affirmative sentence in English. How to construct a negative sentence? Word order in an interrogative English sentence

Offer – this is a separate statement that has intonation and semantic completeness. A sentence is a word or group of words, organized according to the rules of grammar, that carries a specific message, question, exclamation, or call to action.

• It's raining. - It's raining.
• go outside! - Get outside!
• What are you doing? - What are you doing?

Offers English, as in Russian, depending on how many grammatical bases (combinations of subject and predicate) in the sentence, are divided into simple and complex sentences.

• Simple sentences
• There is my house.- This is my house.
• I have to go to the university.- I have to go to the university.

• Complex sentences
• There is the house where my family lives. This is the house where my family lives.
• I have to go to the university now but I will come back soon. I have to go to the university now, but I will be back soon.

simple sentence(simple sentence) is a sentence that contains only one grammatical basis(one combination of subject and predicate).

• Kate likes dogs. Kate loves dogs.
• We go jogging every Sunday. We go jogging every Sunday.
• They didn't go to school last year. They didn't go to school last year.

Simple sentences for the purpose of the statement

All simple sentences, depending on the purpose of the utterance, can be narrative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory.

Declarative sentences

Declarative sentence(declarative sentence) - a sentence that communicates a certain fact or information in affirmative or negative form. The intonation of such a sentence is mainly descending, direct word order is used (subject before the predicate).

• My name is Paul. - My name is Paul.
• Kate is good at cooking. Kate cooks well.

• I don't like honey. - I don't like honey.
• George hasn't finished his work yet. George has not finished his work yet.

In English, usually There can only be one negative in a sentence, in contrast to the Russian language, where there can be a double negation (using together the particles not, nor negative pronouns, adverbs, etc.).

• I know nothing.- I do not know anything.
• I don't know anything.- I do not know anything.

• We met no one yesterday. We didn't meet anyone yesterday.
• We didn't meet anyone yesterday. We didn't meet anyone yesterday.

Twice no in English it can be used to further strengthen the negation, but this is not common.

• I ain't got no money.- I don't have any money.
• We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control.“We don't need any education, we don't need any thought control.

Interrogative sentences

Imperative sentences

imperative sentence(imperative sentence) - a sentence that encourages the interlocutor to act, that is, it expresses an order, request, command, invitation, etc. These sentences often omit the subject. you(you, you), since it is clear from the context, the verb is used only in the infinitive form without a particle to.

• Watch this!– Look at this!
• Listen to me.- Listen to me.
• Go and buy some bread, please.- Go buy some bread, please.

Sometimes in imperative sentences the pronoun you is not omitted in order to emotionally highlight and reinforce an order or command.

• You sleep now.- You're going to bed now.
• We will rest and you drive. We will rest and you will drive the car.
• I will go to the shop and you stay at home.- I'm going to the store, and you stay at home.

In order to form negative imperative sentence(prohibition or request), the auxiliary verb is always used do in the negative form, even with a verb to be.

• Don't give me orders!- Don't order me!
• Don't touch it, please.- Don't touch it, please.

• Don't be so silly!- Don't be so stupid!
• Oh come on don't be mad.“Oh come on, don’t be mad.

To form an order, a command directed at third parties, the verb is used to let(allow). To let also used to offer help or when asking for permission to do something.

• Let her go.- Let her go. (Let her go.)
• Let him do whatever he wants. Let him do whatever he wants.
• Let the children play with our dog. Let the children play with our dog.

• Let me help you.- Let me help you.
• Let us do this.- Let us do it.

The form let's(short for let us) is used to suggest joint action. In this sense, the full form let us practically not used.

• Let's go for a walk!- Let's go for a walk!
• Let's play football outside. Let's play football outside.
• Let's invite Paul and Janice to the party. Let's invite Paul and Janice to the party.

exclamatory sentences

exclamatory sentence(exclamatory sentence) - a sentence expressing certain emotions or feelings. Often such sentences begin with the words what and how, and end exclamation mark.

