Wh question with verb 'be'

Question

Hello TeachersI am a bit confused about the structure of wh- questions with verb 'be'. Kindly, check itWh- word + be + subject + complement?For example:Why             are       you            sick?And, sometimes we don't need a complement  in the sentence like this:How          are       you?

BillJ · Accepted Answer

The functions of the question word are different:

[1] Why are you sick?

Here, the adverb "why" is an adjunct (adverbial). It questions the reason you are sick, where "sick" is an adjectival predicative complement. A typical answer would be "... because I have the flu". Note that since "why" is an adjunct, it can be dropped with no loss of grammaticality.

[2] How are you?

Here, the adjective "how" is predicative complement (PC). It doesn't question a specific property of "you" like "why" does in [1]. Rather, it enquires about your general well-being (health) and would typically bring the response "I am well, thank you", where "well" is an adjectival PC, just as "how" is in the question. Since "how" is a predicative complement it is obligatory -- dropping it would render the sentence ungrammatical.

Anonymous · Answer

So the structure I wrote is correct right?

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the answer. I have seen many teacher teach that the structure of be with wh- question is this:

Wh- word + be + subject

I know this is also correct but don't you think that this structure doesn't fit for other examples.

For example:

Why are you sad?

What's your opinion about it?

Wh question with verb 'be'

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