be wrong.

[JPablo]

My tentative answer (British grammarians to the rescue, if I ...)
This is a possessive function as far as I can tell. The "windows that got broken" belong to "this car". D.O. in the phrase would be the "windows".

[poli]

Whose usaually translates to de quién, but sometimes de cuál.

[JPablo]

As well as "cuyo"... this is the car whose windows got broken = este es el coche cuyas ventanas se rompieron/fueron rotas = este el coche del que rompieron las ventanas.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

THank you guys, I know it was a silly question, sorry!

[irmamar]

I am with Perikles, since genitive is wider in grammar than possessive.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

It took a long time until my teachers made me use "whose" instead of "of which"... I just didn't seem able to make a connection between "whose" and an object (I think I expected some "whichse" to appear and solve my problems).

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

It took a long time until my teachers made me use "whose" instead of "of which"... I just didn't seem able to make a connection between "whose" and an object (I think I expected some "whichse" to appear and solve my problems).

I don't see why your teachers would encourage you to use "whose" instead of "of which". It is supposed to be correct for objects, but to me, "of which" sounds much better.

Arbores multas serit agricola, quarum fructus non adspiciet. (Cicero)
The farmer plants many trees, of which he will not see the fruit. Perfectly good translation

[poli]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I don't see why your teachers would encourage you to use "whose" instead of "of which". It is supposed to be correct for objects, but to me, "of which" sounds much better.

Arbores multas serit agricola, quarum fructus non adspiciet. (Cicero)
The farmer plants many trees, of which he will not see the fruit. Perfectly good translation

To me of which sounds awkward in contemporary English. It seems Elizabethan to me, but it cerainly isn't bad grammar.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

To me of which sounds awkward in contemporary English. It seems Elizabethan to me, but it cerainly isn't bad grammar.

I think I must be rather old-fashioned, it sounds like perfectly correct English to me. Perhaps I'm living in the wrong century.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Poli: Thank you!

@Perikles:

[chileno]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

this is the car whose windows got broken

After all that has been said, I would say:

this is the car which windows got broken

Is it better?

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

this is the car whose windows got broken


what is the function of whose in this sentence, D.O?

In the phrase that you have gave us the literal translation means.
Este es el carro cuyo ventana se rompio.

In the phrase you're giving the propriety of the happened.
I'd like to explain you better the phrase, but it's more than a grammar.

Greetings.

[wafflestomp]

Of which is the correct term but whose is what you're going to hear from a native speaker.

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by chileno

After all that has been said, I would say:

this is the car which windows got broken

Is it better?

I would use "whose", but if I had to use "which" I would go with "of which", that is,
This is the car the windows of which got broken.

(Native English speakers to the rescue, please!)

As far as the "archaic" flavor... I feel similarly with the use of "cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas" in Spanish, ie. a little bit dated in my opinion, but nonetheless correct... and actually scholarly. (Sometimes I am not quite able to put my finger on where is the exact frontier between something scholarly and something didactic and pedantic, but I guess the more you familiarize yourself with words and common usages, the easier it becomes to be somewhat 'natural'... Although that may be another subject altogether...)

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by chileno

After all that has been said, I would say:

this is the car which windows got broken

Is it better?

No, it's much worse.

[LibraryLady]

As a native English speaker I don't think I would phrase that sentence using either " of which" or "whose." I would probably say something like "This is the car that had it's windows broken." Although "of which" might be correct I agree that in this context it sounds very old fashioned.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

No, it's much worse.

Correct.

Originally Posted by LibraryLady

As a native English speaker I don't think I would phrase that sentence using either " of which" or "whose." I would probably say something like "This is the car that had it's windows broken." Although "of which" might be correct I agree that in this context it sounds very old fashioned.

Yes, thank you so much.

[Bolboreta]

Originally Posted by LibraryLady

As a native English speaker I don't think I would phrase that sentence using either " of which" or "whose." I would probably say something like "This is the car that had it's windows broken." Although "of which" might be correct I agree that in this context it sounds very old fashioned.

mmmm, this is exactly what I was thinking while reading the discussion. I don't hear english natives say Whose, wich, whom and such. As in Spain we don't use to say del cual, cuyo, etc:

Este es el coche al que se le rompió una ventana.

El granjero planta muchos árboles de los que no verá los frutos.