We've already talked. Let's talk about constructing interrogative sentences in English. The construction of interrogative sentences is a very important topic in English grammar. Wherever we live, our speech consists of questions and answers. Interrogative sentences, of course, in any language imply interrogative intonation. It is this means that serves to create questions in the Russian language. But in English, unfortunately, intonation alone cannot do it!
The purpose of an interrogative sentence is to obtain additional information from the interlocutor or confirmation/denial of the question itself.
- What did you begin to learn last year? — English. (What did you start studying last year? - English.)
- Do you like studying? − Yes, I do. (Do you like studying? - Yes.)
The interrogative sentence and the answer to it form a certain semantic and grammatical unity. The answer largely depends on the form of the interrogative sentence. Before you move on directly to constructing interrogative sentences, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in the English language there are ready-made samples (types) of questions and answers to them. And the material presented below is a kind of introductory lesson before studying the following topics:
- Question about the subject and its definition in English
Interrogative sentences in English differ from declarative sentences in their construction. Most of them are characterized by inversion, that is, reverse word order (part of the predicate is placed before the subject, and not vice versa). In some cases, the auxiliary verb to do is used. In writing, at the end of all interrogative sentences, a special punctuation mark is placed - a question mark.
Questions expressed only by intonation in English (You were there yesterday?) are used only in familiar address.
Formation of interrogative sentences
According to the method of formation and construction, all interrogative sentences can be divided into three main types:
Type I (Inversion without auxiliary verb)
The predicate in an interrogative sentence contains verbs to be, to have (if they act as semantic verbs), modal verbs (can, must, should, may, ought) or auxiliary verbs (shall, will, should, would). Such questions are formed using inversion and do not require the use of the auxiliary verb to do. The semantic verb to be, to have, an auxiliary or modal verb is placed in first place before the subject, and the rest of the predicate remains in its place after the subject. In the case of the semantic verbs to be, to have (predicates) in the Present Simple and Past Simple, the subject will be immediately followed by the secondary members of the sentence (objects, circumstances). If there are several auxiliary verbs, then only the first one is taken out. When an interrogative sentence contains a question word, it is always placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Construction of interrogative sentences type I
| Question word | Auxiliary, modal verb or verbs to be, to have | Subject | The rest of the predicate | Secondary members of the sentence |
| Will | you | go | there tomorrow? | |
| What | are | you | doing | here, George? |
| Have | you | finished | your composition? | |
| When | can | you | come? | |
| May | I | ask | do you have a question? | |
| Where | are | you, | Mary? | |
| Have | you | any books on English literature? | ||
| Is | your father | in Moscow? |
1. When the predicate is expressed by the phrase there is/ are (was/ were), the verb to be is placed in front of the word there, and the subject remains after it.
- Is there any time left?
- Are there many songs in your playlist?
- Was there a meeting after the concert?
2. If the verb to have is part of a phrasal predicate (to have breakfast, to have a rest) or is used in a modal meaning, then an interrogative sentence is formed using the auxiliary verb to do according to type II.
- When do we have breakfast?
- What time do you have to be there?
In American English, the verb have in all cases forms interrogative sentences with the help of the verb to do.
- Do you have red pencils?
- (Compare with the British: Have you red pencils?)
- How many brothers do you have?
- (Compare with British: How many brothers have you?)
Type II (Use of auxiliary verb)
The predicate does not contain the verbs to be, to have, auxiliary, or modal verbs (except to have). Such interrogative sentences are formed using the auxiliary verb to do. In this case, the predicate is any semantic verb (except to be and to have) in the Present Simple or Past Simple. When forming interrogative sentences, the verb to do is used in the appropriate tense, person and number (in the Past Simple - did, in the Present Simple for the 3rd person singular - does, for the rest - do). It is placed before the subject, and the main verb in the infinitive form is placed after the subject. If there is a question word in a sentence, it takes place at the beginning of the sentence.
Construction of interrogative sentences type II
Example of a Type II Interrogative Sentence Type III (direct word order)
The question word in a sentence is the subject (who, what) or its modifier. Such interrogative sentences are formed without inversion and without the auxiliary verb to do, regardless of the composition of the predicate. The question word, which serves as the subject, is followed by the predicate, and after it the rest of the sentence. That is, the direct word order is preserved.
Construction of interrogative sentences type III
I would like to note that this article presents generalized schemes for constructing questions in the English language. Based on the nature of the question and the required answer in the English language, it is customary to distinguish between five main types of questions, which were listed at the beginning of the article. Each type has a number of features, which are covered in the corresponding articles on our website. But, nevertheless, the tables proposed above can serve as a basis for constructing interrogative sentences in English. Have fun learning English! I wish you success!
A question that requires a "YES" or "NO" answer. In our case - “Do they go to Sochi every summer? - Yes. - No.”
In Russian, to ask this question, we simply change the intonation, but the word order remains the same.
In English, to ask a general question, you need to place the auxiliary verb first in the sentence.
So, let's look at our proposal and determine the time. Present Simple. The auxiliary verbs of this tense are “do” and “does”. For the pronoun "they" - "do".
