English Language & Usage Asked on August 17, 2020
What is he? — Does the question refer to what he is doing for a living?
Who is he? — Does it refer to his name? For example, he is Peter.
"What is he?"
You're asking about his job. For example:
A: What's he? B: He's a painter.
"Who is he?"
You're asking about either his name or position; sometimes both. For example,
A: Who's he? B: Oh, he's Mr. Wilcox, the head of the division.
Correct answer by Hank on August 17, 2020
"Who" refers to personal identification (usually the name). If someone asks you "who is he/she" or "who are they," they are basically asking for the narrowest possible definition that could apply to the subject.
"What," on the other hand, essentially asks you to provide information about the subject's wider category. This could mean a job (programmer), a species (human), or anything else that provides you information more general than identification. "Oh, what a cute dog! What is he?" "He's a Corgi." Since there are many possible wider categories, "what" tends to be a lot more context-sensitive than "who."
Answered by Misha R on August 17, 2020
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