AT exclamatory sentences only direct word order is used. However, often a sentence can only consist of one or two words.

• Marvelous! - Wonderful! (also with a touch of sarcasm)
• How wonderful! - How wonderful!
• It's such a beautiful life! - What a beautiful life!
• What a lovely day it is. - What a wonderful day today.

Types of simple sentences by structure

Simple sentences according to their structure (the presence or absence of some members of the proposal) are divided into two-part and one-component, as well as on uncommon and common.

Two-part sentence

Two-member sentence(two-part sentence) - a sentence in which there are both main members of the sentence (subject and predicate), or one of them is omitted, as it is clear from the context or the previous sentence.

• I don't like this book.- I don't like this book.
• We had a lot of fun in Brazil! Swimming in the ocean, drinking cocktails, dancing . We had a lot of fun in Brazil! We swam in the ocean, drank cocktails, danced.

Two-part sentences, in turn, are divided into complete and incomplete. complete sentence(full sentence) - a two-part sentence in which there is both a subject and a predicate.

• The baby was smiling to us. The child smiled at us.
• We've bought a lot of candies for you. We bought you a lot of sweets.
• There was a big party at Caroline's place. Caroline had a big party.

Incomplete sentence(incomplete sentence) - a sentence in which one of the main members of the sentence is missing or both of them, as they are clear from the context. Such sentences are often found in colloquial speech, dialogues.

• Who did that? Mark, of course.- Who did this? Of course Mark.
• What did he do? Nothing at all!- What did he do? Nothing at all!
• What were we doing? Just chilling and talking.– What did we do? They just relaxed and talked.

One-part sentence

One-member sentence(one-part sentence) - a special type of sentence in which there is only one main member of the sentence, and it cannot be unambiguously defined as a noun or a predicate. Sometimes these suggestions are called phrase sentences.

One-part sentences can be expressed using a noun or an infinitive of a verb.

• To be or not to be?- To be or not to be?
• To stay here - alone, forgotten by everyone.– To stay here – alone, forgotten by everyone.
• Spring! Birds singing, the sun shining, flowers in blossom.- Spring! The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming.

Uncommon and Common Suggestions

unextended sentence(non-common sentence) - a sentence in which there are no secondary members of the sentence, but only grammatical basis. Uncommon can be both one-part and two-part sentences.

• Spring. - Spring.
• to live! - Live!
• Don't talk!- Do not chat!
• She is sleeping.- She is sleeping.
• Matt is a student. Matt is a student.

extended sentence(common sentence) - a sentence in which there is one or more minor members of the proposal depending on the subject or predicate.

• beautiful spring!- Beautiful spring!
• Don't talk to me now!- Don't talk to me now!
• My little sister is sleeping upstairs. My little sister sleeps upstairs.
• Matt is not really a good student. Matt is not a very good student.

And now we will look at examples of the basics of making simple sentences to express the past, present and future tense.

Building sentences in the Simple group

affirmative sentences

Let's start with Present Simple. All affirmative sentences are built according to the following scheme:

1. "I" in this example is the subject. Do not confuse it with the object, since the subject performs the action, and it is performed on the object. Moreover, in Russian, the order of words is not important to us, because it is already clear who performs the action. We can freely say: "I eat the cake." But in English, it’s not possible to build a sentence like this, because the one who performs the action must be in the first place, otherwise they will simply laugh at you when you say: “The cake eats me.” Even through the passive voice, such a phrase will sound very strange.
2. In second place should be the predicate, which expresses the action itself. In Russian, there are often sentences with an incomplete grammatical basis, where there is no subject or predicate, or both are absent. In the latter case, we are dealing with an impersonal sentence: "Dark." In English, there must always be a subject and a verb. So, if there is no verb in the Russian sentence, then in English it will definitely appear. Let's take for example a one-part sentence in which there is no predicate: "The phone is on the table." To translate it correctly, we need to use the verb "to be", which will connect the subject with the predicate. As a result, the phrase will literally be translated as: "The phone is on the table."
3. Secondary members of the sentence lined up in third place according to a certain rule: first there is a direct object (answers the question “who?”, “What?”, “Who?”), then indirect (answers the same questions, but with the prepositions “with whom ?”, “to whom?”, etc.). This rule is not always observed and is not strict.

