Construction of interrogative sentences. How to make an English interrogative sentence How to put a sentence in interrogative form in English

Hi all. You are in an English grammar lesson. And since you are already here, by the end of the article you will definitely be able to understand today’s topic. And the topic of the lesson is interrogative sentences in English language. In this article we will tell you what types of questions there are, how they are constructed, and how to answer them.

Types of Interrogative Sentences

This topic is relevant for students of any level of language proficiency, because mistakes are possible even at higher levels. high level when it comes to constructing questions in English. They confuse word order, miss auxiliary verbs, and use incorrect intonation. Our mission is to prevent such errors from occurring. Can we start?

The first thing you need to know about questions in English is that they differ from the structure of affirmative sentences. We usually (but not always!) ask questions in English by changing the word order: we put the auxiliary verb first before the subject. Another (main) verb is placed after the subject. In the picture, the word order in an English question looks like this:

Interrogative sentences are divided into four types:

1. General question. We ask this question when we want to know general information. We can answer it with one word “yes” or “no”.
2. Tag question. Here the statement is already embedded in the question, and the answerer can only answer whether this is so. Usually ends with a statement like “isn’t it?” ("is not it?").
3. Alternative question. You are asked to choose one from several proposed options.
4. Special question. We need such questions in order to find out certain, specific information that interests us. The questioner has no assumptions about the answer, and the question cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.”
5. Question to subject. We know the predicate, but we ask the question to find out who is performing the action.

To make it clearer, let's look at the interrogative sentences in the table with examples

*V - verb, predicate
*Subject - subject

This is the big picture. Now let's take a closer look at each type of interrogative sentence.

General question

The easiest way to construct a general question is a simple inversion. We take a statement and, according to the rules for constructing a question, swap the subjects and predicate.

Kim is a doctor. - Is Kim a doctor?
Julie will study German. - Will Julie study German?
Ducks can fly. - Can ducks fly?

In the examples above, nothing had to be added to the verbs. But sometimes you need to add an auxiliary verb. For example:

I like oranges. - Do you like oranges?- Do you like oranges?
He tried to enter Oxford University. - Did he try to enter Oxford University?- Did he try to get into Oxford?
Tom likes swimming in the sea. - Does Tom like swimming in the sea?- Does Tom like to swim in the sea?
She goes to work everyday. - Does she go to work everyday?- Does she go to work every day?

Otherwise there shouldn't be any problems. The main thing is to know the basic rules of grammar. So let's move on to the next type.

Tag question

Everything is even simpler here. You don't even need to swap anything. We just take the statement and add “isn’t it?” at the end. Just like in Russian. The interrogative part depends on the affirmative part. If is was used at the beginning, then isn’t will be used at the end, and so on. For example:

Kim is a doctor, isn’t he?- Kim is a doctor, right?
Julie will study German, won’t she?- Julie will study German, won't she?
Ducks can fly, can’t they?- Ducks can fly, right?
I am your friend, aren’t I?- I'm your friend, aren't I?
He isn’t your brother, is he?- He's not your brother, right?
They aren't at home now, are they?- They are not at home now, are they?
Your friend worked in IT, didn’t he?- Your friend worked in the IT field, didn’t he?
You used to get up at 5 a.m., didn’t you?- You used to get up at 5 am, right?

That is, we are almost sure of our statement, but we want to make sure. “Ducks fly, don’t they?”

Alternative question

It follows almost the same rules as the general question. The only difference is that at the end, instead of one option, several are offered.

Is Kim a doctor or a teacher? Is Kim a doctor or a teacher?
Will Julie study German of French?- Will Julie study German or French?
Will they go to the park or to the cinema?- Will they go to the park or to the cinema?
Did you buy apples or pears?- Did you buy apples or pears?
Does he work or study?- Does he work or study?

Accordingly, in the answer you can no longer simply say “yes” or “no”, but you need to choose one of the options.

You may have noticed that our favorite duck example has been removed. Because several options will not always form an alternative question. For example: “Can ducks fly or not?” There are two options here, but this is a general question because the answer can be yes or no. Or “Can ducks fly or swim?” This is also not an alternative question, since it is not necessary to choose one option (they can do both, and we do not offer to choose, but only combine two questions into one).

