Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS
Are these questions correct?
Where does he park his car near to?  "What does he park his car near?"
What is there behind the church? 
What are there next to the park? "What is there next to the park?" or just "What is next to the park?"
At he end of what is his house? - Nothing wrong with this, but I have never heard that used.
Where does he have a flat close to? "What is close to his flat?" or "What is his flat close to?" (some people do not like the second one as it ends on a preposition, but it is common in speech.)
Where is his house near to? "What is his house near?"
What's his flat next to? or "What is next to his flat?"
Where does he live at weekends? "Where does he live on weekends?"
What is there in front of his house?
What is his house opposite? - This one is a weird phrase to me. In speech, you could hear "What is his house opposite of?" but that may not be correct in writing.
Where are the shops next to?
They sound a bit stilteld but according to the exercise they seem correct to me. Any suggestions ?? |
See my notes above. This is how I would write it. I can't swear on my usage as the official answer for English though. I usually prefer "What" when using near. You can be near many things such as a park, store, post office, house, etc... These items are both places and objects, so it can be confusing as when to use "Where" or "What." I don't know what the official rule is though. With "near" I use "what".
For example:
Where are you going? -- I'm going to the store.
What is that over there? -- That is the mall.
In the cases of "there" such as "What is there behind the church?" This is a correct sentence. Normally you would just say "What is behind the church?" The only time I use "there" is when I am adding some specific that I care about and it still is optional.
For example:
"What is (there) behind the church for photographs?"
"What is (there) at the mall for kids?"
The "there" is still not required, but it is more commonly used then.