As in Russian, English verbs change depending on the person. The main changes occur in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), where the suffix "s" or "es" is added to the predicate. As a result, we get the sentence: "He goes to school."

Negative sentences

In addition to the affirmation, there is also a negation, the scheme of which is as follows:

In this scheme, all the same components are found, except for the linking verb "do" and the particle "not", which is equivalent to the negative particle "not" in Russian. What is an auxiliary verb and why is it needed? Unlike Russian, where we simply put the “not” particle before the verb, in English, the “not” particle must be preceded by an auxiliary verb. It is different for each tense, and in the case of Present Simple, it will take the form of either “do” or “does”, depending on the number and person of the subject. Example: "She does not go to school".

Interrogative sentences

So, we have considered the affirmation, negation, and we are left with a question, the formation of which also requires an auxiliary verb:

So, we have analyzed with you the basic principles for constructing various types of sentences in Present Simple. Past Simple and Future Simple are built in a similar way, the main differences will be in the form of the auxiliary verb.

Building sentences in the Future Simple

Statement

The scheme for constructing a statement in a simple future tense (Future Simple) is as follows:

The auxiliary verb will indicates that the action takes place in the future tense, and the phrase would be translated as: "I will go to school."

Negation

Negation is built using the particle "not" already known to us and the auxiliary verb "will".

Question

Any question begins with an auxiliary verb, so when building a question, simply put will in first place.

past simple

Statement

When constructing a statement in the past tense of the Simple group, there is a small feature: the suffix "ed" is added to the verb.

I deliberately omitted the school example because it uses an irregular verb. Most verbs form the simple past tense by adding the suffix "ed" to the stem (cook - cooked), but there are about 470 verbs, according to the Oxford dictionary, that form the past tense according to their canons. Our verb “go” also falls into their number, which will change the form to “went”: “I went to school”.

Negation

The negative in the simple past tense is constructed similarly to the Present Simple, with the only difference being that the form of the auxiliary verb "do" acquires the past "did".

Question

The question is also built by analogy with Present Simple. We only change the form of the auxiliary verb to the past.

So we studied the construction of sentences in the entire Simple group. The main thing is to remember the schemes for all three types (statement, denial and question), do not forget about how the word forms of verbs in the 3rd person singular change and memorize the main irregular verbs in order to achieve automatism in speech.

Building sentences in the Continuous group

In the Continuous group, there is always an auxiliary verb “to be”, the change in the form of which will tell us when the action is happening: yesterday, now or tomorrow. In this group, there is also always a participle I, similar to the real participle in Russian. The participle itself is built by adding the suffix "ing" to the verb (go - going).

Statement

We will not deviate from the structure and consider the formation of time in the Present Continuous.

The forms of the verb "to be" video change depending on the person, and here the matter is not limited to changes only in the 3rd person singular. Forms are easy to remember.

In the past tense, the auxiliary verb changes its form to "was" or were "depending on the person and number.

The scheme for constructing a sentence in the Past Continuous will be as follows:

The future tense in this group is formed without any changes, just put the future tense verb “will” before the auxiliary “to be”:

Denial and question

The construction of the negation and the question occurs according to the general scheme for constructing sentences: when negating, we put “not” after the auxiliary verb, and when we ask, we put the auxiliary verb in the first place.

To build the past form, you need to change the form of the auxiliary verb to "had".

To build the future form, we additionally put “will”.

Denial and question

Negation and the question are built in the classical way: the particle not after had (when negating), had in the first place (when asked).

Denial and question

These sentences are given only for the sake of an example, in practice you will hardly find yourself in a situation where you will need to express yourself in Perfect Continuous. It will be much easier and faster to build a phrase from the Simple and Continuous groups.