Special question

A special question uses question words. These are what (what), where (where), when, whose (whose), (when), how (how), why (why), and so on. A question word is placed at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a verb (or auxiliary verb), subjects - and then the rest of the sentence. For example:

What is Kim's profession?- What is Kim's job?
When will Julie study German?- When will Julie learn German?
Why do ducks fly?- Why do ducks fly?
What are you cooking?- What are you cooking?
What do you want to eat?- What do you want to eat?
When did you leave the house?- When did you leave home?

Question to subject

Everything is the same as with a special question, but now the question refers not to the predicate, but to the subject.

Who is Kim?-Who is Kim?
Who will study German?- Who will teach German?
Who can fly?-Who can fly?
Who went to the supermarket?- Who went to the supermarket?
Who are you?- Who are you?
What happened to your friend?- What happened to your friend?
Who did that?- Who did it?

We answer in the same way as to a special question, but we already name the subject. Who did it? - He did it!

Conclusion

As you managed to replace, there is nothing difficult in asking a question and finding out the information you are interested in. We hope that this article will help you understand all the subtleties and nuances. Learn English, be inquisitive and ask correct English questions to your interlocutors. Because not knowing is not a shame. It's a shame not to want to know!

EnglishDom #inspiring to learn

An important part of studying this or that foreign language is the ability to ask questions. In English, as in any other language, there are different types of interrogative sentences that have their own rules of formation. Articles about tense forms in English describe general rules formation of interrogative sentences, but this topic is not fully disclosed.

This article discusses in detail all types of interrogative sentences, how they are formed, how they differ and how to apply them in practice. If you have questions on this topic or any additions, you can leave your message on our forum.

Types of Interrogative Sentences

All interrogative questions can be divided into the following types:

• General issues- answers to such interrogative sentences can be “Yes” or “No”.
• Special questions- interrogative sentences starting with the so-called Wh-questions.
• Alternative questions- interrogative sentences are asked in order to make a choice for the interlocutor between any objects or events.
• Dividing questions- interrogative sentences end with “isn’t it?” in order to obtain one or another confirmation from the interlocutor.
• Questions with denial- these are questions that contain the denial of any action, state of something or someone.

Below you can find out how each type of interrogative sentence is formed and used.

General questions in English

General issues- these are questions to which the answer can only be “Yes” or “No”, but the answer can be given in more detail in a positive or negative context. You should know that when forming general questions in English, in the first place in the sentence you must use auxiliary (do / be / have or modal verbs) of one or another temporary form. For example:

• Do do you go to school every day? - Do you go to school every day?- This sentence is formed in the present simple tense, where " Do" - is an auxiliary verb.
• Did did you make a home work yesterday? - You did homework yesterday?- This sentence is formed in the past simple tense, where the auxiliary verb “Did” indicates the past tense.
• Were are you at home yesterday? - Were you at home yesterday?- This sentence uses the verb "to be" in the past simple plural form.
• Am I a good teacher - Am I a good teacher?- This sentence also uses the verb "to be" in the simple present tense for the 1st person singular.

Articles devoted to one or another tense form describe in detail auxiliary verbs in interrogative sentences, their correct use and examples.

Special questions in English

Special questions- these are questions that require a complete answer for one or another circumstance. To ask a special question, you need to use the so-called Wh-questions, which are placed first in the interrogative sentence, after which you should use one or another auxiliary verb, which corresponds to any tense form depending on the context of the interrogative sentence. For example:

• Why do do you go to school every day? - Why do you go to school every day?
• When did do you make your home work? - When did you do your homework?
• When was he at London - When was he in London?

Alternative questions in English

Alternative questions- these are interrogative sentences that involve making a choice between two or more objects or events. An example of using an alternative question:

• Does he study at the University or at school?- Does he study at the university or at school?
• Are they doctors or lawyers?-Are they doctors or lawyers?
• Will we go to Paris or London?- Will we go to Paris or London?
• Does she study or work?- Is she studying or working?

This type of interrogative sentences is formed in the same way as general questions, i.e. An auxiliary verb in one form or another (to be / to do / to have / or a modal verb) is placed first in the sentence, followed by the subject + main verb, then we put " or " (or) + second verb, or you can use an object or adverbial as a choice, examples are given above.

