Why is it correct to say: "Does something interest you" but not "Do you interest something"? But when we ask for example "Do you want to ask him" and "Does he want to ask me" are correct. Or does it depend on word or on word with a preposition?
I understand that "are you interested in this" is correct but that one I don't.
I just can't understand the certain rule about it, can you help me? I would like a detailed answer if it's possible.
Do you interest something? is a perfectly grammatical sentence. It often doesn't make much sense, but that's simply because of the meaning of the verb interest.
interest
transitive verb
1 : to engage the attention or arouse the interest of
2 : to induce or persuade to participate or engage
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interest
So, I interest him means I make him interested. That's a grammatical and sensible sentence. I interest rock music is grammatical, but since rock music doesn't have any feelings, it doesn't make sense to suggest that rock music could be made interested in me.
This is no different than many other transitive verbs.
Consider: I paint the house as compared to the house paints me.
In some other languages, the object of the sentence would be marked somehow, making the word order more flexible, allowing sentences like:
I paint the house-object and the house-object paint I.
But since English has such a limited case system, we rely more heavily on word order. The subject tends to precede the verb, which tends to be followed by the object.
