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:Good morning everyone! I need help to solve an 'discussion'- which is wrong? --When is your birthday? _ When is it your birthday? If one is wrong, why is it wrong?

Grammar argument you mean?

Or do you mean an discussion?



Helpful aren't I?

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

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As It's husband and wife, It's a discussion!!

No discussion what is her veiw there is your answer jacob

First option seems better to me.
When is your birthday?
when is it, your birthday? would certainly need a comma there but it is a sentence with two objects and sounds more like the French way of saying it. Quand est-ce ton anniversaire?

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Paul

Really, it should be "When was your birthday?" or "What was your birth-date?" as your 'Birth Day' only happens once - the day you are born, so it (technically) should be a past tense question!
Or you could say "When will it be your birthday?" or "What is your date of birth?" or ....

Personally, out of your 2 options I'd go for "When is your birthday?", but not because I think it's definately correct, but because it sounds right to my ear...

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

eg when is it dinnertime? when is dinnertime?

I agree with Jacob..........whatever the wife says is correct!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Actually, the more I think about it.... You can't say "When is it..." for something in the future can you? Because "..is it.." is present tense, unless you qualify it by saying "When is it going to be your birthday/dinner-time...?"
So, in my opinion, it should be "When is your birthday?"
Might be wrong though!

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

I'd say the "it" refers to the subject, but if you include the subject word in the question, you do not need to use the "it", or else it would be repetitive. So you could ask "when is it?", "it" meaning "your birthday", or "when is your birthday?".

As they say in the valleys, 'whose coat is that jacket?'..or..'whose boots are those shoes?'

maybe...'On what date were you born?'....?

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Advertising is the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. George Orwell
Paul

Ooooh, I had to get involved with this one - I love a bit of grammar

I would say both are fine to use in general speech, and I wouldn't be inclined to edit either sentence if I came across one in text.

But if you want to be pedantic (and I usually do ):

"When is your birthday?" - This is perfectly correct grammar. It refers to a repeating date, ie one that comes around every year.

"When is it your birthday?" - This is incorrect, as it uses the present tense for a specfic future event (the person's next birthday). It should instead be "When will it be your birthday?"

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Resistance is fertile

Or in Sunderland "Wheese keese are theese?"

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Murray. Are you sure that is what the 'discussion' is about? Is there, perhaps, something deeper you wish to share with the group?

KK

Ok, I have to ask about this one. English is not my mother tongue, so I'm intrigued, and would like to know why this is so, as I would have thought the way to phrase that question should be "When will your birthday be?"

No, you're defo not supposed to end sentences with "be", remember my dad getting very stressed about it when we were kids.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

So what about:

Oh dear what can the matter be?
Oh dear what can the matter be?
Oh dear what can the matter be?
Johnnie's so long at the fair.

He promised to bring me a basket of posies,
A garland of lilies, a garland of roses,
A little straw hat to set off the blue ribbons
That tie up my bonnie brown hair.

?????? Now I'm more confused!!!

"Oh dear what can be the matter" doesn't scan very well.... poetic license innit?

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Resistance is fertile

Wann ist Ihr Geburtstag? Or Wann ist es Ihr Geburtstag? Either really, does it matter? LOL.

I'm not sure about this one, but "When will your birthday be?" certainly sounds clumsy, and it could be read as "When will your birthday exist?" which would be the wrong meaning of "be".

Also "will be" is the future tense of "be", and it would seem odd to separate the two parts of the verb with a noun in this way. You could however say "When will your birthday be celebrated this year?" (where "will be" is separated again) but only because the word "celebrated" qualifies the sentence...

Nobody ever said English was easy!

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Resistance is fertile

I cannot remember any reason that one should not end a sentence with the participle or the infinitive 'be.' Whereas one definitely shouldn't end one with a preposition. Although this also may be taken to ridiculous lengths. The famous example is attributed to Churchill who said "The ending of a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.

In addition the infinative should never be split. eg. "To boldly go where no man has gone before"

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Advertising is the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. George Orwell
Paul

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”