It should be borne in mind that alternative questions can be formulated in a simplified version, for example:

• Do you want to go to the park or not? - Do you want to go to the park or not?
• Do do you want to drink some tea? Green or black ? - Do you want to drink tea? Black or green?

Dividing questions in English

Dividing questions are questions that require one or another confirmation from the interlocutor. Sentences with a dividing question consist of two parts: the main part and the so-called “tail”, which is essentially a question. The main part is formed according to the general rule of affirmative or negative sentences, and the “tail” is formed from the auxiliary verb used in the main sentence (with a slight nuance). For example:

• We are going to the cinema, aren't we?- We're going to the cinema, aren't we?
• You know how to make it, don"t you?- You know how to do this, don't you?
• I will not go to London, will you?- You're not going to London, are you?
• She is not working now, is she?- She's not working now, is she?

Thus, when forming dividing questions, you should pay attention to the following:

• In what tense form is the main sentence formed, since this determines which auxiliary verb to use when translating the interrogative particle “isn’t it?”
• What type of sentence is used in the main sentence (affirmative or negative), since this determines how the translation of the interrogative particle “isn’t it?” will be formed. If the main sentence is affirmative, then we use the auxiliary verb of this sentence and put it in negative form. If the main sentence is in a negative form, then the auxiliary verb in the tail will be in the affirmative form. Examples of these rules are given above.

Exceptions: You need to know the exceptions to the above-described rules for forming dividing questions:

• The main clause in dividing questions starting with “I am” forms a question in the “tail” - “aren”t I”? For example: I am a clever man, aren't I? - I'm a smart person, aren't I?
• All sentences starting with "Let's" in the tail form "shall we?". For example: Let's go to the cinema, shall we? - Let's go to the cinema, shall we?
• All sentences starting with “Let us” (allow us) form “will you?” in the tail. For example: Let us go to the cinema, will you? - Let us go to the cinema, huh?
• In sentences with adjectives such as: everyone, someone, anyone, no one; The question in the tail uses "they". For example: Someone should go to London, shouldn't they? - Someone should go to London, shouldn't they?
• In sentences that use adverbs such as: never (never), rarely (rarely), rarely (seldom), hardly (barely), barely (barely) and with such negative pronouns as: nothing (nothing), nowhere (nowhere), none (nobody, nothing), nobody (nobody), the tail question will always be positive. For example: They could hardly solve this problem, could they? - They can barely solve this problem, can they? / She saw nobody, did she? - She didn't see anyone, did she?

Questions with denial

Questions with negation are questions that contain one or another negation and at the same time require confirmation or refutation of this negation. For example:

• Don't do you mind if I do it?- Do you mind if I do this?
• Isn't he a good man?- Is he not a good person?
• Didn't he do it?- He didn't do it (Didn't he do it?)
• Why won't we go to Paris this year?- Why don't we go to Paris this year?

When forming questions with negation, it is necessary to use an auxiliary verb (do, be, have or modal verbs) of one or another tense form with negation and, as in any questions, put it first in the sentence, or immediately after the question word.

Exercises on the topic of interrogative sentences in English

Conclusion

When composing interrogative sentences, you should pay attention to the tense form, since it contains an auxiliary verb used in interrogative sentences.

Have questions when using or forming a particular type of interrogative sentence? Ask and take part in the discussion in a specially created topic on our forum dedicated to learning English.

Other articles about English grammar

Today we'll look at general principles constructing interrogative sentences in English.

In fact, this topic did not arise by chance. Writing interrogative sentences in English causes a lot of difficulties for both adults and children. Moreover, it’s not just beginners who make mistakes.

The ability to ask questions is a critical skill in terms of communication. After all, all communication is based on the “question-answer” principle. It is impossible to communicate in any language without knowing how to ask questions to your interlocutor.

In this article I have collected the basic principles of constructing interrogative sentences. The article will be of an overview nature without focusing on specific grammar in terms of tenses and question types.

Word order in English

The word order in an English sentence is straight. The general scheme of an affirmative sentence is as follows:

• Subject – predicate – direct object

For example, I speak English. The simplest sentence that fully corresponds to this order.

The adverbial clause is often placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

For example, I speak English well. I speak English well. The adverbial adverb comes at the end of the sentence.

Or, Last week we visited our aunt. Last week we visited our aunt. The circumstance comes first. It can also be easily moved to the end of the sentence.

