"Why is there no..." or "Why there is no..."?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi. How should I say

  1. Why is there no sound in space?
  2. Why there is no sound in space?
    I think, the first one is grammatically correct, but I often saw the second version as well.
    For example: i52.tinypic.com/110dlvo.png (screenshot)
    or google.com/search?hl=en&safe … 0&aql=&oq=

If the second one is gramatically incorrect, why is it used so often? :slight_smile:

Thanks.

1 Like
2

#2 is grammatically incorrect if it stands alone; but people do use such forms in conversation. It could be seen as a short form of “Do you know why there is no sound in space?”

3

Hi Trueman,

Your two sentences are different constructions:

  1. Why is there no sound in space? This is a direct question.

2 Why there is no sound in space. This is an indirect question and doesn’t need a question mark.

Look at this:

A Why is there no sound in space?
B I don’t know why there is no sound in space.

Alan

1 Like
4

Thank you, James )

And thanks, Alan ) I understand what you mean and think the same way ) But I was confused because I often saw the phrases like the second one as the direct questions on many websites, internet communities, forums, comment sections (Youtube, for example), etc. Maybe it’s normal for internet conversations… :slight_smile:

5

Hi Trueman,

Next time you see such a statemnent, note carefully whether it has a question mark. These constructions are often title statements, used like this:

Why there is no sound in space
There is no sound in space because…

The underlined part is the title, which indicates that the following paragraph(s) will be about the reasons why there is no sound in space.

Here are some examples from the internet, but it is also normal in books, journals, articles, newspapers, magazines, etc.
pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ … t_id=43112
orthodoxytoday.org/articles/ … ureWar.php
jewishreviewofbooks.com/publ … ish-narnia
thespacereview.com/article/263/1
theengagingbrand.typepad.com/the … media.html
enduringamerica.com/home/201 … t-bou.html

6

Thank you, Beeesneees. I understand you, but I was talking about the direct questions. It’s a very common situation (especially for Youtube) when some user leaves a comment with a direct question but it has a word order like an indirect one…
Btw, thanks again.

7

In that case, it is likely to be incorrect usage.

8

Hi Trueman,

I see what you are getting at. It is a sort of ‘tentative question’ where the intonation/the way it is said, indicates that it is a sort of question and in written language is shown with a question mark although on the face of it, it is a statement.

Something like this? The full question would be: Is it something like this?

Alan

9

How do you relate that to ‘Why there is no sound in space?’?

10

Well, you may not follow but I do hope Trueman does.

Alan

11

Your dismissive response makes your answer clear to me.

12

Thanks, Alan, I think now I understand everything )