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"Our approach is different to whose our competitors use" - is it correct? Our approach is different to *whose* our competitors use. I have a hunch that the word "whose" is being using incorrectly in this sentence; however, an article in Collins dict says: You use whose at the beginning of a relative clause where you mention something that belongs to or is associated with the person or thing mentioned in the previous clause. Could anyone help me and tell if this sentence correct or not? Thank you.
Aug 13, 2016 5:24 AM
Answers · 3
1
In U.S. English, using the "register" (degree of formality) appropriate for a written advertisement, I would say Our approach is different from our competitors'. I think that's perfectly correct--as long as you put in the apostrophe! (It's short for "Our approach is different from our competitors' approach," and "competitors'" is a possessive adjective). Our approach is different from that of our competitors. Here, you don't use the apostrophe because we are just using the noun "competitors," not the possessive adjective. In real life, though, I think you might shorten it even more and just say: Our approach is different.
August 13, 2016
1
It sounds to me like "whose" should be "those which" in this sentence - "those" indicating something that isn't a part of what you're describing (for example, your methods, instead of someone else's), and "which" being more appropriate for narrowing that describing a non-living "thing" (e.x. a method used by your competitors) while "who" is more appropriate if you're describing people (e.x. your competitors themselves).
August 13, 2016
"Our approach is different to *those which* our competitors use" is more correct. You could also use *those that* too. The use of "whose" is incorrect like you rightly guessed.
August 13, 2016
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