As for interrogative sentences, the English language is characterized by inversion when constructing a question.

Schemes for constructing interrogative sentences in English

All interrogative sentences in English are constructed more or less the same, regardless of grammatical tense.

I do not take into account some of the nuances of spoken language, some types of question words, modal verbs, adverbs of frequency and a disjunctive question, I will give only a general diagram with examples:

As you can see, we are assembling the question as a constructor according to a clear pattern.

This scheme is relevant for two types of interrogative constructions. These are the so-called ASI and QUASI:

• A.S.I. stands for “auxiliary (auxiliary verb), subject (subject), infinitive (infinitive).”
• QUASI– “question word (interrogative word), auxiliary (auxiliary verb), subject (subject), infinitive (infinitive).”

However, the last component - the infinitive - is relevant only for questions in the Present Simple and Past Simple.

When using other tenses, instead of the infinitive without the particle to, we use the desired form of the semantic verb. Most often it is either a verb ending in –ing or .

If you remember these two patterns, you will have no trouble asking questions in English.

If there is no question word, we begin the question with an auxiliary verb. The rest of the order remains unchanged.

Scheme of an interrogative sentence with the verb to be

As we know, it is impossible to construct an English sentence without a predicate verb. If there is no verb in the sentence, we use the verb to be in the required form.

• For example, She is beautiful. She's beautiful.

In Russian the predicate is omitted. In English we use the is form of the verb to be. Literally, she is beautiful.

How to formulate a question in this case? Very simple.

Inversion in the question does not go away, so in in this case in the absence of an auxiliary verb, which the verb to be does not require, we put it in first place. Essentially, we simply swap the subject and predicate:

• Is she beautiful? - She's beautiful?
• Was he young? - Was he young?

In the second case, the Past Simple form is used. Please note that in Russian we also use this form in the past tense - “was”.

Thus, the scheme with the verb to be looks like this:

Again, if there is no question word, we simply do not use it.

Principles of constructing interrogative sentences in English

And now, armed with the above information, let’s highlight the general principles of constructing interrogative sentences in English:

1. The most important principle is that an interrogative sentence in English cannot begin with a subject (noun, pronoun). It begins with a verb - auxiliary, to be, modal. Depends on the offer. But not with a noun. As soon as you want to ask a question, we remember about inversion.
2. If the sentence contains a semantic verb, we construct the question as in the first scheme, using an auxiliary verb according to the required tense (do, does, did, have, has, etc.).
3. If a sentence is built with the verb to be(there is no other semantic verb, or there is no verb in the Russian sentence at all), we use the second scheme without the auxiliary verb. We simply swap the subject and predicate.
4. If the question does not contain a question word or additional parts of the sentence(additions and circumstances), we simply do not use them, while the word order is maintained according to the scheme.

Example for Beginners

If you find it difficult at first, you can build sentences based on the affirmative form.

For example, you want to ask - Does she like dogs?

Let's first put the sentence in the affirmative form:

• She likes dogs. She loves dogs.

To ask the question: “Does she like dogs?” we reason this way:

1. In a sentence there is a verb – to love, to like – like. So we need diagram with auxiliary verb.
2. Determined the time - Present Simple. This means we need to choose between auxiliary verbs do or does . In this case does for the third person singular.
3. There is no question word. So, we start the sentence with does.
4. Next we put the subject, then the predicate and the object - all according to the scheme.
5. We assemble according to the diagram and get - Does she like dogs?

It's easy and simple if you remember the diagram and basic principles. Over time, you will bring this process to automaticity.

Secrets of English grammar.
There are five types of interrogative sentences in English. Each of them has a specific construction structure.

1st type. General question (general).
The answer can be either “yes” or “no,” which is why a general question is often called a “yes/no question.” In this type of interrogative sentences, the word order is reversed. It begins with auxiliary or modal verbs.

Does she play the piano and the guitar?
Does she play piano and guitar?

Is the pupil reading the text?
Is the student reading the text?

Can your baby swim?
Does your baby know how to swim?

2nd type. Special question.
A special question is asked to obtain additional information or clarify any details. It uses reverse word order, with one of the question words coming first: When? - When?; What? - What?; Where? - Where?; Which? - which?; Why? - Why?; How much/many? - How many? and others.