Simplified table of formation of all types of sentences in all tenses

For those who are new to tenses, this article may seem a little chaotic, so as a result, I offer you a ready-made table with the formation of sentences in all tenses, so that it is easier for you to see the whole picture. You can use it as a cheat sheet in the initial stages of studying temporary structures. The table is taken from the Peekaboo resource.

The study of different tenses in English begins with an explanation of situations when it is appropriate to use one or another tense. And also the principles of construction of sentences of different types are given: affirmative, negative, interrogative. Each of these proposals is built according to its own rules. However, in the construction of sentences of the same type, but within different tenses, one can notice similar features. In this article, we will analyze examples of affirmative sentences in English used in simple tenses.

What is an affirmative offer

Many examples of affirmative sentences can be found in everyday speech. Most of the sentences we build are of this type, i.e. these sentences state some thought. Negative ones, in turn, deny some thought and they use not particles.

present simple

This time is also called the simple present. This time is used when talking about something ordinary that we do every day. For example, we go to school/work/university every day, etc. Or someone may love music very much and listen to it every day. There are also many ordinary rituals that are performed every morning (wake up, wash, get dressed, etc.). these are actions that are present at the moment in the life of a person and are repeated regularly.

How are affirmative sentences constructed in this tense?

The subject comes first. It is followed by either the auxiliary verb am (with the pronoun I), is (with the pronouns he, she, it and third person singular nouns), are (with all other pronouns and plural nouns). An auxiliary verb is used if there is no main semantic verb. If it is, then it follows the subject. Next come the secondary members of the sentence.

Consider examples of affirmative sentences in Present Simple:

He is a doctor. He's a doctor. (We are talking about a profession, a person does his job every day and is a doctor)

She is interested in music. (We are talking about a favorite hobby that is relevant both yesterday and today, and, most likely, will be relevant tomorrow. That is, this is something consistently recurring)

I like playing the guitar.

He works so hard. (A diligent worker who gives all his best every day).

past simple

This time is also called the simple past. It is used when you need to talk about some completed action in the past. Moreover, most often it is indicated at what moment the action was committed (four hours age, last year, two days ago, etc.)

The construction of the sentence in this tense is very similar to the previous examples. But there are differences.

The subject also comes first. It is followed by either the auxiliary verb was (I, he, she, it) were if there is no semantic one. If there is a semantic verb, then it comes after the subject and changes its form. If it is an irregular verb, then its form can be specified in the table of irregular verbs. In all other cases, the ending -ed is added to the word. After also come the secondary members of the sentence. Consider examples of English affirmative sentences in Past Simple:

He bought a book two hours ago.

I was at the cinema yesterday.

He showed me his picture last year.

Future Simple

The simple future tense indicates some action that will take place in the future. It is built as follows: subject + auxiliary verb (shall / will) + semantic verb (infinitive). Examples of affirmative sentences:

I will study economics next year.

We will go to the cinema tomorrow.

Similarities

What do all these examples of affirmative sentences have in common? A very similar principle can be traced by constructions. Everywhere there is a clear order of words. The subject always takes the first place, followed by the verb (auxiliary or semantic, depending on the meaning of the sentence). Secondary members of a sentence always come last. However, it is worth noting that when placing them, it is worth observing a certain order.

Secondary members of the sentence

A secondary role in the proposal is occupied by additions, circumstances and definitions. But they must also be in a certain order, otherwise the sentence will lose all meaning. The object is placed after the verb. The circumstance is usually located at the very end (sometimes at the very beginning, but these are rare cases). The definition can be in different parts of the sentence, but always next to the word being defined (usually it is expressed by a noun).

Consider examples of affirmative sentences with different secondary members.

An old man got a telegram yesterday. An elderly man received a telegram yesterday. The word old is a definition and comes before the word being defined (man). A telegram acts as an addition and comes after the verb got (Got what? Telegram). And in last place is the circumstance yesterday (yesterday).

