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Beginning a question with "how to" | ||
Tags: Syntax | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| IronFist Senior Member United States Joined 6438 days ago 663 posts - 941 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 1 of 15 08 August 2013 at 8:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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I see this all the time online. On various forums people will start threads called "how to [do such and such]" and in the thread they are asking how to do it.
When I see "how to [do something]" it sounds to me like I am about to be told how to do whatever it is. Is it correct to begin a question with "how to"? It may be non-native English speakers. If I were to ask a question beginning with "how" I would ask "how do I [do something]?". Has anyone else seen this? Edited by IronFist on 08 August 2013 at 9:12pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Keilan Senior Member Canada Joined 5087 days ago 125 posts - 241 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 2 of 15 09 August 2013 at 4:15am | IP Logged | ||
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At first I only saw it in when it was a tutorial (and therefore you were about to be told how to do it), and then it became more common as a way to ask for a tutorial. It feels almost idiomatic to me - it is incorrect grammatically (picture someone saying to you in a grocery store "How to find carrots?"), but in the specific context of asking questions on a forum, I would say it is used enough that I would treat it as okay.
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| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4291 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 3 of 15 09 August 2013 at 4:45am | IP Logged | ||
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I have used this expression often before. To me it usually implies more emphasis on the
action, rather than trying to mention the person who wants to know. For example, "She wants to know how to walk to the train station" can be asked, "How to get to the train station" if the person does not want to reveal that a certain person (she) is actually the one asking for information. Similarly, the speaker themselves can use it to reduce emphasis on the person asking information: "How can I get to the restaurant?" can be converted into, "How to get to the restaurant?" should I wish not to allow the other speaker know that I am asking for information (if for some reason I am embarassed that I do not know directions how to arrive at a restaurant for dinner). Another exmaple is in a group setting: for example a restaurant and one wants to know how the main course is cooked for interest. Then one can ask the waiter, "How to cook this?" can be used without mentioning that the person wants to know how the dish wsa cooked, and can have an indication that the entire group is interested. Or it can also indicate that the person asking already knows, but wants the waiter to tell the other people in the group. Edited by 1e4e6 on 09 August 2013 at 4:50am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| berabero89 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4643 days ago 101 posts - 137 votes Speaks: English, Amharic* Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French | Message 4 of 15 09 August 2013 at 5:20am | IP Logged | ||
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Usually, these are titles, and are not questions, but rather statements about the topic
("This article is about dogs, this one is about photography, this one is about how to build a car, etc."). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| michaelyus Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4566 days ago 53 posts - 87 votes Speaks: Mandarin, English* Studies: Italian, French, Cantonese, Korean, Catalan, Vietnamese, Lingala, Spanish Studies: Hokkien | Message 5 of 15 09 August 2013 at 1:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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I second the post above: this is not a question, but a noun clause, in the title.
What was eaten yesterday? What was eaten yesterday included... = That which was eaten yesterday included... How do you get to...? How you get to... is by... = How to get to... : = The way/method (by which) you get to... 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ScottScheule Diglot Senior Member United States scheule.blogspot.com Joined 5229 days ago 645 posts - 1176 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Latin, Hungarian, Biblical Hebrew, Old English, Russian, Swedish, German, Italian, French | Message 6 of 15 09 August 2013 at 11:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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Quite simply, the phrase is ambiguous.
"How to Solve a Problem Like Maria" could be short for: 1. In here, I present the steps showing how to solve a problem like Maria; or, just as well, 2. I request assistance in figuring out how to solve a problem like Maria. Regardless, the topic will be solving Maria, which will prove tricky, as she's a flibbertijibbet, a will-o'-the wisp, and, at times, a clown. She's also late for everything.* *Except for every meal. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5010 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 7 of 15 10 August 2013 at 1:30am | IP Logged | ||
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I don't think it's a specifically non native thing. It is a Google thing. It is a bit shorter and therefore faster to type and it's supposed to lead to the tutorials. And the way we Google becomes the way we ask questions more and more often.
5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4829 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 8 of 15 10 August 2013 at 11:45am | IP Logged | ||
And as a matter of interest, in the original song it is actually: "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" Maria 1 person has voted this message useful |
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