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Sunny Yen Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Direct/indirect question
First of all, I know that if we ask "who is he.", normally the indirect question which corresponds with it should be "who he is." (for example: do you know who he is?)
Still, recently, one question has been worried me. Here's what I'm thinking about: The way in which we form indirect questions seems to depend on how we identify the correct subject of the sentence, and this is exactly the reason why we sometimes find that the word order in both a indirect question and a direct question are actually the same, because the subject of the direct question happens to be the subject of the original statement. For example, if the direct question is "how many of you are hungry for success", the indirect question which corresponds with it should be "how many of you are hungry for success." (for example: do you know how many of you are hungry for success?), because the subject of the original statement is "many of you" (many of you are hungry for success.)
Here comes the problem: do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"? (which should explain why we always say do you know who he is but not who is he). It seems to me that without this assumption there's no way we can identity the real subject in the kind of questions like "who is he".
A question like "who is he" usually comes from a statement in the form of "A is B.". From this statement, It is possible to form both "Who is A." and "Who is B." In the former question the subject is "A", and in the latter question the subject is "who". Based on the rule from which we form indirect questions, there are actually two possible indirect questions here. One would be "do you know who A is?", and another would be "do you know who is B?".
I know this is quite puzzling, and perhaps sounds very unnatural to the ears of natives. But I really want to be sure whether sentences in the form of "do you know who is he." are truly grammatically wrong. I actually came across some cases in which there seemed to be nothing wrong with the usage of "do you know who is he".
(This one, for example: http://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/8046085494
Still, recently, one question has been worried me. Here's what I'm thinking about: The way in which we form indirect questions seems to depend on how we identify the correct subject of the sentence, and this is exactly the reason why we sometimes find that the word order in both a indirect question and a direct question are actually the same, because the subject of the direct question happens to be the subject of the original statement. For example, if the direct question is "how many of you are hungry for success", the indirect question which corresponds with it should be "how many of you are hungry for success." (for example: do you know how many of you are hungry for success?), because the subject of the original statement is "many of you" (many of you are hungry for success.)
Here comes the problem: do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"? (which should explain why we always say do you know who he is but not who is he). It seems to me that without this assumption there's no way we can identity the real subject in the kind of questions like "who is he".
A question like "who is he" usually comes from a statement in the form of "A is B.". From this statement, It is possible to form both "Who is A." and "Who is B." In the former question the subject is "A", and in the latter question the subject is "who". Based on the rule from which we form indirect questions, there are actually two possible indirect questions here. One would be "do you know who A is?", and another would be "do you know who is B?".
I know this is quite puzzling, and perhaps sounds very unnatural to the ears of natives. But I really want to be sure whether sentences in the form of "do you know who is he." are truly grammatically wrong. I actually came across some cases in which there seemed to be nothing wrong with the usage of "do you know who is he".
(This one, for example: http://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/8046085494
Top answer
do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"? Yes, we usually do. Probably always.
- do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"?
- Yes, we usually do.
- Probably always.
- " Yes.
- Equative sentences are what cause this problem — if you think it's a problem.
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3 Answers
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???do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"?Yes, we usually do. Probably always.
???A question like "who is he" usually comes from a statement in the form of "A is B."Yes. Equative sentences are what cause this problem — if you think
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Thanks for the reply! I found your answer quite reasonable, but I still have one question to ask.
You said "With just the pronoun "he" (or "she", etc.), they are wrong". I wonder if this hold for the cases in which they are nouns like "father" or "president'?
For example, is it grammatical to say something like "Do you know who is the 45th President of the United States"? (or sh
You said "With just the pronoun "he" (or "she", etc.), they are wrong". I wonder if this hold for the cases in which they are nouns like "father" or "president'?
For example, is it grammatical to say something like "Do you know who is the 45th President of the United States"? (or sh
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???I wonder if this holds for the cases in which they are nouns like "father" or "president'?Yes. I wonder who the father is. I have no idea who the president is.
???should we always say "Do you know who the 45th President of the United States is"?Yes, but realize that this gram
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