Posted by Grant Richardson, 7th November, 2018
Students often use the wrong grammar when asking direct “how” questions:
| WRONG | RIGHT | PRONUNCIATION Use the weak (schwa) sound Ə for “do you” and “it” |
| How to pronounce? | How do you pronounce it? | HOW dƏ yƏ prƏNOUNCE Ət? click to listen |
| How to say? | How do you say it? | HOW dƏ yƏ SAY Ət? click to listen |
| How to open? | How do you open it? | HOW dƏ yƏ OpƏn Ət? click to listen |
| How to spell? | How do you spell it? | HOW dƏ yƏ SPELL Ət? click to listen |
Students probably make this mistake by confusing the direct question form (above) with an indirect question form (below):
Do you know how to pronounce/say/open/spell/etc it?
Could you tell me how to pronounce/say/open/spell/etc it?
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