Do You Say What Are Your Parents Names Or What Is Your Parent Names?

The correct way to ask someone about their parents’ names is:

“What are your parents’ names?”

Here’s a detailed explanation of why this is the correct phrasing:

1. Use of “Are” for Plural Subject (“Parents”)

• In the question “What are your parents’ names?”, the word “parents” is plural, referring to more than one person (i.e., the mother and father, or both parents).
• When you are asking about more than one person, you need to use the plural form of the verb “to be” which is “are”.
  • Correct: “What are your parents’ names?”
  • Incorrect: “What is your parents’ names?” — “Is” is singular and would be incorrect here because you’re referring to more than one parent.

2. Possessive Form of “Parents”

• The phrase uses “parents’ names”, which is the possessive form of the word “parents.” The apostrophe (‘) shows possession, meaning you’re asking for the names that belong to the parents.
• You could also say “What are your parents’ names?” or “What are your parents’ names?”, both are grammatically correct.

  Possessive forms:

  • Parents’ = belonging to more than one parent (correct here, because you’re referring to two parents).
  • Parent’s (singular) would refer to just one parent’s name, but since you’re asking about both parents, “parents'” is correct.

3. Why “What Is Your Parent’s Name” is Incorrect

• If you say “What is your parent’s name?”, you’re asking about the name of a single parent. Here, the word “parent” is singular, and the verb “is” matches the singular subject.
• But in most cases, when asking about parents, we refer to both the mother and father, which is why “What are your parents’ names?” is the correct phrasing.

Example Sentences

• Correct: “What are your parents’ names?” (asking about both parents).
• Incorrect: “What is your parents’ names?” (incorrect verb usage with a plural subject).
• Correct (if asking about one parent): “What is your parent’s name?” (singular subject, singular verb).
• Incorrect: “What are your parent’s name?” (wrong possessive form — the apostrophe is placed incorrectly).

Summary

• When asking about both parents, the correct phrase is: “What are your parents’ names?”
• The word “parents” is plural, so you use “are” instead of “is”.
• The possessive form “parents'” (with the apostrophe after the “s”) is used because you’re asking about the names of two people, not one.