Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Easter Clark]

Had a pretty hard time trying to explain this one:

The question reads:

Which three sources of finance does she not mention?

A student asked me:

Can I say "Which three sources of finance does not she mention?"

I told him no, but that it would sound ok if you were using the contracted form:

"Which three sources of finance doesn't she mention?"

When pressed for a reason, I told him that sometimes in spoken English grammar goes out the window, and that any answer I could give him would only confuse him more, so just learn the form as in the original sentence, since it's the most common.

I've looked at Swan's and Grammar Girl but haven't found anything that addressed this problem specifically.

Can anyone answer the student's question?

[dorian_gray]

Hi,

What you're dealing with in this situation is a negative interrogative form. So let's look at what the declarative form would be:

She (subject) does not mention (negative verb form) three sources of finance (object).

The question, then, using the interrogative word, 'which,' becomes:

Which three sources of finance does she not mention? (or alternatively doesn't she mention).

In a negative interrogative the negation element (not) can be placed post-subject (after 'she') in its full form (not) or pre-subject in its contracted form ('nt).

I hope this helps.

[The Goalie]

Just pulling this out of my hat but... perhaps (in simpler terms than above) it has to do with 'not' acting on 'mention' and should therefore be as close to that word as possible. By placing 'not' next to 'she' it would imply that it is 'she' that is being acted upon.

By using the contraction you are simply avoiding the issue by making 'does' and 'not' inseperable.

Maybe.

[some waygug-in]

I'd just say it sounds like Victorian English or something.

Old style.

[dorian_gray]

[Easter Clark]

[some waygug-in]

Really, where?

Here's what was asked;

Can I say "Which three sources of finance does not she mention?"

It sounds like one of the most stilted and unnatural sentences I've ever heard.

A possible reason for using the un-contracted form would be to emphasize the negation.

Which three sources of finance does she NOT mention?

If you use the contracted form, the negation is not so emphatic.

[dorian_gray]

[The Goalie]

"The negation element 'not' is in no way connected to 'mention.' It is connected to the auxiliary verb, in this case, 'does.'"

Please keep at me on this- I really want to learn. How can 'not' be in no way connected to 'mention' when mentioning something is exactly what she is 'not' doing? Wouldn't that mean that not mentioning something is the same as mentioning something...I mean if they're not connected in any way?