A common type of question In English Is known as a wh-question because such a question begins with one of a series of words beginning with wh-, These Include who, whom, whoso, which, what, when, whore, why and how, although how does not begin with wh. | Why on earth does she stay with him when he treats her so badly 7 think she only stays with him for the kids sake. Why on earth are you moving to the country You ll miss your friends and all the restaurants and theatres. We ve decided that the country Is a better place to bring up children. why should I You use why should I you he etc or why shouldn t I you he etc to emphasize that there is no reason why something should be done or not be done Such questions are often rhetorical. Are you going to help him Why should I He s never done anything to help me. Jim s not going to leave without giving us any time to replace him is he Why shouldn t he He s got absolutely no security working here and he s been offered a good job where he s to start immediately You are going to go and see your stepmother in hospital aren t you Why should I She s always been absolutely horrible to me. You re not planning to borrow your brother s car without permission are you Why shouldn t I I lent him some money to buy it and I ve helped him with all the repairs. Besides he s not here to ask. 38 How to osk questions READING II A quarrel between friends Mother Why don t you ring Anne and invite her over for tea Sally Why should I She said some horrible things to me yesterday. Mother You probably said some horrible things to her as well. You were both very angry. Why not try to be friends with her again You ll be sorry if you don t. Sally Why I have plenty of other friends. Mother But Anne is your best friend and has been since you went to nursery school together. I think I ll ring her mother and ask them both over. Sally Why waste your time They won t come and even if they do I won t be here. Mother Why not You didn t say you were going out. Sally I m going round to Jane s house. Mother Why on earth are you going to do that You don t even like Jane Sally She s all right. I don t want Anne thinking I ve got no other friends. I ll see you later. Using wh-words to ask questions 39 READING Some .
