Who ___________ was coming to see us this evening?
did you say
Sentence Completion Basics
This question requires us to find the correct phrase to complete the sentence: "Who ___________ was coming to see us this evening?". It tests our understanding of English sentence structure, particularly how questions are formed, often involving reported speech or indirect questions.
Analyzing Sentence Options
We need to evaluate how each option fits into the sentence grammatically and contextually:
- Option 1: you said If we insert this, the sentence becomes "Who you said was coming to see us this evening?". This phrasing is awkward and grammatically incorrect in standard English.
- Option 2: did you say Inserting this option results in: "Who did you say was coming to see us this evening?". This is a standard and grammatically correct way to ask for clarification about who someone mentioned was coming. It forms a proper interrogative structure, asking about the identity of the person related to a previous statement.
- Option 3: did you say that This gives: "Who did you say that was coming to see us this evening?". While grammatically acceptable, the word "that" is often optional here and can be omitted for better flow. Option 2 is generally considered more direct and stylistically preferred.
- Option 4: had you said The sentence would read: "Who had you said was coming to see us this evening?". The use of the past perfect tense ("had you said") is not appropriate for this type of question asking about a specific past statement in relation to the current query. The simple past ("did you say") is the correct tense here.
Identifying the Correct Fit
The structure "Who did you say was coming...?" is the standard form for this type of inquiry. It correctly uses inversion ("did you say") typical of questions and integrates the clause smoothly. The sentence essentially asks: "Which person, according to what you said, was coming to see us this evening?".
Final Corrected Sentence
Based on the analysis, the most appropriate phrase is 'did you say'. The fully completed sentence reads:
"Who did you say was coming to see us this evening?"
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