When will you be here?
When will you be here?

What are you planning to buy?
What are you going to buy?

How much did your plane ticket cost?
How many

3rd type. Disjunctive question / tag-question.
A disjunctive question is used to express surprise, doubt, or obtain confirmation. This interrogative sentence consists of two parts. The first part is the sentence itself without any changes (that is, with direct word order), the second is an auxiliary verb and pronoun, which are translated “isn’t it true”, “isn’t it so”. If the first part is an affirmative sentence, then in the second part not must be placed after an interrogative or modal verb. If the first part of the question is negative sentence, then in the second part the particle not is not used.

You have done the homework, haven't you?
You did your homework, didn't you?

It is not so easy to translate that text, is it?
That text is not so easy to translate, is it?

All children like sweets, are not they?
All children love sweets, don't they?

4th type. Alternative question.
An alternative question can be asked to any member of the sentence. It involves choosing between two options. This type of question always contains the word or:

Is the dress you bought red or black?
Is the dress you bought red or black?

Did Peter or John present such beautiful flowers to you?
Did Peter or John give you such beautiful flowers?

Are the pupils reading a text or writing a dictation?
Do students read the text or write a dictation?

5th type. Question to the subject
This type of question is sometimes considered a type of special question. The word order in it does not change, but the words What (if the noun is inanimate) or Who (if the noun is animate) are put in first place instead of the subject. A question has the same structure as a declarative sentence, in which the role of the subject is played by interrogative pronouns.

What makes you feel happy?
What makes you happy?

Who wants to answer the question?
Who wants to answer the question?

Who will come to our party?
Who's coming to our party?

Interrogative sentences in English are constructed according to certain rules, regardless of the tense form of the verbs.

Of course, you have questions: the English language sometimes poses problems. For example, how to write questions in English? What types of questions are there? How to ask a question with the correct intonation so that native speakers don’t have to guess whether it’s a question or not?

So, 5 types of questions in English:

General questions, or yes/no questions
Special questions, or WH questions
Alternative questions
Separation questions, or tag questions
Questions to the subject

Let's take a closer look at all types of questions with examples.

General issues- these are questions that can be answered either yes or no (you can also answer “I don’t know,” but that’s not about us).

Do you like opera? - No, I don’t.
Do you like opera? - No I do not like.
Are you a football player? - Yes, I am.
Are you a football player? - Yes.

General questions always begin with a verb. This can be one of the auxiliary verbs (be, do, have), it can be the verb to be (to be, appear) in its direct meaning, or it can be modal.

How to ask a YES/NO question with the verb to be

The formation of questions in English is made possible by changing the structure of the sentence. If you know the most basic sentence structure in English (subject-predicate-object), you can ask such a question. Just swap the subject and predicate.

Look how the place of the verb to be changes in the question:

Please note that nothing changes in the Russian translation - we are used to denoting the question with intonation, and inversions- changes in the order of words in a sentence - we do not have, or it occurs rarely.

How to ask such a question in English using the verb to do

In addition to to be, any other verb can be in a sentence:

The fish swims in the ocean - Fish swims in the ocean My friends play football - My friends play football I sing opera - I sing opera

And then you need to use a helping verb DO

Does the fish swim in the ocean?
Do my friends play football?
Do I sing opera?

There is no word with such a function in Russian. We simply say: Do fish swim in the ocean? As soon as you replace the question mark with a period, the meaning changes radically. Comfortable? May be. But treat the auxiliary do condescendingly. He's trying his best. See how he took away from the verb swim ending -s? This is so that you and I can immediately understand that we are talking about one single fish. And in general, it’s like a beacon: if you hear do at the beginning of a sentence, wait for a general question.

So we put the verb do at the beginning of the sentence before the subject, and the general question is ready. You just need to choose the correct form in accordance with the date and time.

If the semantic verb is also do (do), then the auxiliary will still be do. You get two words do in one phrase:

Does she do her homework? - Does she do her homework?

Notice again that the auxiliary verb do has changed to become feminine does, but the semantic one remained in the initial form.

How to ask questions in English with modal verbs

I have the opportunity to buy a goat. But I have no desire.
(from the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus")

Modal verbs are those verbs that express our desires and capabilities. These are the verbs can, may, must, should and others. We ask questions with them using inversion, i.e. We swap the subject and predicate.

+
You can buy a goat.
You can buy a goat.

?
Can you buy a goat?
Can you buy a goat?

Also, modal verbs are very often used when asking a direct question is not very polite.

Could do you pass me the salt? - Could you pass me the salt?
Would do you do me a favor? - Could you do me a favor?
May I come in? - May I come in?
Should I wait here? - Do I need to wait?

How to answer a general question?

As you know, sometimes you can get an answer to a question, and here it is important not to get confused and understand it. Most often, at first it will be a regular short answer, and after it details may follow.

Yes, I do, or:
No, I don't.

Or:
Yes, it is
Yes, I can

Which verb will be used in the answer depends directly on the question. If the question contained an auxiliary do, then the answer will also contain do. If you were asked:

Did you go to the supermarket yesterday? - Did you go to the supermarket yesterday?

Need to answer
- Yes, I did, or
- No I didn’t
As a last resort,
- I don't remember
- I don't remember

But don't make this mistake:
- Did you go to the supermarket yesterday?
Do not answer
- No, I wasn’t.

It is necessary that your verbs coincide with those of your interlocutor, then you will have complete linguistic harmony and understanding.

Why these short answers at all? It's faster and more convenient. Instead of saying “Yes, I went to the supermarket yesterday,” you can simply say “I did.” And it doesn't sound harsh, even if you say nothing more, although, of course, this is often followed by a more detailed story.

Special questions, or WH questions

As the English name suggests, special questions are those that begin with the letters wh.

For example,
Where - where?
Who - who?
What - what?
Which - which?
When - when?
Why - why?
How - how?

and questions containing “how”:
how often - how often?
How far - how far?
How old - to ask about age
And so on.

So WH questions include Wh questions + H ow

Where is my darling? - Where My lovely?

Those of you who already know how to ask general questions will be surprised to find out how easy it is to form a special question in English.

Let's look at its structure using an example:

Why do you like swimming? - Why do you like to swim?

If we remove the question word why, it will work out

Do you like swimming?

This is a simple general question that requires a yes or no answer. We added why, and it turned out to be a special question.

Let's practice a little. Make special ones out of the following general questions by adding any question words to them.

1. Does she go tho the supermarket?
2. Can I buy a goat?
3. Should I wait here?
4. Do your friends play football?
5. Does she do her homework?
6. Are you waiting for me?

You probably ended up with something like this:

1. When does she go tho the supermarket?
2. Where can I buy a goat?
3. Why Should I wait here?
4. How often do your friends play football?
5. When does she do her homework?
6. Where are you waiting for me?

Question to the subject

In many British textbooks, this type of question is not separately identified and is classified as a group of special questions. Yes, questions to the subject also begin with question words that begin with Wh.

But many people consider exactly the five types of questions in English, because the question to the subject has a very simple structure, which, of course, one cannot help but rejoice at.

When we ask a question to the subject, an auxiliary verb is not needed. Inversion is also not needed. Look at the example:

Bulgakov wrote “Master and Margarita” - Bulgakov wrote “The Master and Margarita”.

Subject - Bulgakov. He is the character in this sentence, he wrote the novel. Let's say we don't know this known fact and want to ask the subject a question:
Who wrote The Master and Margarita?

To do this, instead of the subject we insert who. It turns out,

Who wrote "Master and Margarita"?

That’s it, you don’t need to do anything else, the question is ready. You don’t have to remember the rules, but simply translate word for word, because in Russian this structure looks the same:

Who reads books?
Who reads books?

Which city is the largest?
Which city is the biggest?

By the way, why in the example “Who reads books?” does the verb end in s? The fact is that when asking the question “Who?”, we always mean the third person singular, even if in fact there are many characters.

In Russian we do the same thing:
Who's reading?(reads – verb with 3rd person singular ending).

We do the same in the present perfect:

Alternative questions

These are any questions in which an alternative is given and there is a dividing union. The choice can be between objects, actions, qualities, etc. In terms of structure, these are two common questions separated by the union or(or). The second part is most often incomplete:

Are you married or single? -Are you married or not?
Do you work or study? - Do you work or study?
Do you like classical music or jazz? - Do you like classical music or jazz?

