English grammar drills part 17 potx

104 Noun Phrases
Wh- word as adverb of cause
I know you did it why. ⇒ I know why you did it ∅.
Wh- word as adverb of manner
I know you did it how. ⇒ I know how you did it ∅.
Exercise 7.6
Use Rule 2 to move the wh- word to the beginning of the noun clause. Mark the gap where the
wh- word came from with ∅.
We discussed they were doing the job how.
We discussed how they were doing the job ∅.
1. I told them I needed what.

2. We did what seemed to please them.

3. The police asked them they did it why.

4. The only thing that counts is you actually do what.

5. I was really impressed by you were trying to accomplish what.

6. You can make it whenever will be fi ne with us.

7. I can’t remember it was whose suggestion.

8. We were confused by they said what.

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Noun Clauses 105
9. My friends were trying to guess they would pick which one.

10. I had no idea about we should do what.

11. I voted for whom is nobody’s business but mine.

12. They had to say what about the economy was pretty convincing.

13. The car was parked they said it would be where.

14. You will be tested only on you have learned what in this class.

15. John gave Mary what for her birthday came as a complete surprise to her.

Probably the most common error that nonnative speakers make when they use wh- clauses
is that they mistakenly use the inverted verb word order of information questions. Since infor-
mation questions are much more common than wh- clauses, it is natural that many nonnative
speakers associate all wh- words with the inverted verb word order used in information ques-
tions. Here are some examples, fi rst with an information question, then a wh- clause mistakenly
using the same question word order, and fi nally the correct wh- clause word order. The wh- word
is in italics, and the verb (or fi rst verb if there is more than one) is in bold:
Information question: Who is that man?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know who is that man.
Correct wh- clause: I know who that man is.
Information question: Where are we going?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know where are we going.
Correct wh- clause: I know where we are going.
Information question: Whom should we ask?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know whom should we ask.
Correct wh- cla
use: I know
whom we should ask.
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106 Noun Phrases
Information question: What have they done?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know what have they done.
Correct wh- clause: I know what they have done.
Information question: Why would they want to do that?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know why would they want to do that.
Correct wh- clause: I know why they would want to do that.
Information question: What does he mean by that?
Incorrect wh- clause: X I know what does he mean by that.
Correct wh- clause: I know what he means by that.
Notice in this last example that the incorrect wh- clause (in imitation of the question form) uses
the helping verb does. In the correctly-formed wh- clause, the helping verb does is not used.
The mistake is more likely to happen in speaking than in writing. It is more likely to occur in
rapid conversation or when the situation is stressful. Nonnative speakers who tend to make this
mistake need to be aware of their tendency and consciously monitor themselves for the error.
Exercise 7.7
Many of the following sentences contain wh- clauses that incorrectly use information question
word order. Cross out these incorrect wh- clauses and write the corrected form in the space pro-
vided. If the wh- clause is correct, write OK.
I didn’t understand what was he saying
.
I didn’t understand what he was saying.
1. It is not clear what were they arguing about.

2. We need to fi nd out how much will it cost.

3. Who will be the speaker depends on the budget.

4. Their expert advice is what are we paying the big bucks for.

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Noun Clauses 107
5. They were naturally curious about what we had decided to do.

6. How well will he succeed remains to be seen.

7. We couldn’t decide what should we wear to the party.

8. I was surprised at what did she say.

9. What were they serving for lunch was fi ne with us.

10. I certainly understand how do you feel.

11. When should we go hasn’t been decided yet.

12. I’ll have what are you having.

13. What you say may be used against you.

14. The question is who will be the next president.

15. Our limited time determined where could we go for lunch.

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Verb Phrases
PART 2
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