# In how many other ways this sentence can be written or spoken? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136 "2013-09-06T01:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Reza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reza)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/1 "2013-09-06T01:44:50Z")
I came across a sentence which interested me to find out of other ways to say it: - Which planets are closer to the sun than the earth is? Please let me know how can you paraphrase it and say it in other ways both written and spoken. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/2 "2013-09-06T01:53:14Z")
There’s the obvious: Which planets are closer to the sun than the earth? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/3 "2013-09-06T13:36:25Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > There’s the obvious: > > Which planets are closer to the sun than the earth? The missing “is” is required in this construction. Without it, for ESL students especially, the sentence could be construed as asking which planets are closer to Earth than to the sun. Which planets are closer to the sun than is Earth? (If, indeed, that is what is being asked.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/4 "2013-09-06T13:41:32Z")
Which planets are closer to the sun than is the Earth? Which planets have orbits inside the orbit of Earth? ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/5 "2013-09-06T14:03:28Z")
Which planets orbit’s of the sun are smaller than the Earth’s? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/6 "2013-09-06T14:49:23Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > Which planets orbit’s of the sun are smaller than the Earth’s? That sounds very clumsy and has an errant apostrophe to boot. Try “_Which planets that orbit the Sun have orbits smaller than the Earth’s?_” or, “_Which planets that orbit the Sun orbit closer than the Earth?_” ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/7 "2013-09-06T15:10:29Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > That sounds very clumsy and has an errant apostrophe to boot. > > Try “_Which planets that orbit the Sun have orbits smaller than the Earth’s?_” or, “_Which planets that orbit the Sun orbit closer than the Earth?_” My assumption was that the OP was looking for other ways to phrase the concept, to make translation easier into another language? Clumsy in English == clumsy in all languages ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/8 "2013-09-06T15:12:22Z")
For conciseness: Which planets are Venus and Mercury? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/9 "2013-09-06T15:14:12Z")
How about “The Earth is farther from the sun than which planets?” ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/10 "2013-09-06T15:36:50Z")
Which planets in our solar system have orbits that are shorter than Earth’s orbit? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/11 "2013-09-06T15:58:56Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Which planets in our solar system have orbits that are shorter than Earth’s orbit? “in our solar system” is redundant, since Earth is in the same sentence, as is the final “orbit.” Which planets have orbits shorter than Earth’s? Which planets have shorter orbits than Earth’s? All those planets in shorter orbits than Earth take one step forward. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/12 "2013-09-06T17:02:44Z")
> [@Reza](#): > > I came across a sentence which interested me to find out of other ways to say it: > > - Which planets are closer to the sun than the earth is? > > Please let me know how can you paraphrase it and say it in other ways both written and spoken. Is Uranus close to the sun? 😛 OK sorry had to channel Beavis and Butthead there for a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-how-many-other-ways-this-sentence-can-be-written-or-spoken/668136/13 "2013-09-06T21:14:34Z")
Which planets have orbits shorter in diameter than the earth? Which planets have shorter solar years than earth? Which planets have ever been between the earth and the sun? Which planets might require sunblock well above triple digits? If earth is the third planet from the sun, what two planets precede it? Which planets ever cause a solar eclipse on earth, no matter how small? If earth is the third planet from the sun, who got the gold & who got the silver? If the earths orbit is a set, which planets have orbits which are complete subsets? When the earth tries to get the Sun’s autograph, which planets have orbits that always get in the way? To which planets can the earth ever say, “Hey…! You’re in my Sun!” Two trains leave Chicago for different cities. Which planets are closer to the sun? Which planets travel shorter distances around the sun than the one you are on now? (If you are not standing on earth, please briefly explain why in the space provided below)