Grammar

Question

Hi all, any help is greatly appreciated!

Which sentence is correct?

1. What do you think the objective of the poster is?

2. What do you think is the objective of the poster?

I would think is 2. but I’d like to confirm.

Thank you!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Both are correct. The grammatical pattern in sentence 2 is used more often. I found the following sentences on fraze.it within the first 60 examples of "what do you think".

Type 1. Five examples.

What do you think the chances are of Travis Henry and Javon Walker being waived?
What do you think the most significant environmental moments of the decade were?
And what do you think his role will be, flashback or something more substantial?
What do you think the odds are that Spags chooses McDaniel to function as both?
What do you think it is, and what are some steps I can take in dealing with this?

Type 2. Twelve examples.

What do you think are the motives for participants on each side of the conflict?
What do you think are the goals of the North Korean regime, other than survival?
What do you think are some of our biggest financial and economic challenges now?
What do you think would be the result if airlines began offering such an option?
What do you think are the obstacles to attracting scientists to public service?
What do you think were the top ten stories of the decade that's coming to an end?
What do you think are his chances of signing a contract for Syracuse this year?
What do you think might be the potential benefits and downsides of this strategy?
What do you think are some factors that might be used to measure economic growth?
So, in all seriousness, what do you think would be the best realistic solution?
What do you think might be the value, if any, of this accomplishment for society?
What do you think might be the benefits or drawbacks of pursuing these options?

The only case I see in the list that would sound wrong in Pattern 2 is "What do you think it is?" In other words, "What do you think is it?" sounds wrong.

CJ

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