What kinds vs What kind

[Nie]

Hello!

I hope somebody can find time to take a look at these questions and help me figure out the grammatical one.

A: What kind of pets do you want to raise?

B: What kind of pet do you want to raise?

C: What kinds of pets do you want to raise?

D: What kinds of pet do you want to raise?

My fellow English student told me that "What" should be followed by a singular noun, hence, "what kind of pets ..." from the above questions should be correct; however, she's not absolutely sure about it. So, I'm hoping a native speaker could help me out.

[Mister Micawber]

They are all 'grammatical'. The speaker normally uses 'kind' when s/he is expecting a singular reply and 'kinds' when s/he is expecting a plural reply. It is good style to have the noun 'pet' agree in number with the number of 'kind', but it is not absolutely necessary; A in particular sounds odd with mixed number. Nevertheless, you will hear all permutations from native speakers in conversation.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Nie]

Thanks a lot Mister Micawber :)