Goal: Explore options for wh-word questions
Note: For now, focus on “what” and “who” arguments in different positions.
Tip: Consider options for “who/what” as subject, object, and oblique/embedded constituent.
Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try
Today’s goal shifts from y/n questions to wh-word questions, specifically focusing on content questions that target nominal arguments. While a y/n question can be answered with a “yes” or a “no,” a wh-word question, or a content question, requires, at minimum, a noun or noun phrase for an answer. The wh-word questions have their name because nearly all English interrogative pronouns and adverbs begin with “wh” (e.g. who, what, which, whose).
Use your time today to explore options for questions that target nominal arguments, such as the subject or object of a clause. You need to consider options for creating wh-word pronouns (e.g. “who, what”), word order within the interrogative clause (e.g. whether the wh-word should be fronted or should remain in situ), and any interrogative inflections, auxiliaries, or particles that might be required.
A good way to target your brainstorming is to start with a transitive declarative clause with an adposition phrase or oblique constituent, such as “The student threw the rock into the basket.” Then think about ways your language might target each of those noun phrases. In English, we can ask…
- Who threw the rock into the basket?
- What did the student throw into the basket?
- What did the student throw the rock into?
Your goal is to generate ideas for how your language will handle these kinds of questions.