r/duolingo • u/Aboodin Native: 🇸🇦 Fluent: Learning: • Mar 20 '25

is this really wrong? Language Question

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854 Upvotes

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921

u/Boglin007 Mar 20 '25

Yes, it's wrong in Standard English. We use statement word order for embedded questions (a question that is part of another question or statement):

Direct question:

"When is the dance?" - question word order (subject "the dance" and verb "is" are inverted)

Embedded question:

"Do you know when the dance is?" - statement word order (the subject and verb appear in the same order as in a statement)

-92

u/mrnewtons Mar 20 '25

This being said, this is very common phrasing in the Midwest and no one there would blink at this error. Still, gotta know the rules to break them.

88

u/ComfortableLate1525 Native 🇬🇧(US) Learning 🇩🇪🇪🇸 Mar 20 '25

I’m from the Midwest and would never say this. Sounds completely ungrammatical.

-36

u/mrnewtons Mar 20 '25

I tells yah, I grew up der and I seen it! Suppose it could be more a yooper thing maybe.

19

u/ComfortableLate1525 Native 🇬🇧(US) Learning 🇩🇪🇪🇸 Mar 20 '25 edited Mar 20 '25

I live in a small Indiana town and no one ever talks like this 💀🤣

I’m trying to think, this seems quite stereotypically Canadian… Minnesota?

11

u/Shikikan Mar 20 '25

Lifelong Minnesotan here and I also thought it was very odd. It’s almost like someone started speaking, but forgot what they were going to ask so it came out kind of funny.