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Echo questions: She’s invited how many?

You’re getting married?​

To question what has been said, a speaker may simply repeat (‘echo’) what he/she has heard. A rising intonation is common.

  • ‘I’m getting married.’ ‘You’re getting married?’

Take a look at what?​

To question one part of a sentence, we can repeat the rest of the sentence, and put a stressed question word in place of the part we are asking about.

  • ‘Just take a look at that.’ ‘Take a look at what?’
  • ‘She’s invited thirteen people to dinner.’ ‘She’s invited how many?’
  • ‘We’re going to Tierra del Fuego for a month.’ ‘You’re going where?’
  • ‘I’ve broken the fettle gauge.’ ‘You’ve broken the what?’

To question a verb, or the part of a sentence beginning with the verb, do what is used.

  • ‘She set fire to the garage.’ ‘She did what (to the garage)?’

Repeating a question: Where am I going? Home.​

A speaker may question a question, by repeating it with a rising intonation. Note that we use normal question structures with inverted word order, not indirect question structures, in this case.

  • ‘Where are you going?’ ‘Where am I going? Home.’ (not … Where I’m going? …)
  • ‘What does he want?’ ‘What does he want? Money, as usual.’ (not … What he wants? …)
  • ‘Are you tired?’ ‘Am I tired? Of course not.’ (not … Whether I’m tired? …)
  • ‘Do squirrels eat insects?’ ‘Do squirrels eat insects? I’m not sure.’ (not … Whether squirrels eat insects? …)