What is the WH-questions structure?

Forming wh-questions We usually form wh-questions with wh- + an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with wh- + a modal verb + subject + main verb: Be: When are you leaving? Who’s been paying the bills? Do: Where do they live?

What is the structure of WH word?

A wh-word or phrase appears at the beginning of the question to the left of the subject, followed by a “helping verb.” The helping verb will be some form of “auxiliary verb” (AUX) such as do (does, did, etc.), be (is, are, was, etc.), or have (has, had, etc.).

What is a wh phrase?

Definition. Wh-phrase is a constituent that is somehow characterized as a question operator. A wh-phrase can be a word, what in (i)a, or an entire phrase, which books on quantum physics in (i)b. (i) a What have they bought?

What is wh-movement in linguistics?

In linguistics, wh-movement (also known as wh-fronting, wh-extraction, or wh-raising) is the formation of syntactic dependencies involving interrogative words.

What are the 4 parts of a WH question?

They are called wh-questions because they start with a question word….The question words are:

• What: to ask about objects: What is she doing?
• How: to ask about a manner: How are you?
• Where: to ask about a place: Where are you going?

What is an overt Complementizer?

When a verb takes a clausal complement, it may be headed by an overt lexical complementizer (COMP), which is obligatory in many languages in the world. Yet, languages vary with respect to whether verbs taking a finite clausal complement allow the deletion of the COMP.

What triggers wh-movement?

Wh-movement is triggered by the presence of an interrogative pronoun. We can assume that interrogative pronouns have a [+wh] feature that forces them to move.

What is a wh-phrase?

something [that will be delicious.] A a wh-phrase can be used to package up content in a clause so that emphasis can be placed elsewhere in the clause. Below, a wh-phrase is followed by a be verb and a modifier.

What are wh-question words?

Wh- Questions are formed with these structures: When are you moving out? Where do you live? What have you done? Who would you like to talk? What should I do? 2. Without an Auxiliary Verb Some wh- question words can either be the object or the subject of the questions. When this is the case, we do not use an auxiliary verb.

Does the wh-phrase remain in its original position?

However, since the wh- phrase is silent, an alternative analysis of (1) is possible in principle, according to which the wh- phrase remains in its original position, as shown in (2b). Provide evidence that the movement analysis in (2a) is preferable.

Is there an alternative analysis of the wh-phrase (1)?

However, since the wh- phrase is silent, an alternative analysis of (1) is possible in principle, according to which the wh- phrase remains in its original position, as shown in (2b). Provide evidence that the movement analysis in (2a) is preferable. a. b. Make up silent lexical items as needed for (1).