> >Something doesn't seem right here. You can't say *"What are you putting
> >on?" because you're leaving out an entire argument - the object placed.
Actually I think you can't do it because "putting on" is a different verb
(meaning 'to don').
> The reason you can't say *"What are you putting on?" is because a question
> asks for one specific datum, while you seem to be asking for two. You would
> either ask, "On what are you putting the book?" asking for the table, or
> "What are you putting on the table?" asking for the book. You cannot ask for
> both. That would sound something like *"What are you putting on the what?"
> invalid for obvious reasons.
I don't think it's necessary that a question asks for one specific datum.
English sentences like "Who puts what where?" and "He did WHAT to WHO?" aren't
entirely uncommon. The expression for the *"What are you putting on?" would be
"You're putting [the] what on [the] what?"
*Muke!
--
http://www.frath.net/