Questions tagged [questions]
This tag is for questions related to the formation, or answering of questions.
1,056
questions
0
votes
0
answers
5
views
What's the difference between "either" and "at the same time"? [migrated]
I can't carry a heavy bag and a heavy heart, either.
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Can I say this instead?
I can't carry a heavy bag and a heavy heart at the same time.
- 1
-3
votes
0
answers
34
views
Missing auxiliary in "What I got to do to make you care?" [closed]
Why doesn't the first line have an auxiliary to make it interrogative?
These lines are from Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, featuring Elton John:
What I got to do to make you care?
What do I do ...
-3
votes
0
answers
21
views
societies are facing a growing problem with obesity. this affects both children and adults. what are the reasons and how could it be tackled [closed]
Recently, our societies are suffering an enormous increase in obesity in international scale. In my country VietNam, for example, whose people are known for their skiny body types, now are diagnosed ...
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
Is 'neither nor' available to use in interrogative sentences or is there any other natural usage? [closed]
Is 'neither nor' available to use in an interrogative sentence, such as
'Do you like neither apples nor oranges?' Or, is there any other common usage?
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Is there any situation in spoken English where it is acceptable to commence a sentence with "So"? [duplicate]
I've been listening to television news broadcasts for more years than I care to admit to, but over the past 12 months, have observed that it has become common-place for interviewees to answer a ...
- 1,023
5
votes
2
answers
179
views
Where better to whet one's grammar?
I wonder if all interrogative pronouns can be used in structures like
Where better to learn about the resilience of life?
For example,
Who better to repair my car?
How better to cook potatoes than ...
- 63
5
votes
2
answers
988
views
We know how expensive we are
We know how expensive we are.
I cannot for the life of me decide if this is supposed to be interpreted as a complement clause or an embedded question or what.
My thought process so far is that it ...
0
votes
2
answers
73
views
'Who's a clever girl!' vs. 'Who's a clever girl?' [duplicate]
Does the punctuation mark at the end change the meaning and intonation?
Do we have similar structures like 'Who's a clever girl!", where the word order suggests the interrogative sentence?
- 11
3
votes
3
answers
324
views
Why is the structure interrogative-which-word – subject – verb (including question mark) being used so often? Is it grammatical?
I've noticed that more and more headlines of articles and ads (excluding those in more traditional online media) are of the structure interrogative-subject-verb instead of interrogative-verb-subject.
...
- 193
1
vote
2
answers
59
views
Is it possible to construct a question out of a resultative predicate?
I've seen contradictory answers to this question. Do any of the following how-sentences with resultative adjectives sound remotely fine to you native speakers? Or are they all bad? Is there a cline of ...
- 463
1
vote
2
answers
178
views
What's a term for a question where the options are Response/No Response instead of Yes/No?
Is there a specific term for a question, such as Are you asleep? and Can you hear me?, where the binary is Response/No Response rather than Yes/No?
I feel like there are other aspects of this concept ...
1
vote
1
answer
40
views
Do I need a question mark at end of statement ending in a parenthetical question? [duplicate]
If a sentence ends with a question offset by an em-dash does it end with a period or a question mark? This is the example:
Lucy scans for forgotten manglow mentions, but the margin notes contain only ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
65
views
Is the question ""Does it exist what I'm looking for?" " the most usual way to ask a question in this meaning? [closed]
I'm doing a translation from Portuguese to English, and I've found a phrase that is a simple question, but I don't know if it exists, because it simply doesn't exist on Google, with one exception.
&...
- 113
0
votes
1
answer
359
views
What is the difference between 'can', 'could' and 'would you mind' in asking questions? [closed]
For me these 3 have the same meaning, but i just could not differentiate what the subtle difference between them, maybe 'would you mind' is more polite then the other two?
- 3
1
vote
0
answers
70
views
Negatives and Interrogatives with and without subject-verb inversion: "Didn't you have a lecture today?" vs "You didn't have a lecture today?"
"Didn't you have a lecture today?" vs "You didn't have a lecture today?"
Regarding the aforementioned clauses, from "experience", I can surmise different, subtle nuances. ...
