who/did

Question

Hi guysWhy in this question we do not use "did": Who brought you up? (instead of: Who did bring you up?)And in this one we do: Who did you look up to? (instead of: Who you looked up to?)thanks

Tanit · Accepted Answer

NewguestHi guys

Why in this question we do not use "did": Who brought you up? (instead of: Who did bring you up?)

And in this one we do: Who did you look up to? (instead of: Who you looked up to?)

Hi,

It has to do with the role of "who". Is it the subject (as in Who brought you up?) or is it the object (as in Who did you look up to?)?
Here's a brief extract from a page from BBC Learning English that explains the differences between these two types of sentences:

When the question word is the subject - 'who' in this example - the auxiliary 'do' isn't needed and the word order is:
subject (who) + verb (wants) + object or complement (more coffee).
A. Who wants more coffee?

...

Here's one where the question word is acting as an object:
A. Who did you meet there?
B. I met an old friend.
In this example, 'who' is the question word and 'did' is the auxiliary.
'Who' is referring to the object of the sentence, the person I met.

Compare:
Who saw you?>>> "Who" is the subject. You were seen by somebody.
Who did you see? >>> "Who" is the object. You saw somebody. (Strictly speaking, this one should be "Whom did you see?" ... but in everyday conversations "Who did you see?" is far more common).

Newguest · Answer

Thank you very much!!!

CalifJim · Answer

NewguestWhy in this question we do not use "did": Who brought you up? (instead of: Who did bring you up?)

And in this one we do: Who did you look up to? (instead of: Who you looked up to?)

Compare the expected answer to the question. Note the position of the question word and the position of the answer word.

Who brought you up? X brought me up.
Who did you look up to? I looked up to X.
If the word that answers the question is first in the answer, ask the question in the same order as the answer. Don't use do, does, or did.
(This is basically the same answer as Tanit gave. Tanit's is technically more correct. Mine is a good guideline.)
CJ

Newguest · Answer

Hi

What about this sentence: Which bank offered him the best rate? I might answer: X bank offered him the best rate OR The best rate offered him X bank.

Do the same rules as above apply here?

CalifJim · Answer

NewguestThe best rate offered him X bank.

This sentence is not grammatical, so I'm not quite sure what you're asking or how to answer you.

CJ

Newguest · Answer

CalifJim
NewguestThe best rate offered him X bank.
This sentence is not grammatical, so I'm not quite sure what you're asking or how to answer you.

CJ

Hi

So I conclude that the only option to answer this question is to say: Citibank offered him the best rate. I thought that if I said: The best rate offered him Citibank - would also be correct?

thanks

CalifJim · Answer

NewguestI thought that if I said: The best rate offered him Citibank - would also be correct?

No. You thought wrong. It's not correct. Sorry.

CJ

Newguest · Answer

CalifJim
NewguestI thought that if I said: The best rate offered him Citibank - would also be correct?
No. You thought wrong. It's not correct. Sorry.

CJ

Hi again

Can you tell me what's incorrect about this sentence, or does it just sound strange to you and it's hard to explain what is wrong with it?

CalifJim · Answer

The best rate offered him Citibank.
It really seems all right to you?
How could a rate (a total abstraction) make an offer to someone? Why would a rate give someone a bank?

Did the 3.5% (the rate) leap off the page and say to him, "How would you like to have a bank? I can give you a bank if you want one."

CJ

Nona the brit · Answer

Just because A offers you B, it doesn't mean you can reverse it to B offering you A. It's not the same thing at all.

'Jane offered me a cake' is not the same as 'A cake offered me Jane'. You have to say 'a cake was offered to me by Jane' to get the same meaning. Otherwise the cake itself is doing the offering.

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