We have looked at several examples of affirmative sentences. All of them are approximately similar in the way they are built. The differences are due only to the time in which a particular sentence is used. But you should always remember the word order. After all, it significantly affects the construction of sentences of any type. It is also worth paying attention to the forms of auxiliary and semantic verbs, which can change depending on the time used.

The English language, unlike Russian, is characterized by a strictly fixed word order in a sentence. The need for such a word order is explained by the absence of inflections in the English language, without which it is often impossible to determine which member of a sentence a given word is. Take, for example, the sentence: The hunter killed the bear - The hunter killed the bear.

In Russian, we can rearrange words relatively freely: bear killed by hunter. — Killed by a bear hunter. — Bear hunter killed... - etc. The meaning of the sentence does not change.

But if you rearrange the words in an English sentence: The hunter killed the bear -> The bear killed the hunter... - the meaning will change in this case to the opposite.

So the English sentence has fixed word order. The usual word order in an affirmative sentence is:

• in the first place - the subject;
• on the second - ;
• on the third - addition (indirect, direct, prepositional);
• and on the last - circumstance (mode of action, place, time).

Note.

1. Circumstances of time and place may appear before the subject. This word order cannot change the meaning of the sentence, since the adverb of time cannot be confused with the subject, because:

• the adverb of time is expressed, for example yesterday, tomorrow;
• if the circumstances of time and place are expressed by a noun, then they must be preceded by a preposition, for example, in the morning, and the subject is not used with a preposition.

Compare:

In the morning children go to school In the morning- circumstance)
The morning was cold The morning- subject).

2. The circumstance of the course of action (often, seldom, never) often stand between the subject and the predicate or between the auxiliary verb and the semantic part of the predicate (just, already, never).

For example:

Not often goes for a walk in the evening. In the evenings he often goes for a walk.
We have just learned this rule. We have just learned this rule.

The main members of the proposal

The subject can be expressed in different parts of speech (see table below):

See also:

Why is it important to consider the syntactic structure of a sentence?

Sometimes an English sentence cannot be understood and, therefore, translated into Russian without parsing. However, due to the lack of inflections and a large number of homonymous grammatical forms, this can be difficult. The following rules may help you:

1. Try to find the main members of the sentence- subject and predicate.

• In a declarative sentence, the subject comes before the verb and the object comes after it.
• case (I, we, she, he, they) are always subjects.
• Personal forms of verbs to be and to have, combinations with shall, will always perform the function of a predicate.
• A noun with a preposition is never a subject.
• The subject is never next to the object: their always separates the predicate.

2. The circumstance cannot be confused with the subject, because it:

• or expressed by a noun, in which case it is always preceded by a preposition;
• or expressed by an adverb, which can be defined:
  • by the presence of a suffix - ly: slowly- slowly (adverbs with this suffix are usually not recorded in dictionaries);
  • according to vocabulary notes: adv = adverb- adverb.

3. Sometimes in a sentence can be hard to find definition and distinguish it from the subject or object.

In English, a definition can be expressed by almost any part of speech and stand as before defined word, and after him. However, if the definition is expressed , or , and the word being defined is , then they are easy to distinguish by form or by using dictionary marks. Difficulties arise when the definition is also expressed by a noun. But here, too, options are possible.

The definition can be expressed by a noun in . In this case, it's worth before defined by the word and has a formal feature - an apostrophe: cat's milk- cat's milk.

A definition can be expressed by a noun with a preposition. In this case, the definition is always after defined word:

which letter? - which letter?
letter from her sister - a letter from a sister;
a cup of tea - a cup of tea.

The most difficult case is when the definition is expressed by a noun in the common case and formally does not differ in any way from the word being defined. In this case, the definition always costs before defined word and is translated either by an adjective or a noun in the genitive case:

bus stop - bus stop;
institute building - institute building.

Remember! The definition and the word being defined cannot be interchanged. Otherwise, the meaning will change.

For example:

export oil - export oil;
oil export - oil export.

