0
Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
What
Hi,
There is a book by Jeremy Paxman, a prominent British journalist, titled: 'Empire: What Ruling the World Did to the British.'
And my question is: Is the clause "What Ruling the World Did to the British" a statement or a question? If it is a question then, in my opinion, it should be ended with a question mark. On the other hand, if it's a statement, then how come that the word "what" lost its interrogative, grammatical mood in the title?
Thank you.
There is a book by Jeremy Paxman, a prominent British journalist, titled: 'Empire: What Ruling the World Did to the British.'
And my question is: Is the clause "What Ruling the World Did to the British" a statement or a question? If it is a question then, in my opinion, it should be ended with a question mark. On the other hand, if it's a statement, then how come that the word "what" lost its interrogative, grammatical mood in the title?
Thank you.
Top answer
The title is a statement. There is nothing exceptional about it. Why can be used in the same way to introduce statements: Why You Should Never Question the Judgment of Your Wife (Look whom she married).
- The title is a statement.
- There is nothing exceptional about it.
- Why can be used in the same way to introduce statements: Why You Should Never Question the Judgment of Your Wife (Look whom she married).
- Corresponding words in other languages are used in the same way.
- It's a universal phenomenon.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
The title is a statement. There is nothing exceptional about it. Why can be used in the same way to introduce statements: Why You Should Never Question the Judgment of Your Wife (Look whom she married). Corresponding words in other languages are used in the same way. It's a universal phenomenon.
CB
CB
00
0
May I add my comments to Cool Breeze's excellent answer?
Sometimes "what" is used as a relative pronoun that means "that which" or "the thing that," etc.
For example: I know what you did. = I know the thing that you did.
So in the book's title, maybe we could interpret it as: Empire: The Things That Ruling the World Did to the British.
(I assume that Mr. Paxma
Sometimes "what" is used as a relative pronoun that means "that which" or "the thing that," etc.
For example: I know what you did. = I know the thing that you did.
So in the book's title, maybe we could interpret it as: Empire: The Things That Ruling the World Did to the British.
(I assume that Mr. Paxma
0
Related Questions