eslHQ Home
User Name Password
Lost Password? | Join eslHQ.com, it's FREE!
View today's posts
Search Extras Help   

Reply
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Unread Nov 25th, 2013, 02:15 am
eslHQ Member
 
Join Date: Oct 20th, 2013
Posts: 8
Laurent55 is on a distinguished road
Default "Why do you ask?" versus "Why are you asking?"

Why are you asking Tom? He does not know the answer. Ask me instead!

versus

No, I have not seen him lately. Why do you ask?


In both cases, it is a single action happening at or around the time of speaking. Why the difference, then?
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Unread Dec 3rd, 2013, 01:24 pm
Sue
 
Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006
Location: Milan
Posts: 1,406
susan53 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: "Why do you ask?" versus "Why are you asking?"

An interesting one. Quirk et al (The Grammar of Contemporay English) point out that the present simple is often used with "verbs of communication" when the communication is in fact past - eg : John tells me you're going to Japan next week suggesting that the meaning is that the communication is still "in the air" and present. But this is a description, not an explanation. Logically, if we see it like this we'd expect the present perfect (expressing a past event with a present result : he told me so I now know...) John has told me that you're going...

So why do we choose the present simple? Normally it expresses unchanging facts - eg Oil floats on water. But of course that doesn't always mean that the "fact " will exist for ever. If I say This soup tastes good, the statement obviously isn't going to be true tomorrow - by which time I'll have eaten all the soup. It has to be understood as meaning "For the time that this soup exists this statement is true and will not change."

I'd suggest that something similar is happening here. You asked a question which has not yet been answered. So the question - ie your "asking" - still exists. And for all the time that it exists (ie until it's been answered) it's seen as an unchanging, permanent fact.

So :
Does the soup taste good? / Why do you ask?
The soup tastes wonderful! / I ask because I thought that....


That's as close as I can get...

Obviously, we could see it differently - as an on-going event limited in time - and therefore use the present continuous : Why are you asking? As always grammatical forms express specific meaning concepts, and it is the choice of the speaker which one they want to "mean".
__________________
An ELT Notebook
The DELTA Course
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Unread Dec 23rd, 2013, 05:17 am
eslHQ Member
 
Join Date: Dec 20th, 2013
Posts: 5
Bazza6 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: "Why do you ask?" versus "Why are you asking?"

Why are you asking Tom? He does not know the answer. Ask me instead!
versus
No, I have not seen him lately. Why do you ask?
In both cases, it is a single action happening at or around the time of speaking. Why the difference, then?

Because You, Tom, and the speaker of the words must all be present, and the action is ongoing - hence, the use of the Present Continuous Tense :'are asking'

There is no ACTION in (2). Reference is made to the FACT that a question was asked. Only you (the speaker) and the enquirer are present.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Find the Best TEFL, TESL, TESOL & CELTA Certification Courses - User Submitted Ratings & Reviews for Online, Distance & Abroad TEFL Courses. Over 3,500 reviews of 100+ TEFL schools!

Teach English in Thailand - Onsite and Combined TEFL certification courses in Phuket, Thailand.


Free ESL Flashcards




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:16 pm.

All materials from this website are for classroom-use only. Digital redistribution of materials, in part or in whole, is strictly forbidden!

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2