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ESL forum > Ask for help > how many    

how many



jarek2011
Poland

how many
 
I know that the following question is very basic but today  my mind went blank when I tried to explain why "How many people live in Norway?" is correct. Why do we form the question "How many people live in Norway?" without the auxiliary verb "do"?

10 Jun 2013      





SaraMariam
United States

It depends upon the function of the question word in the sentence. If for example who/what/how question the subject (not the object) you don �t need "do".

So in your case you don �t need an auxiliary verb because the question is about the subject of the sentence. But if you ask:" How many people do you know in Norway?" you need the auxiliary verb because the question word is not referring to the subject of the sentence.

Another example is :
What happened? asking about the subject
What did you do? asking about the object 

I hope it helped a little bit :)

10 Jun 2013     



jarek2011
Poland

Thank you SaraMariam for your explanation. I knew that it had sth to do with the subject/ object function but somehow I was not able to make the connection in my head. Thank you for contrasting 2 enquiries: How many people live in Norwy vs How many people do you know in Norway. It seems crystal clear now :)

10 Jun 2013     



afteleg
Philippines

Additional info here:
You can use this approach in teaching question-making. 

Maria drew a picture on the wall last night.

    Question about the subject:

1. Who drew a picture on the wall last night?

    Questions Not about the subject: when. where, what etc.

1. What did Maria draw on the wall last night?
2. Where did Maria draw the picture last night?
3. When did Maria draw the picture on the wall?
4. What did Maria do last night?

_______________________________________________________________
20 million People live in Norway.
about the subj:
   How many people live in Norway. ( no need for aux verb.)
  
The red car is mine.
Which car is yours? (no need for aux verb, either)

Hope this helps!
 

10 Jun 2013