Dear Poonam, As far as i understud ur question, u are very sure that "who are you calling" is wrong but you are seeking the grammatical reason behind it bng wrong. If i am ryt, kindly read ahead, in the later part i have given certain grammar rules which may b of use to you. but in case u rnt looking for the gramatical reason, u may find it difficul to undrstand.
As per the gramatical rules:
Simple sentences= Subject + ( Helping verb+ Main Verb) + Object
Question 1. (“Yes/No” questions) = Helping Verb+ Subject+ Main Verb+ Object
Question 1 (“wh” questions) = “wh word (who, when, what, etc)” + Helping Verb+
Subject+ Main Verb+ Object.
(In the second case certain entities can be omitted as pe the context)
1. Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object
Do You Read books?
Have you Read this book?
2. “wh word (who, when, etc)” + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object.
a. Who are You? (No main Verb, No object)
b. Who is playing? (No Subject , No object)
c. Who is playing? Cricket (No Subject)
d. What are you doing? (No object)
e When are you going there? (all entities)
One need to understand when and in what context which element has to be omitted and when the formula is to be used as it is.
Taking help of hindi language:
“Who” questions can be of two types
1. Where a verb is being done (koi kaam ho raha hai) as in eg 2.b and c
2. Where an existence is questioned (kisi cheez ka hona “tha, thi, hai, hain, hoga, honge” ) as in eg 2. A
Now whenever an exixtence is questioned, subject is a must whose existence is questioned (“you” in eg a) but no verb is done (no main verb) and hence object is not required.
Who is calling= kaun call kar raha hai?
Who are you= aap kaun ho?
Who are you who is calling= aap kaun ho jo call kar rahe ho?
Note dat “jo call kar rahe ho” is irrelevant, “aap kaun ho” is sufficient.
So the key are the formulae mentioned above. Remember dat few of the elements can be omitted as per the context but the order cant be changed and nothing other dan prepositions, articles, etc can be added.
Taking your example “Who are are you calling”
Who are you= existence que
Who is calling= verb(calling) is bieng done so the respective formula is to be used.
Both cant be clubbed unless a conjuction is used to make it a compound sentence made of two or more simple sentence.
I am sure u must have found it difficult to understand and boring as well. But, this doubt comes under topic “structuring of sentence” which is very basic but very important concept. Generally speakers know the correct order simly by bng in an eng speaking environment but the ones who are completely unaware are to be tought dis. That doesnt, in any way mean that u are oen of those. What I mean is dat its one of the very basics and because v dnt come across grammatical rule v may face exceptions and may nt udrsatnd the correct use because of general and popular us of certaing words….
Hope it solved ur query…
If it did, u can get in touych for any other guidance. Else I apologise.
Good day!!
Regards Shipra
From India, Ghaziabad
2As per the gramatical rules:
Simple sentences= Subject + ( Helping verb+ Main Verb) + Object
Question 1. (“Yes/No” questions) = Helping Verb+ Subject+ Main Verb+ Object
Question 1 (“wh” questions) = “wh word (who, when, what, etc)” + Helping Verb+
Subject+ Main Verb+ Object.
(In the second case certain entities can be omitted as pe the context)
1. Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object
Do You Read books?
Have you Read this book?
2. “wh word (who, when, etc)” + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object.
a. Who are You? (No main Verb, No object)
b. Who is playing? (No Subject , No object)
c. Who is playing? Cricket (No Subject)
d. What are you doing? (No object)
e When are you going there? (all entities)
One need to understand when and in what context which element has to be omitted and when the formula is to be used as it is.
Taking help of hindi language:
“Who” questions can be of two types
1. Where a verb is being done (koi kaam ho raha hai) as in eg 2.b and c
2. Where an existence is questioned (kisi cheez ka hona “tha, thi, hai, hain, hoga, honge” ) as in eg 2. A
Now whenever an exixtence is questioned, subject is a must whose existence is questioned (“you” in eg a) but no verb is done (no main verb) and hence object is not required.
Who is calling= kaun call kar raha hai?
Who are you= aap kaun ho?
Who are you who is calling= aap kaun ho jo call kar rahe ho?
Note dat “jo call kar rahe ho” is irrelevant, “aap kaun ho” is sufficient.
So the key are the formulae mentioned above. Remember dat few of the elements can be omitted as per the context but the order cant be changed and nothing other dan prepositions, articles, etc can be added.
Taking your example “Who are are you calling”
Who are you= existence que
Who is calling= verb(calling) is bieng done so the respective formula is to be used.
Both cant be clubbed unless a conjuction is used to make it a compound sentence made of two or more simple sentence.
I am sure u must have found it difficult to understand and boring as well. But, this doubt comes under topic “structuring of sentence” which is very basic but very important concept. Generally speakers know the correct order simly by bng in an eng speaking environment but the ones who are completely unaware are to be tought dis. That doesnt, in any way mean that u are oen of those. What I mean is dat its one of the very basics and because v dnt come across grammatical rule v may face exceptions and may nt udrsatnd the correct use because of general and popular us of certaing words….