- 244
2
votes
1
answer
27
views
Is that grammatically correct if I wrote “where is the sense when”
I'm writing a song, and I’m not sure if it would be acceptable if I said
Where’s the sense when you clip the wings of angels?
Is it grammatically correct or not ?
4
votes
2
answers
352
views
Is "We do not have any such." a valid response?
I'm filling out a form and one the requests is something to the effect of:
Please provide any tax audit reports and tax credit filings from the past two years.
What I would like to respond is:
We ...
- 143
0
votes
0
answers
26
views
Comma joining a question and a quoted speech
I find this sentence in a paper:
If this coming to awareness is true good luck, why would Shi Tiesheng need designer luck, he asks: “perhaps I’m already the darling of fate?”
Apparently, the author ...
- 25
0
votes
3
answers
207
views
Difference between how and why
I know how and why are different, but in certain situations it seems like the same answer would work for both of them. “How is the boy so big?” “Why is the boy so big?” Would the answer to both of ...
- 11
2
votes
2
answers
133
views
Are English negative polarity questions biased?
A friend and I had a question about a sentence that we encountered:
Didn't you want to pay for something that was too much?
My friend argues that sentence is fairly neutral clarifying in a neutral ...
- 129
1
vote
0
answers
19
views
When asking a question indirectly, should I still put the verb first? [duplicate]
For example, what is correct:
Can you also tell me where I can find...
or
Can you also tell me where can I find...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
148
views
In which clause does 'How' of "How do you think I feel" belong?
(1) How do you think I feel?
Semantically, (1) asks the listener's opinion about how the speaker feels. So it's syntactically natural that the verb think has as its complement a subordinate clause I ...
- 6,481
-1
votes
1
answer
84
views
Is "Exists there an alternative to PHP?" considered "old English"? [closed]
I like this way:
Exists there an alternative to PHP?
But there's also:
Is there an alternative to PHP?
And:
Does it exist an alternative to PHP?
Or maybe:
Does there exist an alternative to PHP?...
5
votes
1
answer
76
views
"Are there...?" with and without the word "any" [closed]
I am wondering about the usage of the word "any" with the construction "Are there...?".
Does it makes any difference if I ask
Are there any books on the shelf?
or
Are there ...
- 51
0
votes
1
answer
71
views
A combination of a singular and plural noun in a question
Which country or countries do you think they are?
Is that sentence grammatically correct?
It'd be incredibly awkward to say
Which country or countries do you think it is or they are?
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
102
views
Answers to a negative statement that then ends in ", right?"
There are lots of answers here on how to answer to negative questions like "Don't you ...?", e.g. How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?. But I am not sure about answers to a ...
1
vote
0
answers
25
views
How to define someone who is more efficient than the actual person responsible for the task?
Like we say "Holier than the pope" to define someone who acts more pious than the priest. I cannot recall expression for someone who acts over-efficiently over a matter than does not concern ...
0
votes
1
answer
62
views
I am not going to school => Amn't I going to school? [closed]
You are not going to school => Aren't you going to school? // this is correct, right?
I am not going to school => Amn't I going to school? // something's wrong here.
How to build the correct ...
- 215
-1
votes
1
answer
224
views
"What number of president is Joe Biden?" Is this correct? [duplicate]
I know that Joe Biden is the 46th president of USA, but if I was to ask this as a question what would that be?
0
votes
1
answer
116
views
Have you a name?
In The Dig, a video game, character Maggie asks a question this way (full script here):
MAGGIE: Have you a name?
CREATOR: I had a name, when I was alive. Now that I am again and again dead, what need ...
- 117
0
votes
1
answer
135
views
Is "Why?" (said in a neutral tone) considered to be an aggressive word in English language? [closed]
I am a non-native English speaker although I lived in UK for 5+ years.
I had a conversation with a colleague today and he claims that using "why?" in conversation is an aggressive thing to ...
0
votes
0
answers
9
views
Assertive clause with comma followed by an interrogative [duplicate]
Can we write in the following manner? A complete question is embedded in an assertive sentence separated by a comma:
He thought, how can I complete this task?
- 1
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
If saying 'Why can't I ...?' is correct, would 'Why cannot I ...?' be technically correct?
