English grammar help! confused about the changes in sentence structure

Question

English grammar help!
Hi there! I hope this forum will be helpful to improve my grammar, following are the problem areas which I would like to share with you guys.

Problem 1
"Today we will discuss the role of British companies in international market. Our guest is Mr Anderson who is CEO of a company, 1.Mr Anderson tell us what your company does and how you see the increasing presence of British companies in other countries. 2. So tell us why do you think our government must focus on a balanced economy".

I was listening an interview on radio 4 where I noticed the following questions. Could anyone explain why in question 1 does come at the end and after how do is omitted. If this is because of embedded question why is that rule not implemented on question 2, for example, instead of tell us why do you it must have been tell us why you think....Please help me to understand why different sentence structure has been used after tell us

Problem 2

1. Could you tell me what the best price plan is?
2. could you advise me what the best possible option is?

"I would like to know if the above mentioned structure is correct and if not why? As we use similar structure when asking" Do you know where the university is".

Problem 3

A teacher in classroom giving directions to solve a case study.....

"In this case study you have to find out why do workers dislike the manager. Please analyse the scenario and figure out where can we bring improvements this workplace. Please focus on what is the real issue".

According to my understanding of noun clause instead of why do workers it must be why works dislike.... And similarly where we can instead of where can we bring.....and what the real issue is instead of what is the real issue.What do you think about the correct pattern?

I would really appreciate your help regarding that
Regards

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

AskToLearnProblem 1
"Today we will discuss the role of British companies in international market. Our guest is Mr Anderson who is CEO of a company, 1.Mr Anderson tell us what your company does and how you see the increasing presence of British companies in other countries. 2. So tell us why do you think our government must focus on a balanced economy".

I was listening an interview on radio 4 where I noticed the following questions. Could anyone explain why in question 1 does come at the end and after how do is omitted. If this is because of embedded question why is that rule not implemented on question 2, for example, instead of tell us why do you it must have been tell us why you think..Please help me to understand why different sentence structure has been used after tell us

"Today we will discuss the role of British companies in international markets. Our guest is Mr. Anderson who is the CEO of a company.

1. Mr. Anderson, tell us what your company does - this structure is fine.
The clause "what your company does" is the object of "tell"

and how you see the increasing presence of British companies in other countries.
"how you see" is idiomatic - it is asking "what is your opinion about".

Another way to write this:
Mr. Anderson, tell us what your company does and your opinion about the role of British companies in international markets.

AskToLearnProblem 2

1. Could you tell me what the best price plan is?
2. Could you advise me what the best possible option is?

"I would like to know if the above mentioned structure is correct and if not why? As we use similar structure when asking" Do you know where the university is".

The structure is fine, but statement #2 is not a very natural use of advise.
Here are natural sentences:

I don't know what the best option is. Could you advise me?
Could you advise me how to pick the best option?
Could you advise me what to do?
Could you advise me on what the best option is?

AskToLearnProblem 3
A teacher in classroom giving directions to solve a case study..

"In this case study you have to find out why do workers dislike the manager. Please analyse the scenario and figure out where can we bring improvements this workplace. Please focus on what is the real issue".

According to my understanding of noun clause instead of why do workers it must be why works dislike.. And similarly where we can instead of where can we bring..and what the real issue is instead of what is the real issue.What do you think about the correct pattern?

I have made some suggestions to make this passage more natural:

A teacher in a/the classroom giving directions to solve (solve is really not the right verb, one can consider or analyze a case study) a case study..
"In this case study, you have to find out why do the workers dislike the manager. Please analyse the scenario and figure out where ~~can~~ we can make ~~bring~~ improvements to this workplace. Please focus on what is the real issue is".

Anonymous · Answer

Dear!
I really appriciate your help! Many thanks for brilliant answars in such a short time. I work in an English speaking environment which demands fluent speaking skills. I have learnt some improtant concepts , now, I will be able to focus more on speaking instead of thinking about these questions. I have few other questions to ask you hopefully your help will make my life easy...these questions are also related to change in sentence structure.

Problem 1:
According to grammar rules, after the verbs of thinking and saying (e.g. know, understand, explain) or a noun, when we use a wh-clause, the sentence structure is changed from interrogative to statement or it becomes the object of the noun. For example:
1. I tried to explain how accident happened.
2. The reason why he left the job is that he joined the university.

I do understand this structure and have no problem with that But I have noticed the anchors and even my university teachers that with the verb "think" they do not apply 'this rule' for example, one of my teachers said..
1." after having a look at your results I was thinking why did you ignore my instructions ?" instead of "why you ignored my instructions?" another example:
2." I used to think why did *** create this world?" instead of " I used to think why *** created this world?.
Could you please explain me why above mentioned ruled is not followed with the verb 'think'. Is that just a commonly accepted mistake or there is some logic behind that.
Again many thanks!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anonymous1." after having a look at your results I was thinking why did you ignore my instructions ?" instead of "why you ignored my instructions?" another example:
2." I used to think why did *** create this world?" instead of " I used to think why *** created this world?.

