Who do you think were the first people to invent noodles?

[keannu]

I think the reason why 2 is not allowed is that 2 focuses on "Do", resulting in an unexpected answer. Right?

1.Who do you think were the first people to invent noodles? The Chinese did.

2.Do you think who were the first people to invent noodles? Yes, I do.

 

[5jj]

No. It just happens not to be the natural word order with that type of question. These are fine,

Do you wonder who the first people to invent noodles were?
Do you think about who the first people to invent noodles were?
Do you think/wonder, "Who were the first people to invent noodles?"?
Who, do you think, were the first people to invent noodles?

 

[BobK]

:up: Besides, 'Do you think...?' must be followed by a proposition* (or, occasionally, an adverb) - something like 'Do you think the Chinese were the first to discover noodles'. I really don't see the point of all this navel-gazing; the answer's often very simple. ;-)

b

PS * sic, not 'preposition'!