Which one of the following is the correct one grammatically?
- "Why is this book still important"
- "Why this book is still important"
asked Apr 21 '15 at 20:34
Both are grammatically correct, but one is a question, while the other isn't.
Case #1
A question is asked:
Can you explain to me why is this book still important?
Case #2
No question is being asked. In this case, one could expect a colon (:) with an explanation on why this book is still important. Something like this:
Jonathan explained why this book is still important: "it's just essential to learning programming"
Or in a newspaper headline:
Ferguson explains why Manchester United is still the best football team in the world
All in One Example:
So Joanna came to me and asked "Why is this book still important?" Well folks, I'm going to tell you exactly why this book is still important: Because I wrote it.
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I don't think it's accurate to say that "one would expect a colon." It's much more common not to use a colon, as in your newspaper headline example. – default.kramer Apr 21 '15 at 20:46
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1Thank you zerohedge for your excellent explanation. You made it easy to understand. Thank you. – Judicious Allure Apr 21 '15 at 20:49
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2@kramer: I changed "would" to "could" because while I think a colon is expected in many cases (especially with sentences in body text), I don't want to imply that it's a rule set in stone. You're welcome, Dory! – zerohedge Apr 21 '15 at 20:49