Russian also has such a construction, so how to ask questions in English in a choice situation is quite clear.

Separation questions or tag questions

This type of questions is also called “tail questions” - literally “tail questions”. They were called that because such a question is short and is an appendage to the main, longer sentence.

They are especially useful when we are unsure of something and want to clarify, confirm our thoughts, and find out if we understood correctly. And also, in order to involve the interlocutor in dialogue.

Tag questions have two parts:

1. The first, main part is what you thought, but want to clarify. You voice your thought. It can be in both affirmative and negative form.
2. Then, as if doubting your words, you ask if this is so, if you thought correctly. The second part is the question itself in brief form. It consists of the verbs be, do, have, or a modal verb, and a subject, most often expressed by a pronoun.

If the first part is affirmative, the question must be negative. And vice versa, if there was a negation in the main part, it will no longer be in the “tail”.

There is symmetry in everything here - if the verb to be was used in the first part, we will see it in the tail part:

You are Masha's sister, aren't you? - You're Machine's sister, right?

If there was a modal verb at the beginning, say, can, it will also be at the end:

You can't swim, can you? - You can't swim, can you?

When there is no auxiliary or modal verb, or verb to be in the first part, in the second we use do, does or did

Masha went to Moscow last week, didn’t she? - Masha went to Moscow last week, didn’t she?
His little brother ate all the sweets, didn’t he? - His little brother ate all the candy, didn’t he?

If in the first part of the sentence there is I am, then in the question it is transformed into aren’t I?

I am right, aren’t I? - I'm right, aren't I?

Below is a table that once again demonstrates the rule: if the first part is a statement (+), the question will have a negation (-), and vice versa.

Most often in English you can hear the negation in the interrogative part.

The interrogative “tail” is pronounced with increasing intonation. But it happens that the intonation in this place goes, on the contrary, downward. With such intonation, a question-statement is obtained. The speaker is confident that he is right; he seems to be saying “agree with me,” “share my opinion.”

Compare the intonation in “confident” and “uncertain” disjunctive questions:

It also happens that both parts of such sentences contain an affirmative construction, and this is not an error. This can be done when you have just heard information and are repeating it to show interest, surprise, concern, or some other reaction.

So you are keen on drawing, are you? - So you like to draw, don't you?

Short questions in oral speech

We have covered all the main types of questions, but do not think that English ends there. Colloquial speech has its own laws and rules, and, most often, they are aimed at reduction and simplification. Who likes bulky designs? The pace of life is accelerating and therefore, for example, instead of

-Are you ready?
-Are you ready?
- Ready?

More examples of shortened questions and their long counterparts:

See it? - Have you seen it?
Got it? - Have you got it?
Going to school? - Are you going to school?
Any questions? - Have you got any questions?

When the context is well known to the speakers, for example because your interlocutors are friends or colleagues, the full question will even seem strange.

Both the auxiliary verb and the pronoun are often dropped.
But:
You cannot discard an auxiliary verb and a pronoun if this pronoun is - I:

Have I said it before? -Have I already said that?
"Said it before?"- wrong option.

Now you know how to ask a question in English if you are talking with friends, loved ones, or in a relaxed environment. Also, these forms of questions can be heard very often in films.

A little about intonation in questions

Intonation is that melodic pattern that always appears in speech. We don't speak on the same note, do we? Especially when we ask questions. It is often very important to get an answer, so questions in all languages ​​have a special intonation. Very often this is an increase in intonation that occurs towards the end of a sentence. However, English questions can be asked with three different intonations, depending on the type of question.

Falling intonation.

Typical for special issues.

Rising intonation.

Typical for general questions.

Mixed intonation (fall-rise intonation)

This intonation is expressed schematically as follows: . It is especially useful to use it when you need to request some information or politely invite your interlocutor to join a meal or some activity (usually a pleasant one).

But whatever the intonation, questions in English are based not on tone of voice, but on certain grammatical structures. Watch how the sentence is constructed, where its parts are located, whether there is an inversion or an auxiliary verb.

Often language learners willingly answer the teacher’s questions and can name all types of questions in English, but there is a problem with asking questions themselves. If you are studying with a teacher, sometimes take the initiative in the conversation. Ask something about the teacher, his family, his experience. Be a journalist conducting an interview.

Be curious and let that reflect in your English proficiency!