where to put the verb in indirect question

[engee30]

The sentence, 'Could you tell me what is wrong?', is the only possible one because 'wrong' is not a noun or any kind of a noun phrase.

[svartnik]

Originally Posted by engee30

The sentence, 'Could you tell me what is wrong?', is the only possible one because 'wrong' is not a noun or any kind of a noun phrase.

I know; that is why I deleted my post
wrong is a predicate adjective there

[engee30]

Originally Posted by svartnik

I know; that is why I deleted my post

It's only now that I've noticed you did it.

[svartnik]

indirect speech

[engee30]

What something sounds acceptable to others doesn't actually mean I take it for granted that it is correct.

[svartnik]

Originally Posted by engee30

What something sounds acceptable to others doesn't actually mean I take it for granted that it is correct.

He is a native celta teacher
CELTA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BTW, rethink the sentence.

I made a mistake: do you think is a parenthetical element, surely can be inserted, so I put in another sentence.
Check the thread now.
It takes time till anon posts get accepted, so let us call it a day.

[engee30]

Well, I don't know. Since I've got access to the British Corpus, I am not so sure whether something that I've heard or seen is correct or not.Check this out (taken from the Corpus again):
...smoked mackerel pâté and humous stood on the worktops; a casserole simmered on the stove. Maggie crossed the room, lifted the lid of the pot and sniffed at the contents. "What do you think this is?" she asked Luke. But the voice that replied was Godfrey's. Was he following her? "Caroline told me it was cassoulet," he announced...
The title of the book is "Nudists may be encountered" by Mary Scott. As we can see, the authoress used the same pattern as you provided in your previous post, but the verb form 'is' goes at the end of the question. Quite tricky!

[svartnik]

It goes like this:

Who is your favourite rock band?
This question asks for a subject. Rolling Stones(=Subject) is my favourite rock band.
In such a case, when forming a double question, the word order goes two possible ways:

Could you tell me who is your ...?
or
Could you tell me who ... is?

What is the time now in New Zealand?
Answer:
The time is x. 'x' is a subject complement, so the question asks for a subject complement.
Usually there is only one possible word order:
Could you tell me what the time is now in NZ?
and not
*Could you tell me what is the time now in NZ?

[Casiopea]

You've a nice discussion going on here. Mind if I join in?

To my understanding, the basic rule of thumb here is, don't move the verb:

3. Do you know what the longest river in the world is?
4. I'd like you to tell me what your problems are concerning this issue.

Now, those kinds of constructs leave forms of the verb BE in an "unfavorable" position according to some people. Unfavorable because a linking verb's job is to link a predicate with its complement, to act like a bridge between the two, and so with the complement moved and the verb in sentence-final position, the bridge doesn't work, the link is broken. So, the idea there is to never end a sentence with a linking verb, because it breaks the flow. The assumption there, however, is based on linear structure, but the mind doesn't really work that way. Language is non-linear. The link appears to be broken but it's not. There's a detour sign at the end of the bridge: "The complement has moved."

Direct question: The longest river in the world is what?
Indirect question: ...what the longest river in the word is(?)

Those who subsribe to the idea that a form of the verb BE should never end a sentence tend to go around the problem by adding in a word or phrase after the linking verb, like this,

Ex: Do you know what the longest river is in the world?
Ex: Do you know where my watch is located?
Ex: Do you know what time it is right now?
Ex: Do you know how old Max is today?

Of course, ending the sentence with another word or phrase doesn't really change anything. The complement is still way over there somewhere, far away from its link.

In short, end a sentence with a form of BE, specifically if it is an indirect question. Do you have any other choice, aside from reworking the sentence, changing the verb, or avoiding indirect questions altogether?

[svartnik]

Hi Casi,

The more the merrier.

"Language is non-linear. The link appears to be broken but it's not. There's a detour sign at the end of the bridge: "The complement has moved." "

I cannot get my head around what this means. Would you shed some dark, please.


thanks