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amused - 2016-10-18
In response to A Question for NES (Foxy)

Milton’s Paradise Lost: “..the fruit of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world…"

Although 'whose' is grammatically correct as the possessive form for inanimate objects, I believe its use is now poor writing.
There are many ways to avoid using 'whose' for objects: The car with the broken tinted windows. The house hovering over the messy garden. The book covered in green.

The car whose windows are tinted' / 'The house whose garden is messy' /
'The book whose cover is green'

For spoken language, native English speakers never choose awkward grammatical constructions. Spoken language quickly sheds anachronistic language usage. Good writing should follow suit by evolving. We should not get hung up on retaining 'hanged'.

Unfortunately, Chinese language education is based on written exams. Language majors in Western universities write papers and have oral exams. Chinese teachers of English are loathe to grade papers. Grammar rules make wonderful multiple choice exam questions for lazy teachers.

Messages In This Thread
A Question for NES -- Foxy -- 2016-10-18
Re A Question for NES -- amused -- 2016-10-18
Re A Question for NES -- Foxy -- 2016-10-18
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