Learn English – Usage of “who do you like for…”

idiomsmeaning

I remember a teacher in a video course taught me that "who do you like for…" is an idiom, but I almost never came across it.

The following are two examples he gave:

Who do you like for the best actress at tomorrow’s Oscar’s?

Who do you like for the soccer game tomorrow night, Brazil or Germany?

I'm wondering if who is obligatory in this idiom. Can we use what or which instead?

And what to make of this idiom?

Best Answer

Only who is correct there.

If you wanted to use what or which, you'd have to reference the person/group you are talking about.

For example, these sentences are all correct.

Which actress do you like for the best actress at tomorrow’s Oscar’s?

What actress do you like for the best actress at tomorrow’s Oscar’s?

Which team do you like for the soccer game tomorrow night, Brazil or Germany?

What team do you like for the soccer game tomorrow night, Brazil or Germany?

The idiom, who do you like for..., is primarily just used when asking someone which person, school, team, etc they want to win at something. It's a very common phrase when asking someone who they think will win in any type of competition.

Here are some more examples of how this is used :

Who do you like for homecoming king and queen?

Who do you like for president?

Who do you like for the Kentucky Derby horse race?

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