Phrasing

Question

What is the difference between - Tell me what the truth is X Tell me what was the truthor - I found out what the black cube was X I found out what was the black cube.Thanks a lotLukas

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

OK

"Tell me what the truth is" <--This is a simple question. You want to know the truth.

"Tell me what the truth was" <--The "was" here implies either:

1) What was true before is no longer true.

-or-

2) You heard some sentences, and want to know which of them were true.

"I found out what the black cube was." <--You found a black cube, now you know what it is.

"I found out what was the black cube." <--You were looking at many objects. Any of them could have been the black cube. You found the one that was the black cube.

CalifJim · Answer

I found out what the black cube was. Correct.

I found out what was the black cube. Wrong.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

So another example:

They told me in which room the thing I was supposed to steal was - correct?
They told me in which room was the thing I was supposed to steal - wrong?

Does it really matter? What is the general rule for this kind of phrasing?

Thanks a lot

Lukas

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Consider this:

She asked me: "what is John's last name?". Correct

She asked me what is John's last name. Incorrect

She asked me what John's last name is. Correct

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhat is the general rule for this kind of phrasing?

Invert subject and verb for direct questions. (Where is the knife?) Do not invert for indirect questions. (I have no idea where the knife is.)

In which room was the thing I was supposed to steal? (Direct. Invert.)
They told me in which room the thing I was supposed to steal was. (Indirect. Don't invert.)

However, when a heavy clause (a clause with a lot of words) causes the simple subject (the thing) to be separated from the verb (was), you may be able to move the verb closer to the subject in an indirect question (still without inverting), thus:

They told me in which room the thing was that I was supposed to steal.
_________
In short, your example, They told me in which room was the thing I was supposed to steal, is wrong.

_________

Note that in English you can also strand the preposition after the verb, thus:

They told me which room the thing I was supposed to steal was in.
They told me which room the thing was in that I was supposed to steal.

CJ

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