What you said what did you said

What you said what did you said

what do you said is not a correct spelling.
What did you say is correct

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«What was I saying» or «What did I say» when you’re interrupted?

When I’m in a discussion with someone and then someone interrupts us and then I forgot what I said and want to continue from the point where I stopped, is it correct to say:

And does this work in the second person, as well? For example, if I forgot what the person who was with me said, can I say:

2 Answers 2

If you’ve forgotten what you said earlier, it’s “What was I saying?”.

“What did I say?” has a completely different meaning. It is used when you notice the other person reacting in a strange way, and that question really means “You’re reacting strangely, I think this is due to something I said, please explain to me which of my words caused you to react like this and why.” Sometimes the person asking this has genuinely forgotten what they said, but often they do remember but don’t understand the reaction (or they’re pretending not to).

If you’ve forgotten what the other person has said, you can ask “What were you saying earlier?” or “What did you say, again?” (or other variations). Neither sentence feels completely natural in this meaning without an adverb, though they aren’t actually wrong.

“What did you say?” could also mean that you didn’t understand what the person say, and with no other clues that’s how I would understand it if I heard it.

— I think that [noise of an airplane going by] — I’m sorry, what did you say?

When there is no apparent risk of interruption, it can also be a way to express surprise or disagreement with what was said.

— I don’t like this painting.
— What did you say? That’s my masterpiece! Why are you so unsupportive?

“What were you saying?” works best when there is some other context: “Whew, we got rid of the interruption. Now, what were you saying?” It can also have another meaning: when you’ve done something that changes the situation, and you think that what the person said no longer applies. It is common to shorten this to “You were saying?”.

— I don’t like this painting.
[throws the painting away] — There. You were saying?

What have I said vs What did I say

«What did I say?» I come across this line generally. What is wrong with this line «What have I said?»

2 Answers 2

When a parent is reminding a child of a previously stated rule, «What have I said?» and «What did I say?» both work:

What have I said about leaving your clothes on the floor?

What did I say about leaving your clothes on the floor?

On the other hand, if someone is asking whether they’ve just said something offensive, «Did I say something to offend?» and «Have I said something to offend?» both work.

The answer by rjpond was good. I just wanted to add that using the simple past interrogative means you are referring to one specific utterance in the past. «What did I say» is equivalent to «what was that one specific thing I said.» This is the reason that «what have I said» is not used if a person wants the answer to «what was the specific thing I said that offended you.»

On the other hand, «what have I said» leaves the possibility open that you may have said more than one thing or the same thing multiple times. For example, if someone said «you often say things that offend me,» then the proper question would be, «What have I said that offended you?» Now the answer can be a list of things I’ve said.

In fact, this is the reason we often hear things like «what have I said about leaving your clothes on the floor?» The implication is that the exasperated parent has said this many times.

The present perfect means there’s a possibility of multiplicity or repetition. The simple past is instance-specific.

Where are we? What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to fall,
Crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling.
Spin me round again and rub my eyes.
This can`t be happening.
When busy streets a mess with people
would stop to hold their heads heavy.

Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines.
All those years they were here first.

Oily marks appear on walls
Where pleasure moments hung before.
The takeover, the sweeping insensitivity of this still life.

Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines. (Oh, you won`t catch me around here)
Blood and tears,
They were here first.

Mmm, what you say?
Mm, that you only meant well? Well, of course you did.
Mmm, what you say?
Mm, that it`s all for the best? Ah of course it is.
Mmm, what you say?
Mm, that it’s just what we need? And you decided this.
Mmm what you say?
What did she say?

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.
Speak no feeling, no I dont believe you.
You don`t care a bit. You don`t care a bit.

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.
Speak no feeling, no I don`t believe you.
You don`t care a bit. You don`t care a bit.

You don`t care a bit.
You don`t care a bit.
You don`t care a bit.
You don`t care a bit.
You don`t care a bit.

«What did he say?» or «What he said?»

I am much confused about these terms please anybody explain which one is correct and which I should use?

3 Answers 3

forms a perfect question.

Natives may not opt for What he said? because it lacks the auxiliary verb ‘did’.

To form a perfect question with ‘what’ here, you need to put a verb (auxiliary).

See there, remove a question mark, and it becomes a sentence

That is what he said.

This is the reason of adding an auxiliary verb.

If you are from an Asian country (especially India), it’s okay to form a question like that. Asians understand this as a question. But don’t practice it if you want to be good at the language. In India, I keep on correcting others whenever I get a chance! 🙂

What did he say? is a question. It asks for clarification of what he said if you have not heard clearly.

What he said is a statement. It refers the listener to the previous statement that he made.
Adding a question mark does not, in itself, make it a question

When asking a question about something that happened in the past, we use did with the bare infinitive form of the verb:

What did you say?
When did it happen?
Why did the cost increase?
Where did the rain fall?

But with who we use the past tense of the verb:

Who took the book from the table?

With whom we again use «did»:

Whom did he ask for directions?

[Many native speakers no longer say ‘whom’ (objective case) but use ‘who’ instead: «Who did he ask for directions?»]

An alternative, very informal way to ask such questions, a way which often expresses incredulity, or surprise, or impatience, or simply a desire to have your conversation partner confirm or repeat the statement, is as follows, with tonal emphasis on the final word: