Alexios
When referring to the shark in a poetical way, is it he or she? Thanks
2021년 10월 2일 오전 8:33
답변 · 5
1
Since you mentioned a poetical way, I assume you are thinking of the way we speak of ships as "she". But there is not real convention on sharks (or most animals, really). So I would leave it up to the author which they prefer. The only poem (or song really) that I can think of with sharks (apart from Baby Shark), is Mack the Knife. This is interesting because it's a translation from German, and there are a few translations. In one of the most popular translations or The Threepenny Opera (where the song come from), the first line goes: Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear, And he shows them pearly white So: "he" A newer translation goes like this: See the shark with teeth like razors All can read his open face Also: "he" Bobby Darin recorded Mack The Knife and sang: Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear And it shows them pearly white. so: "it" Later, when Ella Fitzgerald covered Bobby Darin's version, she sang: Oh, the shark has pearly teeth, dear And he shows them, pearly white Back to "he" So at least in Mack the Knife, the shark is almost always a "he". Hope this helps!
2021년 10월 2일
1
Hello! It depends on what you want to communicate and the name of the shark (a boy or a girl's name), but probably you could use "it" as well because it is an animal. I would say that most people would use "he" but it really depends on your preferences and what you want to communicate I hope to have helped you!
2021년 10월 2일
*in a POETIC way
2021년 10월 3일
Since sharks are real animals with male and female genders, use whichever one you want.
2021년 10월 3일
Great answer Dee! Alyosha, I see you're from Belarus? In English, common nouns are not gendered. You may refer to the shark as "it". In the possesive, you can say "its".
2021년 10월 2일
아직도 답을 찾지 못하셨나요?
질문을 남겨보세요. 원어민이 도움을 줄 수 있을 거예요!