Question on a statement (5)

[learning54]

Hi teachers,

According to this statement, 'He could hear nothing. No dogs, no lights, no noises.'
Which question is correct?
a) Could he hear or see anything?
b) Could he hear or see something?

Thanks in advance

[Barb_D]

How about "What could he hear?"

[5jj]

This is practically the same as your 'Question on a Statement (3). Please be content with one thread for each question.

[learning54]

Hi 5jj,
'This is practically the same as your 'Question on a Statement (3). Please be content with one thread for each question.'

Well, not really.
This one was a wh-question or information question
What could he neither see nor hear?
And this one is a yes/no question
According to this statement, 'He could hear nothing. No dogs, no lights, no noises.'
Which question is correct?
a) Could he hear or see anything?
b) Could he hear or see something?

Besides it, my question is on the indefinite pronoun 'anything' and 'something'.
Quite a different one if you compare them. Don't you think so?
I always try to be content with my questions. Did I ever do such a thing?

Learning54

[emsr2d2]

Hi 5jj,
'This is practically the same as your 'Question on a Statement (3). Please be content with one thread for each question.'

Well, not really.
This one was a wh-question or information question
What could he neither see nor hear?
And this one is a yes/no question
According to this statement, 'He could hear nothing. No dogs, no lights, no noises.'
Which question is correct?
a) Could he hear or see anything?
b) Could he hear or see something?

Besides it, my question is on the indefinite pronoun 'anything' and 'something'.
Quite a different one if you compare them. Don't you think so?
I always try to be content with my questions. Did I ever do such a thing?

Learning54

Excuse me for butting in before 5jj has had a chance to respond, but I think I can see the point of the comment. Your new question, regarding "anything/something" does need to be in a separate thread.

Your question about "He could neither see nor hear ..." was answered, I believe to your satisfaction.

Once that has happened, if you have further questions, even if they're based on the same statement, then it's better to open a new thread. That avoids the possibility of people scrolling down through the first few responses on the original thread, thinking that it's all done and finished with and then clicking away from it, thereby missing your follow-up questions.

Does that make sense?

[learning54]

Excuse me for butting in before 5jj has had a chance to respond, but I think I can see the point of the comment. Your new question, regarding "anything/something" does need to be in a separate thread.

Does that make sense?

Absolutely.


Your question about "He could neither see nor hear ..." was answered, I believe to your satisfaction. Yes it was!

Once that has happened, if you have further questions, even if they're based on the same statement, then it's better to open a new thread. That avoids the possibility of people scrolling down through the first few responses on the original thread, thinking that it's all done and finished with and then clicking away from it, thereby missing your follow-up questions.

[5jj]

It seems to me that L54 is trying, in this series of threads to find questions that will elicit specific answers. That being so, asking about different question-forms in different threads could lead to confusion and/or relevant answers to one question going unread because they are in the other thread.

If the question L54 wishes to ask is about the grammatical correctness of a particular form of question, that that can go in a separate thread - with an appropriate title, such as 'Could he hear anything/something?'. As this particular thread was the fifth in this series, I assumed that L54 was simply trying to find an appropriate question. It seems, from her response, that Barb thought the same. If the focus is now on the grammar, then that needs to be made clear.

[learning54]

It seems to me that L54 is trying, in this series of threads to find questions that will elicit specific answers. That being so, asking about different question-forms in different threads could lead to confusion and/or relevant answers to one question going unread because they are in the other thread.

If the question L54 wishes to ask is about the grammatical correctness of a particular form of question, that that can go in a separate thread - with an appropriate title, such as 'Could he hear anything/something?'. As this particular thread was the fifth in this series, I assumed that L54 was simply trying to find an appropriate question. It seems, from her response, that Barb thought the same. If the focus is now on the grammar, then that needs to be made clear.

Hi 5jj,
I always learn, the most from my mistakes. Just give me the time and the space to do it.

[5jj]

@ L54. The mistake was partly mine in that I misunderstood the point of this thread. I have now shown one way in which such misunderstanding can be avoided.

[learning54]

@ L54. The mistake was partly mine in that I misunderstood the point of this thread. I have now shown one way in which such misunderstanding can be avoided.

Hi 5jj,
Thank you so much. Sure you have! Explanations are the very best way to feel comfortable.

Best,
L54