2015-08-21
1428
Who ever told you a thing like that? What ever made you do it?
What ever did lie tell you? How ever do you manage?
Why ever not? Why on earth not?
What ever for? What on earth for?
Why did you ever mention it?
How on earth did you find out about it?
13 Questions, answers, negatives
When we ask emphatic questions
We ask emphatic questions to express admiration, anger, concern, etc. Ever is written as a separate word from question-words. It can be used after all question-words except Which? and Whose?. It is often heavily stressed in questions:
Where 'ever did you pick that up? (But note that ever also combines with words like who, what, when how (not why) to form adverbs {However,), or pronouns {Bring whoever you like), or to form conjunctions {Come whenever you like).)
Ever questions can ask for the subject or object of a sentence: subject: What ever made you so late? - The traffic (made me late) object: What ever did he tell you? - (He told me) a secret Ever can sometimes be transposed:
Why ever did you go there? Why did you ever go there?
Short responses express surprised reactions:
/ didn't vote on polling day - Why ever not?
I sent them a donation - What ever for?
In everyday speech stronger emphasis in questions can be conveyed by using the expression on earth in place of ever after the question-word:
How on earth did you find out my telephone number? Even stronger expression is possible if on earth is replaced by, e.g. the blazes, the devil, the dickens, the hell and by taboo words:
Who the hell do you think you are anyway?
Why and Where can be made more emphatic by simple repetition, often with oh;
Why, (oh) why did you do it? Where, (oh) where has he gone?
14 Conditional sentences
General information about conditionals
14.1 Conditions: 'if... (then...)'
A condition is something that has to be fulfilled before something else can happen. If, normally meaning 'provided that', is sometimes followed by then. If then is not stated, it is implied: If X happens (then) Y follows: If the rain stops, we'll be able to go for a walk Conditional clauses after if are not about events, etc. that have occurred, but about events that can or might occur or might have occurred. Sometimes these events are highly probable:
If the price of oil comes down, more people will buy it Sometimes they are impossible (they did not or cannot happen):
If my horse had won, I would have made a lot of money Conditions are often introduced by if, but can be introduced by other words [> 14.21]. They can also be implied [> 14.22]: / wouldn't (or shouldn't) go that way (i.e. if I were you)
