Is using the phrase "Would you have interest?" grammatically incorrect? I also include in the subject line the name of the company, the job title, and location right after the question (see example below).
My boss told me it is grammatically incorrect? I am a native English speaker with advanced English skills. The emails have already gone out, so I'm not looking for an alternative phrase. I believe this to be a grammatically sound question for an email subject line because it has a subject and a verb and the details follow the question. My boss said that "it's bad grammar" and that I should have written no question at all and give a long string of information in my email. I believe she also instructed me that saying "Would you have an interest" would have been better. Below is the example subject line with slight modifications for simplicity and to leave my employer's name out.
My subject line:
Would you have interest? AAA Company Technical Writer Opportunity in San Diego, California
Sometimes I alternated with the question, "Are you interested?"
Are you interested? AAA Company Software Engineer Opportunity in San Diego, California
Boss's suggested subject line:
CompanyName / Job Opportunity Title / Division/ Division Location / Reference to Travel
I believe my version (just the question) was grammatically correct (for a subject line), but I could have chosen better words. I wanted to start my subject line off with a question because people feel inclined to answer questions.
I don't want a suggestion of a new sentence as I will construct it the way my boss wants. The boring answer will be exciting to me.
References: this site, Google, Grammarly. I couldn't find information to the contrary, but couldn't really find any information to support my stance either. This is why I decided to sign up to this forum and ask my very first question. I also skimmed the FAQs and read similar questions, not finding the answer. If this is still off topic, please let me know what would be on topic for this forum.
Best Answer
It looks grammatically correct, but it doesn't sound right because people don't use it. "Would you be interested?" is the more common way. In fact, I've only heard non-native English speakers use "Would you have interest."
When I taught EFL years ago, I would often revert back to the "it doesn't sound right excuse" and when pressed more, I would delve into a boring grammar reason.
Delving a little deeper, interest, when used in the active voice, requires an object. It also requires an article in front of interest.
For example: Would you have an interest in this job?
Again, it still doesn't sound right. Would you be interested in this job? still sounds more common.