Which auxiliary verb should I put in a question like this and why?
Why didn't he make the decision?
Why hasn't he made the decision?
Answer
The two have different meanings, so either could be correct depending on the context and which decision is being referred to.
Why didn't he make the decision?
This suggests that the opportunity to make the decision has passed and that the choice is no longer of consequence. For example, in the sport of rugby, points can be scored either by kicking the ball between the posts (a 'drop kick') or placing the ball behind the posts (a 'try'). If a player hesitated in making a decision over which to do and lost the ball, then this would be correct.
Why hasn't he made the decision?
This suggests that the opportunity to make the decision has not passed and that it could still be made. For example, if a person is deciding which car to buy and there's still plenty of time left to choose, this would be correct.
No comments:
Post a Comment