What is the correct usage of "the question of ..."?

Question

I am currently writing my thesis, which addresses the question <em>of how to do X</em>. However, I am not sure whether the usage of <em>"the question of ..."</em> is correct. I found the following expressions while searching the web: 1. This thesis addresses the question of how to do X. 2. This thesis addresses the question how to do X. 3. This thesis addresses the question as to how to do X.Can someone tell which one is correct (and why)?I also sometimes use the expression <em>"the question of whether X is true"</em>. Do the same rules apply?Thank you,Dan

Answer 1

Dan,

I'm not entirely clear what your asking, but my understanding is that you're unsure of whether or not to use 'of' to connect 'question' and 'how.' Short answer is that you do need to use 'of.' 'Of' is a preposition, and the purpose of these words is, in general to connect nouns and nouns, pronouns and nouns, or pronouns and pronouns. When you ask if you should use 'of' to connect 'question' to 1) 'whether' and 2) 'how,' you're asking the same grammatical question. 'Whether' and 'how' are both what are called relative pronouns. Their purpose is to introduce a statement (grammatically, a clause) to a sentence through the pronoun. So think of 'a question of how (X)' as synonymous to 'a question of profit' or 'a question of tea' where 'profit' and 'tea' are substituted for 'how (X).' The point is that you are grammatically connecting a noun-noun or noun-pronoun: this requires a preposition - in your case, 'of.'