Who ___________ was coming to see us this evening?
View worked solution
Answer: B
The correct option is (B) did you say.
To determine the correct phrase, let us analyze the structure of the question:
- The sentence is an interrogative sentence (a question) asking about the identity of the person who is coming.
- To form a direct question in the past tense, we require subject-auxiliary inversion using the auxiliary verb did: "did you say". This makes Option B grammatically correct.
Let's evaluate why the other options are incorrect:
- Option A (you said): Lacks the auxiliary verb did required to form a question, making it grammatically incorrect in this context.
- Option C (did you say that): In English grammar, when a wh-word (like Who) represents the subject of the embedded clause (who was coming...), we cannot use the complementizer that immediately before the verb. This is known as the that-trace effect. Thus, "Who did you say that was coming..." is ungrammatical.
- Option D (had you said): Uses the past perfect tense (had you said), which is unnecessary and incorrect here because there is no other past action to establish a timeline requiring the past perfect.
Free practice · Your answers on this page are not saved.