More sentences ;-)

[fruxi]

Which ones are right???

- Since when have you been doing that?

- When have you been doing that since?

- How long have you been doing that for?

- For how long have you been doing that?

- What time do you get up?

- What time do you get up at?

- At what time do you get up?

My guess is that all of them are right... but a few ones sound a bit weird.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Mamasita]

Which ones are right???

- Since when have you been doing that?

- When have you been doing that since? You could use this but I prefer the sentence above!

- How long have you been doing that for?

- For how long have you been doing that? You could use either of these but the first one is more common and the second one is quite formal!

- What time do you get up?

- What time do you get up at? I prefer the sentence above because the addition of 'at' is unnecessary!

- At what time do you get up? This is quite formal but not wrong!

My guess is that all of them are right... but a few ones sound a bit weird.

Thanks!!!!

Hi Fruxi,

I hope this helps! You're right; most of the sentences are correct but the ones I've ticked are the ones most commonly used.

Mamasita. x

 

[fruxi]

Thanks! Great answer!

 

[se16teddy]

Which ones are right???

- Since when have you been doing that? 1

- When have you been doing that since? 2

- How long have you been doing that for? 3

- For how long have you been doing that? 4

- What time do you get up? 5

- What time do you get up at? 6

- At what time do you get up? 7

My guess is that all of them are right... but a few ones sound a bit weird.

Thanks!!!!

I think you could hear any of these from an English native speaker. I don't think any of them is wrong. However, some prescriptive grammars of English, especially the more traditional kind, advise avoiding structures with prepositions at the end of the sentence, such as 2, 3 and 6. You will find lots of interesting advice on this subject, including from Churchill (a supreme master of 20th century English) if you google 'preposition end of sentence'.

 

[fruxi]

Thanks, I googled it... interesting topic!

 

[jdenson]

Which ones are right???

- Since when have you been doing that?

- When have you been doing that since? I've never heard a native speaker say this. It sounds awful to me.

- How long have you been doing that for? Leave out "for".

- For how long have you been doing that?

- What time do you get up?

- What time do you get up at? Leave out "at".

- At what time do you get up?

My guess is that all of them are right... but a few ones sound a bit weird.

Thanks!!!!

Hi Fruxi,
Here are my suggestions.
JD

 

[Robbo]

Just one further point, "Since when have you ... " is also often used (at least in BE) to introduce a particular form of sarcasm or ridicule of someone's knowledge/skills/qualifications, for example:

Since when have you been a doctor? (This could be said to someone who is not a doctor but has been giving his unwanted opinion about health/medicine/remedies etc. In speech, additional stress might be placed on 'when' or on 'you' to emphasise that it is a humorous remark.)

Robbo