COMMON MISTAKES in the use of WH question words in a sentence

INCORRECT: Where is here?

CORRECT    : Where are we?

— Say “Where are we?” to ask where your about is. For example, you are lost and don’t know where you are now (don’t know the place), you say, “Where are we now? I don’t know this place.”

INCORRECT: How heavy are you?

CORRECT    : How much do you weigh?

— Asking for someone’s weight with “How heavy are you?” is impolite and uncommon.

INCORRECT: Are you home tomorrow?

CORRECT    : Are you at home tomorrow?

— ‘Home’ (without ‘at’) is used to show someone is returning home. ‘At home’ is used to show location.

Take a look at the dialog:

A: Are you home? (Asking: Have you returned home yet?)

B: Not yet. I’ll be home in ten minutes.

A: (ten minutes later) Are you home now?

B: You can come over. I’m at home now. (Showing location)

INCORRECT: How does she look like?

CORRECT    : What does she look like?

— “What + look like” asks for physical description.

INCORRECT: This is the way how I did it.

CORRECT    : This is how I did it. or This is the way I did it.

— ‘The way’ in “This is the way how I did it” is redundant. ‘How’ already asks for a method/way; how something is done.

INCORRECT: How do you think about Indonesia?

CORRECT    : What do you think about Indonesia?

— “What do you think about…?” is used to ask for opinion.

INCORRECT: How can I do?

CORRECT    : What can I do?

— “What can I do (for you)?” is used to offer help.

INCORRECT: How about Chinese food?

CORRECT    : Do you like Chinese food?

— To ask for preference, use a form  of DO + like; Do you like it? Does he like it? Did she like it? ‘How about…?” is used to give suggestion.

Pronoun Rule after “than” and “as”

To decide whether to use the subject or object pronoun after the words “than” or “as”, mentally complete the sentence.

Examples:

• Sonali is as smart as she/her.

— If we mentally complete the sentence, we would saySonali is as smart as she is. Therefore, she is the correct answer.

• Rina is taller than I/me.

— Mentally completing the sentence, we have Rina is taller than I am.

• Graham would rather talk to her than I/me.

We can interpret this sentence in two ways:

– Graham would rather talk to her than (talk) to me. 

OR

– Graham would rather talk to her than I would (talk to her). 

The meaning of a sentence can change considerably, depending on the pronoun you choose.

Although for most people the “than me” (using object pronoun) version sound more natural than the “than I”(using subject pronoun) version, the previous runs the highest risk of being considered wrong. It’s because the“than I” version has been around longer and seems more grammatically correct. The “than I” version is falling out of favor and now sounds a bit stilted though.

Evidently, the dilemma between the “than I” and “than me” is not clear cut. So, the best thing to do is to consider your audience (listeners/readers). In formal situations, it would be best to stick with the “than I”(subject pronoun). Otherwise, you may need to be prepared to fight your corner.