Are these keys yours vs. Are these your keys?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

What is the difference between these two questions:
Are these keys yours vs. Are these your keys?

Many thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Packing the meat[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

Hi Torsten,

I think there is a slight underlying difference. If I ask: Are these your keys? this would seem a straightforward question about which there is no great significance. When I ask: Are these keys yours? this would suggest there is some uncertainty about the ownership of the keys and possibly I have asked other people if the keys belonged to them.

Alan

3

“Are these your keys?” has a bit more of a suggestion that the speaker knows that the listener does own a set of keys.
Perhaps testing with nouns other than keys (which are something that we all have) would help make this more clear.

4

Doesn’t it depend on where the accent lies, if spoken out loud?

  • When it lies on “these”, it is as you say;
  • when it lies on “yours”, “are these your keys?”, someone has found a set of keys, and upon seeing you wonders whether they could be yours (perhaps you could say that “are these keys yours?” is equivalent);
  • when it lies on “keys”, “are these your keys?”, someone knows that these objects are yours, but they are so oddly shaped that he doesn’t recognize them as keys.
    The neutral way to pronounce it is perhaps by accenting both “these” and “keys”.

As you say, context also comes into play; different objects create different expectations.

5

Are these keys yours?’ suggest that might be the speaker has lost her keys and you are suggesting that these keys might be her’s . Are these keys yours?’ would suggest that you are just asking a general question.