Note! If a noun is defined by several prepositional adjectives, then these adjectives are distributed as follows:

Sometimes a word can be defined by an entire attributive group consisting of several nouns and other parts of speech. In any case, the word being defined always stands on last place, and all the preceding ones are definitions for it:

the Liberal Party election campaign committee

Let's analyze all of the above with a specific example:

This complex three-step process may briny, our children into a special relationship with human environment.

Let's try to find the subject or predicate by formal signs. Modal verb may is always part of the predicate. Hence,

• may briny - predicate;
• everything before it is the subject complex, and after it is the object.

So, if several nouns stand side by side, and there are no unions between them, then the last word will be the defined word, and all the previous ones will be the definition to it.

In this sentence, the subject is - process.

So our proposal translates as follows:

This complex three-step process can lead our children into specific relationships with the human environment.

If there are no formal signs in the sentence that allow you to find the subject and predicate, then context and common sense can help.

Difficulties in translating from Russian into English the main members of the sentence

Due to the lack of inflections and a strictly fixed word order in English, unlike Russian, there are no incomplete sentences (that is, there must be both a subject and a predicate). Therefore, if there is no predicate in the Russian sentence (the verb have, have), then in English the verb form should be substituted for the predicate to be.

For example:

My sister is a student. - My sister is a student.

See also:

However, the Russian verb be not always translated by the verb form to be. When it is used in the sense available, it is translated as a verb to have.

For example:

I have (have) a book, i.e. I have a book. -> I have a book.

See also:

The multifunctionality of the pronouns it and one.

The pronouns it and are declared multifunctional. Their use cases are shown in the tables below.

The need for transformation in translation

When some inanimate nouns act as the subject.

In English, such inanimate nouns often act as the subject (for example: text, article, report, figure, rumour, tradition, yearn, etc.), which in Russian cannot be a figure, i.e. action agent.

This use of inanimate nouns is explained by the rigid word order and the absence of incomplete sentences in the English language. Such constructions are translated into Russian most often in indefinitely personal and impersonal sentences.

For example:

Figure 1 shows. - Figure 1 shows.
The article says. - The article says.

However, in some cases more radical changes are required.

The first session of this conference on Atomic Energy saw delegates of 70 states. — The first session of the conference on atomic energy was attended by delegates from 70 states.

Agreement of the predicate with the subject

Usually the predicate agrees in person and number with the subject:

My brother is a student.
My brothers are students.
He studies at the University.
They study at the University.

About the discrepancy between the number of nouns in Russian and English, the corresponding one.

Remember the following rules for agreeing the subject with the predicate.

1. The predicate is in third person singular if the subject is expressed:

• pronouns anyone, anybody, everybody, everything, all:

Everybody knows it. “Everyone knows this.

• gerund or infinitive:

That smoke is bad. - Smoking is harmful.

• if there are several homogeneous subjects in the sentence, expressed in infinitives. For example:

That graduate from the University; to receive a diploma and to enter a postgraduate course was his aim. — His goal was to graduate from university, get a diploma and go to graduate school.

• interrogative pronouns who, what.

Who knows it? — Who knows about it?

• phrase with preposition with:

A woman with a child was walking along the street. A woman with a child was walking down the street.

2. The predicate is in plural if homogeneous subjects, expressed by nouns or pronouns, are connected by conjunctions:

And (and) or both ... and (both).
My sister and I were alone. “My sister and I were alone.
Both Ann and Mary are pretty. Both Anna and Mary are very pretty.

3. In English, there is a so-called proximity rule, when the predicate is consistent with the subject closest to it:

• if these subjects are joined by conjunctions neither... nor, either... or; not only...hut also:

Neither he nor I am to blame. Neither he nor I are to blame.

• in revolutions There + to be(more about this turnover):

There is a table and several chairs in the room. — There is a table and several chairs in the room.

But: if the subjects are connected by a union as well as, then the predicate agrees in person and number with the first of them, just as in Russian:

Pete as well as his friends is a student. - Petya, like all his friends, is a student.