Why can't I ...?
is perfectly correct grammar as far as I can tell. But what happens if the contraction is removed,
Why cannot I ...?
This sounds bizarre, but would this be technically correct ...
- 231
0
votes
2
answers
81
views
What is correct: "did you do smth and do smth" or "Did you do smth and did smth"?
I'm trying to figure out which form is correct when composing such a question:
"Did you go there and forget to eat?"
"Did you go there and forgot to eat?"
Not the most creative ...
0
votes
2
answers
223
views
When to capitalize (or not) the first letter in a question [closed]
Is it proper to capitalize the first letter in EVERY question or is it correct to NOT capitalize it when the question is preceded by a coma, colon, or semicolon within a sentence?
Many thanks!
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
50
views
How would you punctuate a question with an explanatory sentence?
I'm trying to write an article, but I am confused about how to punctuate this question:
How about a birthday gift? A little something to show you care.
Should it rather be punctuated with an em-dash ...
3
votes
3
answers
335
views
Embedded phrases and clauses in "May I know..." questions
Hello everyone and thank you for your consideration. I am a professional English teacher and I usually can find answers for every grammar question, but I have one student that is very good at coming ...
- 33
0
votes
2
answers
816
views
Now is the time. vs. The time is now
I need help with this:
Now is the time
vs
The time is now
For example - Now is the time to go to the store, or The time is now to go to the store.
Which is correct?
0
votes
0
answers
25
views
Is “Do you be?” a grammatical and meaningful sentence in present-day English? [duplicate]
Suppose you were asked the question:
Do you be?
I wonder what you would understand it to mean, and I wonder how you would answer it.
- 109
-2
votes
3
answers
391
views
What's the best way to call someone who delivers small packages at the door? [closed]
What term for he/she will sound best?
Delivery boy?
Delivery person?
Delivery men?
Deliverer?
Courier?
Thanks!
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
What is it called when an author uses a question mark without a question attached? [duplicate]
My specific example is from a passage in Fahrenheit 451 (although I've seen it used colloquially as well):
Click? Pic? Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
Adjective similar to "in-depth" or "slow-paced" [closed]
I need to know whether there's an adjective that could work in this sentence:
I will provide ___ help so you can solve problems independently.
I hope that the answer could be similar to "in-...
- 11
2
votes
3
answers
197
views
Is it possible to make a declarative sentence starting with 'Can'?
everyone
As the title shows, is it possible to make a declarative sentence starting with "Can"?
For example, 'Please, can we request that you do not accept any proposals from him.'
The ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
269
views
Why do Indian people usually ask questions in English using the first-person-plural form?
I don't know much about the languages spoken in India, so I'm going to assume the speaker is speaking Hindi natively.
I've noticed that whenever a question is asked in an English forum, and it ...
hjf
1
vote
1
answer
543
views
The phrase "belong to" in a question [duplicate]
Can we separate the words "belong" and "to" in a question like this?
To what language family does English belong?
0
votes
1
answer
492
views
Omitting auxiliary verbs
Native speakers often tend to simplify their language, for example they shorten phrases ("I would like to" becomes "I'd like to", etc.).
Taking this into account, do native English ...
- 239
1
vote
0
answers
45
views
When can an embedded interrogative clause exhibit Subject-Auxiliary Inversion? [duplicate]
I found in a comic book an interesting example of an embedded interrogative that had Subject-Auxiliary Inversion (SAI): I'm not too sure what exactly is it that you're asking. Is this Standard English ...
- 463
1
vote
2
answers
92
views
Is this structure being used in English: "Can you be free not to do something"? [closed]
On an Instagram page, I heard of a structure being used when you actually ask someone not to do something. The structure was: "Can you be free not to Infinitive...?"
For example:
Can you be ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
33
views
Goodly/godly, loose/lose - name of the rhetorical device? [closed]
What is the name of the following rhetorical device?
loose - lose
goodly - godly
(not in the sense that both words are used in a text but that one is used while implicitly implying the other, e.g. ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
178
views
“What are” or “What is” in a quiz? [duplicate]
I want to ask a typical quiz question for children.
In a park, there are 10 bird boxes attached to several trees.
The answer in this particular case is plural: bird boxes.
Which question is correct?
...