Hope it solved ur query…
If it did, u can get in touych for any other guidance. Else I apologise.
Good day!!
Regards Shipra
From India, Ghaziabad
Hi, May i know whom iam talking to: is the right way to question the caller. Stay happy. Keerthi
From India, Bangalore
From India, Bangalore
Hi HR brethren,
If I am not wrong, Both the sentences "who are you calling" and "who is calling" are write. There is no gramatical mistake in both the sentences. The difference is "who are you calling" is a respectable way of asking and "who is calling" is not.
If you have any other views, just fling it.
regards
Subramanian
From India, Delhi
If I am not wrong, Both the sentences "who are you calling" and "who is calling" are write. There is no gramatical mistake in both the sentences. The difference is "who are you calling" is a respectable way of asking and "who is calling" is not.
If you have any other views, just fling it.
regards
Subramanian
From India, Delhi
Hi Poonam,
I guess your sentence sounds too rude. Instead, you could use "May I know who is calling" or "May I know who is on the line " ? Even if the caller is a stranger or first-time caller, your reception should sound polite.
Regards,
Kulwindar Singh
GSM : +91.9811005577
E-mail :
From India, Delhi
I guess your sentence sounds too rude. Instead, you could use "May I know who is calling" or "May I know who is on the line " ? Even if the caller is a stranger or first-time caller, your reception should sound polite.
Regards,
Kulwindar Singh
GSM : +91.9811005577
E-mail :
From India, Delhi
HI,
Shipra,good info from the scratch.
I believe we are here to share our knowldge and learn something which relates to our profession and if Poonam wants any guidance with the help of cite hr then there should not be any reply which demotivate and make hesistation to ask any other info
Thanks
Krishna Kumar Pandey
From India, Mumbai
Shipra,good info from the scratch.
I believe we are here to share our knowldge and learn something which relates to our profession and if Poonam wants any guidance with the help of cite hr then there should not be any reply which demotivate and make hesistation to ask any other info
Thanks
Krishna Kumar Pandey
From India, Mumbai
Dear Poonam,
First and foremost "Grammar" has been mispelt...it does not have an "E".
Now coming to your query, the response will have to be addressed depending upon the situation.
1. Situation One:
On receiving a call you ask the caller..."Who are you calling". This is
incorrect. The correct response would be "May I know who is calling".
2. Situation Two:
You receive a call and the caller asks "Who are you calling". This is
totally incorrect.
Here again the most appropriate dialogue would be, "May I know who is
speaking?"
3. Situation Three:
The receiver finds the voice and number unfamiliar. In this situation the
receiver may ask, "Who are you calling?". This would not be incorrect.
However, the most appropriate response would be, " May I know who
would you like to speak to?"
Trust I have answered your query to your satisfaction.
Cheers!!!
Vasant Nair
From India, Mumbai
First and foremost "Grammar" has been mispelt...it does not have an "E".
Now coming to your query, the response will have to be addressed depending upon the situation.
1. Situation One:
On receiving a call you ask the caller..."Who are you calling". This is
incorrect. The correct response would be "May I know who is calling".
2. Situation Two:
You receive a call and the caller asks "Who are you calling". This is
totally incorrect.
Here again the most appropriate dialogue would be, "May I know who is
speaking?"
3. Situation Three:
The receiver finds the voice and number unfamiliar. In this situation the
receiver may ask, "Who are you calling?". This would not be incorrect.
However, the most appropriate response would be, " May I know who
would you like to speak to?"
Trust I have answered your query to your satisfaction.
Cheers!!!
Vasant Nair
From India, Mumbai
Dear CiteHR borhters and sisters,
After observing these discussions, I am sad to see some negative comments, which shows some of our friends's negative attitude.
i have seen one comment "you better improve your English before you correct others" ;"You better go to a coaching class" etc. These are not the comments expected from a civilized HR person.
I strongly believe that this forum is a platform to improve ourselves as individuals in organizations. As communication is the most important mode of influencing behavior, the way we speak matters a lot, hence, the topic has a relevance in CiteHR. we had thousands of people in CiteHR who have actively participated in English Accent Training Discussions and utilized those materials.
Kindly try to be role models to other HR professionals.
Razik
From India, Ernakulam
After observing these discussions, I am sad to see some negative comments, which shows some of our friends's negative attitude.
i have seen one comment "you better improve your English before you correct others" ;"You better go to a coaching class" etc. These are not the comments expected from a civilized HR person.
I strongly believe that this forum is a platform to improve ourselves as individuals in organizations. As communication is the most important mode of influencing behavior, the way we speak matters a lot, hence, the topic has a relevance in CiteHR. we had thousands of people in CiteHR who have actively participated in English Accent Training Discussions and utilized those materials.
Kindly try to be role models to other HR professionals.
Razik
From India, Ernakulam
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