Note. Often in English, the connection between the predicate and the subject is carried out not at the formal, but at the semantic level. The predicate is singular or plural depending on whether the subject is treated as a whole or as consisting of several parts, and not because this subject has a plural suffix:

His family are great musicians. All his relatives are great musicians.
Twenty miles is not a great distance for me. “Twenty miles is a short distance for me.

See also a deviation from the usual word order in a declarative sentence: There to be

From the point of view of the purpose of the utterance in English, as well as in Russian, various types of utterances can be formed. English sentences are divided into declarative (affirmative and negative), interrogative (questions in English), exclamatory sentences and phrases in the imperative mood. To compose each of these types of sentences, there is a strict grammatical algorithm that must be observed, otherwise the construction of the structure will be incorrect. You can start with the most common affirmative sentences.

The order of constructing an affirmative sentence

Affirmative sentence (that's what this type is called) does not require any special particles in its formation. The main thing is to follow the standard order that is characteristic of the English language. To compose an affirmative sentence means to arrange the members of the sentence according to a certain scheme: subject, predicate and all other secondary members. It is worth remembering that some temporary forms (for example, Perfect or Future) have auxiliary verbs that are part of the predicate structure, which should also be used after the subject:

He has eaten too much today, it's time to stop - He ate too much today, it's time to stop
Alex will come in a few days, I suppose - Alex will come in a few days, I suppose

Note: when forming statements, there is an unspoken rule to use circumstances in a certain order: first adverbs of place, and then time. Sometimes this order may change, but these are the conditions for the author's expressiveness:
Sally went (1) to Scotland (2) last week - Sally went to Scotland last week

It is worth saying that simple English sentences that emphasize a statement and end with a dot at the end are called declarative sentences.

Negative sentences

Negative sentences in English are mostly formed in a standard way: the negative particle not comes to the rescue, which is placed either after the auxiliary tense verb or after the verb to be. It's no secret that the negative form of the verb to be is a construction that can be shortened, for example, is not = isn't, will not = won't, etc.

However, the not particle is not the only way to form a negative sentence. In general, in English, in addition to the particle not, there are several more methods for constructing negative sentences, namely:

adverbs that carry a negative meaning (both directly and indirectly) - nowhere, never, hardly/scarcely, seldom/rarely, etc.;
negative pronouns - nobody, nothing, no one, etc.;
negative prefixes (ir-, il-, un-, dis-, mis-, etc.) and the suffix –less.

Note: There cannot be two negatives in an English sentence! If such a situation is possible in Russian, then in English this cannot be allowed, it is necessary to convey a negative meaning differently, and sometimes this can be done in several ways:

I didn’t see anyone yesterday - 1. I did not anybody yesterday 2. I saw nobody yesterday

The negative form in English is possible even in an interrogative sentence, but this will be discussed a little further.

Types of interrogative sentences in English

It is important to remember that there is no single rule for composing questions in English, since there are six varieties of such sentences in total, and each of them is formed differently from the other.

Rule for the formation of a general question

A common question in English is a question that begins either with an auxiliary verb (have / has, do / does, did, etc.), or with the desired form (you will get rid of doubts about the formation of certain temporary forms). A distinctive feature of General questions is that the answer to them can be the words “yes” or “no”, that is, the person asking the question asks for some general information.

General questions in English are quite popular and, as a rule, do not carry much difficulty in education. The word order in the General question is special, as in almost all other sentences with a question. The answer to the question of how to ask a general question is quite simple: the verb to be or another auxiliary verb must be followed by the subject, and already after it the rest of the sentence structure:

· Does he appreciate his new job? Does he appreciate his new job?
Have they already eaten donuts? Have they already eaten donuts?
Is she really as beautiful as they say? Is she really as beautiful as they say?

Special question features

A special question in English is so called because it puts a special interrogative word in the first place - when, how, where, why, etc. This is the main difference between Special questions and General questions, since the question word is followed by the same word order that general questions have: one of the auxiliary verbs comes first, then the subject, and then the secondary members of the sentence. In English, special questions have the following structure:

When did you return from Berlin? – When did you return from Berlin?
Why is he so lazy? Why is he so lazy?

