When I talk about something,I will tell people not to do something and why,so,should I use
Why should not we do sth.
or
Why we should not do sht.
Which one is grammatically correct?
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The first is a question; the second is a fused relative clause which can be part (subject or object) of a statement.– StoneyB on hiatusCommented Mar 3, 2015 at 15:40
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@StoneyB: True, but why should not we point out that it's an extremely stilted/poetic word order unless contracted to why shouldn't we. The normal uncontracted form is why should we not [do sth].– FumbleFingersCommented Mar 3, 2015 at 16:04
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@FumbleFingers so why shouldn't we and why should we not both are grammatically right,the first strongly suggest someone to do something,and the second against it?– user17856Commented Mar 3, 2015 at 16:20
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@user17856: Contracted or not, both sequences are "grammatically correct". As StoneyB says, your first example is a complete sentence/utterance (specifically, a question) - it's just that idiomatically, native speakers would almost never use that sequence without contracting it (it's so rare some people would probably mistakenly think the uncontracted form is somehow "invalid"). Your second example isn't a sentence at all - it's just a "noun phrase" (specifically, a "fused relative clause"), which occurs quite naturally within sentences (whether it's informally contracted or not).– FumbleFingersCommented Mar 3, 2015 at 16:52
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@FumbleFingers If that's the point at issue, then it's a duplicate of this.– StoneyB on hiatusCommented Mar 3, 2015 at 17:00
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