Wh questions/help

Wh questions/help
Message from leenah posted on 28-10-2015 at 11:32:16 (D | E | F)
Hello all
I need your help, Can you help me to teach the (Wh questions )to my students?I want to know one thing that I don't understand,in making questions.
we should begin with the ( question word + verb + subject )?
Ex: What is she doing ?
Where are they going ?
but I found a question like this:
What colour is number 2 ? can I say: What is the colour of number 2?
Why are Anna and Ming very excited? can I say: Why Anna and Ming are very excited?
I want to understand what is correct and why ? thank you in advance.
Best regards.


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Edited by lucile83 on 28-10-2015 15:55

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Re: Wh questions/help from clint01, posted on 28-10-2015 at 21:56:54 (D | E)
Hello,
I think you can say "What is the colour of ...?" But I am afraid you cannot say "Why they are very excited?".

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Re: Wh questions/help from athens2014, posted on 29-10-2015 at 10:37:29 (D | E)
Hello,
If you replace the subject "Anna and Ming" with "they", it will be easier to understand the correct row. "Why are they very excited?"

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Re: Wh questions/help from sherry48, posted on 29-10-2015 at 13:27:40 (D | E)
Hello.
Your rule that we should begin with the ( question word + verb + subject )is correct.
Questions starting with who, where, when, and why follow your rule.

What colour is number 2 ? can I say: What is the colour of number 2? It is possible to say the second, but it sounds less natural.
Why are Anna and Ming very excited? can I say: Why Anna and Ming are very excited? The second is not correct; it doesn't follow your rule above.

For questions with what, there is usually another word between what and the verb, to make it clear what information you want to know.
What time is it?
What (telephone)number are you calling?
Sometimes the meaning is clear. What are you eating? It is not necessary to include food (What food are you eating?), since it is clear.

The same could be said for questions with which.
Which book is yours?
Which question is correct?
Which one do you prefer? Here the word 'one' can be implied, so Which do you prefer? is also correct.

Hope this helps.
Sherry

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Re: Wh questions/help from traviskidd, posted on 29-10-2015 at 14:20:46 (D | E)
Hello. The rule "question word + auxiliary + subject + main verb" only applies when the question word is part of the predicate. If the question word is the subject, then the order doesn't change from the indicative.

"Where did he go? He went to the mall." (predicate)
"Who took my book? He took my book." (subject)

If the verb is "be", then two consequences follow:
1) "Be" does not take "do" as an auxiliary: "Where is he?" and not "Where does he be?"
2) It is less clear whether the question word is the subject or is in the predicate:

"What is your favorite color?"
- "Blue is my favorite color." (subject)
- "My favorite color is blue." (predicate)

P.S. "Color" is correctly spelled in American English. (And so is "spelled" )

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