With the exception of the beginning, the scheme of the special question completely repeats the general one and usually also does not cause difficulties for language learners.

English subject question

The question to the subject in English is considered by many to be the simplest in terms of education, and there is a fairly logical explanation for this. Such questions are somewhat reminiscent of special questions, but here the main interrogative words are who and what (hence the name). Questions are formed with who and what in an elementary way: the simple affirmative form with the subject at the beginning of the sentence changes very slightly and just who (for animate nouns) or what (for inanimate nouns) is put in place of the main member of the sentence, and this completes the whole transformation. Here are examples of how similar questions in English are formed:

Emily is the best cook in the world - Who is the best cook in the world?
· His work has influenced him greatly – What has influenced him greatly?

Do not confuse special questions in English with questions to the subject, since no auxiliary verbs need to be used here.

Note: There is a rule that allows what to be used with inanimate nouns. Translation of the phrase "What are you?" - "Who are you by occupation?" ("Who are you?" - "Who are you?", the name is implied).

Alternative question

An alternative question in English, in terms of the way it is formed, resembles a general one, but there is one nuance here. That is why it is called alternative, because the person who asks such a question does not just want to hear “yes” or “no” in the answer, but clarifies something, choosing from two objects, qualities, actions. These actions or objects are separated by an or particle, which introduces an alternative. These questions look like this:

Does he like meat or fish? Does he like meat or fish?
Will you come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? Are you coming tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?

Conditions for the formation of a disjunctive question

These questions have several names: Disjunctive questions, Tag questions, and sometimes people simply refer to them as questions with a tail. Their essence is to ask again, clarify, interest the interlocutor. Separating questions are formed in English (this is their most common name in Russian) not quite usually: the main part is affirmative, and the whole question is enclosed in the so-called tail. Moreover, if there is no negation in the main part of the sentence, then it will appear in the tail, and vice versa. At the end, there should be the auxiliary verb that corresponds in time to the main part, and the subject should follow it. In fact, there is nothing complicated here:

· They are coming in a week, aren't they? They're coming in a week, aren't they?
She hasn't completed her task, has she? She hasn't finished her task yet, has she?

Note: in imperative sentences, the formation of such a question is non-standard:

Let's finish this work, shall we? Let's finish this job, okay?
Go and bring me my money, will you? “Go and get me my money, okay?

indirect questions

There is another type of question - indirect. To understand how to ask such questions, it is worth remembering that they are relevant, as their name implies, in indirect speech, when it is necessary to convey the words of the author. Here the union if appears, and the word order must be direct, since the sentence from the interrogative becomes narrative:

He worried if he will stay alive - He was worried if he would stay alive
I wonder if you want to come - I wonder if you want to come

Interrogative-negative sentences

Absolutely any tense can form the so-called interrogative-negative sentences in English. This means that both the question and the negation are included in the structure of the sentence, and from a grammatical point of view, this is quite acceptable. Such negative questions are translated in English using the constructions “Really?”, “Is not?”:

Didn't you find your book there? Didn't you find your book there?
Hadn't Jack finished his work before I called? Didn't Jack finish the job before I called?

Imperative sentences in English

Classification of sentences in English implies the presence of another type of sentence in addition to the above - these are imperative sentences, that is, imperative. Such structures are easy to form: the infinitive without the to particle is put in the first place, and, to put it even more simply, this is just the first form of the verb. Such sentences are used in the case when you need to give an order, ask for something, call for action, etc.:

Send me a letter as soon as you get there - Send me a letter as soon as you get there
Leave the room right now! “Get out of the room right now!”

Exclamatory sentences in English

Exclamatory sentences are designed to show emotions, and they are called exclamatory sentences. They often start with the word what and are used with an exclamation mark at the end:

What a catching story! - What a fascinating story!
What a shame! - What a shame!

All these types of sentences are actively used in the English language, and knowing how they are formed, it will be much easier to use them in your speech, and the language itself will become richer and more beautiful, because there will be much more ways to express certain emotions or thoughts.