Alexios
When referring to the shark in a poetical way, is it he or she? Thanks
Oct 2, 2021 8:33 AM
Answers · 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!
October 2, 2021
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!
October 2, 2021
*in a POETIC way
October 3, 2021
Since sharks are real animals with male and female genders, use whichever one you want.
October 3, 2021
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".
October 2, 2021
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