Your quotation is not precisely correct. Here is the correct form:

... after having a look at your results I was thinking, "Why did you ignore my instructions?"

Think, when it means to ask oneself a question, is followed by direct speech (the question itself).
I thought to myself, "Why doesn't he understand me?"

Asking yourself a question is usually a reaction to some situation, a one-time event.

She promised she would come at 5:00. But, as was her usual habit, she didn't arrive until nearly 6:00. He thought, "Why is she always late? Doesn't she respect me?"

After the decision is made in your mind, the question changes to your answer, that is, a statement. Then the object of think can be a clause stating that conclusion:

He thought (his opinion was) that she didn't respect him.

2. I used to think, "Why did *** create this world?"
You were probably contemplating the possible reasons, not just reacting to something by asking yourself a question. To give that meaning, the clause is the object of a preposition (actually, it is probably the phrasal verb think about):

I used to think about why *** created this world.

AskToLearn · Answer

Your answers are much appreciated and I would say" You have really helped me to understand these topics". In fact I asked these questions to many other people but no one could give me satisfactory response. These are not just answers but a great help! I would like to ask another question and again it is related to wh sentences. The reason why I have got many queries about wh sentences because in my language there is no change in sentence structure. Whereas in English language sometimes we change sentence structure and sometimes we don't 'for certain reasons e.g. noun clause, indirect speech etc'. This time my question is about the following issue:

I have observed many people on BBC R 4 programs that during their conversation, they DO NOT use do/does/did with question/interrogative sentences beginning with wh words. As we have discussed earlier, that before noun clause there is no change in sentence structure and these axillaries/helping verbs are not used with wh and same is the case with indirect speech or polite questions. But why do they omit do/does/did when none of these reasons exist? I would give an example of a situation in which an anchor person is discussing an issue with one of the guests:
Example 1:
Topic: strange Brand names (apple, orange etc)
Guest: I do not believe that a brand name should exactly refer to what company does. Look at Apple, it has nothing to do with apples or fruits but this company is doing really very well with this completely different brand name from its products.
Anchor: But why you believe that it does not affect customers' perception about company. How you can justify company's philosophy with these completely different name. How you see the future of these strange brand memes.
The anchor did not say" why do you believe, how can you justify, and how do you see" what is the logic behind that? because these are clearly interrogative sentences and the speaker wants to inquire something from the opponent. Is that only to make the sentence short and simple or there is some other logic behind that?
Please help me with you answer I would be grateful to you

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AskToLearnAnchor: But why you believe that it does not affect customers' perception about company. How you can justify company's philosophy with these completely different name. How you see the future of these strange brand memes.

These questions are not correct. Perhaps the anchor was speaking quickly and you didn't hear the auxilliary verbs. If the conversation was sub-texted, sometimes mistakes are made and words are left out.

This is what the transcription should be:

But why do you believe that it does not affect the customers' perception about the company? How can you can justify the company's philosophy with these completely different names?
How do you see the future of these strange brand names?

AskToLearn · Answer

Dear AlpheccaStars

Thanks for your reply and concern towards my questions. I also appreciate your understanding towards the subject matter. May *** bless you for doing such a great job. I wish you best of luck and success in your life!

Kind Regads

AskToLearn · Answer

Dear AlpheccaStars

I am thankful to you for your previous answers which helped me a lot to speak in English without unnecessary mental stress. Could you help me again regarding a problem which I am not able to justify according to my knowledge of English language? While listening a program (Down the Line on BBC R4) a caller started his conversation with the host and the topic was 'Alcohol Vs Drugs' he was like:
Host: what are you calling up today
Caller: well you have got this debate on alcohal vs. drugs, why people like yous trying to drive a wedge between drugs and alcohol.(this is what I could understand to drive a wedge but it does not matter as my question is regarding the previous part of the sentence)
Host: we are not trying to drive a wedge between alcohol and drugs.....

My question is regarding not using are before people, could you explain the reason why the caller did not say like: why are people like you trying to..... I am also sending you the link(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b010626t ) so that you can have a better idea about this question. This conversation starts from 9.00 minutes to 9.18 minutes (only 18 seconds) . I don't know if it plays in your region but I do hope you have some idea about my question. I would really appreciate your response.
Regard

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Honestly, please give me a break!

The caller admitted that he had been taking alcohol and drugs for at least the past three days and he was as drunk as anyone I've ever heard. On the recording, his speech is slurred, he repeats himself all the time, and he talks stupidly. How can you expect this to be a paragon of flawless elocution?

English grammar help! confused about the changes in sentence structure

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