Hesitation

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Hesitation

tancredo

Hesitation

Dear colleagues,

Could you please tell me if the question below is right? I found it in a textbook but it doesn �t seem right to me...

"Where lies the importance of English?"

I�ve spoken to different people but their answers are different.

If the question is OK, can you explain to me why?

Thank you so much!

Leonor

24 Oct 2012

yanogator

It �s acceptable, but not standard or common. It is sort of a poetic way of speaking. As you know, we use do/does with questions in the simple present, so the standard wording would be "Where does the importance of English lie?".

A more common expression that uses this construction is "How goes...?" People sometimes say "How goes your new job?" instead of "How is your new job going?".

Bruce

24 Oct 2012

ldthemagicman

Dear Tancredo,

An extract rom the British National Corpus:

Only 5 solutions found for this query

A69 1088 This is where lies the virtue, in the organisation of the NHS, of a certain institutionalised paradox.

ADM 1086 Sligo �s lake is Lough Gill, where lies the Isle of Innisfree, named after Froech, who took the dragon-slaying sword from the hand of Finiver, his betrothed, raised above the water.

CJK 2098 Just fifty yards from the hotel, you can visit the ruins of Melrose �s 12th-century Abbey where lies the heart of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots.

EB2 1019 Where lies the power to identify and define points of view?

G17 742 �Where lies the challenge?�

Les

24 Oct 2012

lurdesilva

Dear Leonor,

"Where does the importance of English lie?" - That �s how I would say it. The auxiliary verb �to do � is used in the present and past simple to form the interrogative form, so "where lies the importance of English?" doesn �t sound correct to me either.

Lurdes

24 Oct 2012