Sentence structure

[dvb]

Hi Everyone

Can someone please shed some light on the following sentence:

What was the last film you saw?

Is it Q. word what) + aux (was) + subj (the last film) + ? (this is what I'm unsure about)

or is it

Q. word (What was the last film) + subj (you) + verb (saw)


Thanks for your help.
Diane

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,


1. IF I understand my books, we can parse your sentence like this:

The last film (that you saw) + was + what.

The last film that you saw = complete subject.

was = the linking verb.

what = a pronoun. In this case, an interrogative pronoun because it starts the question.

*****

What is your name? For the sake of analysis: Your name (subject) + is (linking verb) + what (interrogative pronoun).


James

[cheer965]

"What was the last film you saw?"
The answer may be " The last film I saw was " THE NIGHT" --> 'What' is used to ask for "THE NIGHT"
So I think
+ 'what' : question word used as a subjective complement
+ was: verb ( a copula )
+ the last film you saw : subject ( the last film : real subject / (that)you saw: relative clause modifying the real subject)