I am confused by this video, in which the speaker claims usages like 'How to say egg in Chinese' is incorrect, and 'How do you say egg in Chinese' is correct. Is it right?
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1It's "How do you say 'egg' in English?"– Hot LicksCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 1:22
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1Question belongs on ell.stackexchange.com -- Q&A for speakers of other languages learning English– Hot LicksCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 1:24
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There's something a bit odd about the reasoning implicit in the statement "How to [or do you] say [some English word] in English?"– Sven YargsCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 4:12
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The problem is idioms. "How do you say" is an idiom. "How do I say" is an idiom. "How to say" is an idiom but only for non-native English speakers, particularly Chinese. English is particular in demanding a subject for every sentence. This trips up some non-native speakers. So much so that "How to say" is seen as a stereotypical mistake, even when it's grammatically correct.– candied_orangeCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 14:26
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Here is a correct exchange followed by a wrong one. Right: Hank: "How do you say 'egg' in Chinese?" Chi: "Hi, Hank! This is how to say 'egg' in Chinese: [insert Chinese speak]" ---- Wrong: Hank: "How to say 'egg' in Chinese?" Chi: "Hi, Hank! This is how do you say 'egg' in Chinese: [insert Chinese speak]"– Born2SmileCommented Feb 7, 2016 at 3:07
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