Contractions with Question Words
2022-01-21
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1Imagine you enjoy hip hop music or want to learn about the history of hip hop.
2You might listen to Run DMC, one of the most famous groups of the 1980s.
3Let's listen to a few words from the group's famous song, "How'd Ya Do It Dee?"
4Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?"
5In today's Everyday Grammar, we will show you how hip hop can teach you about English grammar.
6You will learn about pronouns and contractions with question words.
7Let's listen to the first line again:
8The answers, from questions, I'm tellin to thee
9This line sets up the idea about questions and answers.
10But we will have to set that aside for later in the report.
11The word of interest in this line is a pronoun: the word thee.
12This is a very old second-person pronoun that is no longer used in everyday speaking.
13Its modern equivalent would be the pronoun you.
14Google Ngrams has data from books dating back many hundreds of years.
15A recent Ngrams search suggested that thee was more commonly used in the 1500's and 1600's.
16You will probably never hear an American use the pronoun thee in everyday speaking, although its meaning is commonly understood.
17You might be asking yourself: why would a modern singer use an ancient pronoun?
18While only the artist truly knows the reason, one possibility is that thee rhymes with the final word - the name Dee - in the next line:
19Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?"
20This line now leads us to contractions with question words.
21Question words are words such as what, where, who, when, why, or how.
22These words, along with changes in the speaker's voice, show that a person is asking a question - at least in everyday speech.
23In writing, the question word and a question mark show a question.
24English speakers often use question words with certain verbs or helping verbs - be, do, has, would, and so on.
25Sometimes English speakers combine the question word and a short form of the verb or helping verb.
26This is known as a contraction.
27Let's think back to our example from Run DMC
28Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?"
29In this line, the question word is how.
30The helping verb is did. However, did appears in its shortened form - 'd. "How did" becomes "How'd." This is a contraction.
31To be clear: this is not slang or impolite language.
32This is normal everyday speech.
33You might be wondering how different verbs and helping verbs contract.
34The answer is that there are regular, repeated ways in which English speakers make contractions.
35Consider these three helping verbs that often appear after question words: had, did, and would.
36All of these reduce to 'd, as in d.
37Run DMC was using the contraction for did, as in "How did you do it?"
38A person might also ask, "Who'd called you before that?" This is a shorter way of saying, "Who had called you before that?"
39Or a person might ask, "Where'd you like to go?" This is short for "Where would you like to go?"
40Other common verbs - is and has, for example, both contract in the same way with 's. This sounds like z or s, depending on the situation.
41So, a question like "Where is New York City?" becomes "Where's New York City?"
42A question like "What has been going on?" becomes "What's been going on?"
43In today's report, we explored what a few lines from a song can teach you about English grammar.
44You learned about a pronoun that has been out of use for a long time.
45And you learned about the idea behind contractions with question words.
46The next time you listen to music, pay careful attention to contractions with question words.
47Make note of how speakers form the contractions and try to understand the verb that is being reduced.
48With time, you will make great progress in your ability to understand and form your own contracted speech.
49And perhaps your English teacher will one day ask you "How'd you learn about contractions with question words?"
50I'm John Russell.
1Imagine you enjoy hip hop music or want to learn about the history of hip hop. 2You might listen to Run DMC, one of the most famous groups of the 1980s. Let's listen to a few words from the group's famous song, "How'd Ya Do It Dee?" 3The answers, from questions, I'm tellin to thee 4Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?" 5In today's Everyday Grammar, we will show you how hip hop can teach you about English grammar. You will learn about pronouns and contractions with question words. 6Pronoun usage 7Let's listen to the first line again: 8The answers, from questions, I'm tellin to thee 9This line sets up the idea about questions and answers. But we will have to set that aside for later in the report. 10The word of interest in this line is a pronoun: the word thee. 11This is a very old second-person pronoun that is no longer used in everyday speaking. Its modern equivalent would be the pronoun you. 12Google Ngrams has data from books dating back many hundreds of years. A recent Ngrams search suggested that thee was more commonly used in the 1500's and 1600's. 13You will probably never hear an American use the pronoun thee in everyday speaking, although its meaning is commonly understood. 14You might be asking yourself: why would a modern singer use an ancient pronoun? While only the artist truly knows the reason, one possibility is that thee rhymes with the final word - the name Dee - in the next line: 15Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?" 16This line now leads us to contractions with question words. 17Contractions with question words 18Question words are words such as what, where, who, when, why, or how. 19These words, along with changes in the speaker's voice, show that a person is asking a question - at least in everyday speech. In writing, the question word and a question mark show a question. 20English speakers often use question words with certain verbs or helping verbs - be, do, has, would, and so on. Sometimes English speakers combine the question word and a short form of the verb or helping verb. This is known as a contraction. 21Let's think back to our example from Run DMC 22Cause they always ask me, D.M.C., "How'd ya do it Dee?" 23In this line, the question word is how. The helping verb is did. However, did appears in its shortened form - 'd. "How did" becomes "How'd." This is a contraction. 24To be clear: this is not slang or impolite language. This is normal everyday speech. 25You might be wondering how different verbs and helping verbs contract. The answer is that there are regular, repeated ways in which English speakers make contractions. 26Contractions with 'd 27Consider these three helping verbs that often appear after question words: had, did, and would. 28All of these reduce to 'd, as in d. 29Run DMC was using the contraction for did, as in "How did you do it?" 30A person might also ask, "Who'd called you before that?" This is a shorter way of saying, "Who had called you before that?" 31Or a person might ask, "Where'd you like to go?" This is short for "Where would you like to go?" 32Contractions with 's 33Other common verbs - is and has, for example, both contract in the same way with 's. This sounds like z or s, depending on the situation. 34So, a question like "Where is New York City?" becomes "Where's New York City?" 35A question like "What has been going on?" becomes "What's been going on?" 36Closing thoughts 37In today's report, we explored what a few lines from a song can teach you about English grammar. You learned about a pronoun that has been out of use for a long time. And you learned about the idea behind contractions with question words. 38The next time you listen to music, pay careful attention to contractions with question words. Make note of how speakers form the contractions and try to understand the verb that is being reduced. With time, you will make great progress in your ability to understand and form your own contracted speech. And perhaps your English teacher will one day ask you "How'd you learn about contractions with question words?" 39I'm John Russell. 40John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 41____________________________________________________ 42Words in This Story 43contraction - n. a short form of a word or word group that is made by leaving out a sound or letter 44certain - adj. always used before a noun - used to refer to something or someone that is not named specifically