We get: “Do they go to Sochi every summer?”
Answer: “Yes, they do” - “Yes.” "No, they don't" - "No."
Note! In English there are "strong verbs" that do not require an auxiliary verb. These are almost all modal verbs (“can”, “may”, “must”, etc.) and the verb “to be” (or rather its forms).
2) Alternative question. Alternative Question
A matter of choice. I’ll show you with our example: “Do they or WE go to Sochi every summer?”, “Do they DRIVE or FLY to Sochi every summer?”, “Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?”, “They go to Sochi every SUMMER or WINTER?
Conclusion: we can set an alternative to each member of the sentence. In this case, we always use the conjunction “or” - “or”. Remember it!
Let's summarize... To ask an alternative question, we bring forward the auxiliary verb (as in the general question) and do not forget to ask an alternative to any member of the sentence using the conjunction "or".
We get: “Do we or they go to Sochi every summer?”
or: "Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?"
3) Dividing question. Tag-question
Question with a “tail”)) We translate the tail “Isn’t it?”
A dividing question is constructed using the following formula:
our sentence unchanged + comma + tail?
What kind of tail is this? It consists of 2 words: an auxiliary verb and a pronoun.
Let me explain with our example:
"They go to Sochi every summer."
First of all, it is necessary to accurately determine the time.. In our case - Present Simple.. auxiliary verbs "Do"/"Does".. "They" - "Do". Let's look at our sentence again and determine whether it is negative or affirmative.. Affirmative means our tail will be negative! If the sentence were negative, the auxiliary verb would become positive, i.e. without the negative particle "not".
We complete our sentence with the pronoun from the 1st part - “they”. Attention! If in the first part of the sentence the subject is a noun, replace it with a pronoun (for example, “a table” - “it”, “books” - “they”, “Mom” - “she”).
They go to Sochi every summer, don't they?
(They go to Sochi every summer, don't they?)
Note! If the role of subject and predicate is “I am”, in the tail we write “...., aren”t I?”
4) Special question. Special Question
A question in which the speaker requests specific information. (“Where do they go every summer?”, “Who goes to Sochi every summer?”, “When do they go to Sochi?”).
A special question is often called a "Wh-Question". This is due to the fact that almost all question words begin with the letter combination “Wh”.
For example:
what? - What? Which?
where? - Where? Where?
why? - Why?
which? - which?
who? - Who?
how? - How?
when? - When?
Special question formula:
Question words + general question?
"Where do they go to every summer?"
"When do they go to Sochi?"
Special question to the subject.
"Who goes to Sochi every summer?"
We will consider this type of special question separately, since it has a different structure:
Who/What + rewrite the sentence without a subject.
Attention!!! The most important thing is Who/what - 3rd person, singular! Do you remember that in the Present Simple in this case the ending “-s/-es” is added to the verb!
We get: "Who goes to Sochi every summer?"
Mysterious Lady Grammar
Dear friends! Today you have an important date... You are going to meet a very arrogant lady. Her name is - She has few true and loyal friends. But even to those who managed to make friends with her, she does not forgive mistakes and careless treatment.
Well, in order to look decent in the eyes of this important lady, you and I need to prepare.
You need to learn to answer all her questions clearly and clearly. (are common, alternative, special and dividing), be able to maintain a conversation on the proposed topic. Well, if you start corresponding with her, consider it a good sign - Lady Grammar has introduced you into the circle of her admirers.
I'll tell you a secret: Lady Grammar has three cousins. Mr Do, Mr Does and Mr Did (they will help us learn how to construct questions of a general type). How secretive people are, I tell you! Cousins Mr Do and Mr Does Moreover, they are also siblings. They somehow suddenly appear out of nowhere and disappear of their own accord in English, without saying a word to anyone.
For example, when Lady Gammar invites everyone to a cup of tea, you can hear:
Would do you like a cup of tea, sir?
Brothers Mr Do and Mr Does immediately chime in:
Do do you like Twinings Earl Gray tea? - asks Mr Do at his brother's. And he answers him: Yes, I do or No, I don't.
Then the conversation acquires a certain mystery (after all, we are now talking about the hostess - Lady Grammar). AND Mr Does asks in a whisper :Does she like Twinings Ear lGrey tea?
To which the older brother replies: Yes, she does. She always has it for 5 o"clock tea.
After tea, small talk turns to the golf course. And then you will hear the following questions:
Do do you like playing golf? Yes, I do. I usually play golf with my old friends.
Cousin Mr Did joins the conversation: Did you play golf yesterday?- No, I didn't. I was on my business trip in London.
Does your brother play golf well? No, he doesn't. But he plays the violin well. He is really good at it.
Little Hooligan Be
That's it! Did you notice too? This fidget came running, and an equally mysterious nephew - a boy named Be.
But we just need him to keep the conversation going:
Are are you keen on playing chess? Are are you fond of reading detectives? Are are you interested in history?
To which a very versatile boy will answer you: Yes, I am.
Of course, talking with a young attractive person is much more pleasant than with boring Mr Do And Mr Does. And you persistently continue to be interested in his personal life:
Are are you married? Are you a theater-goer? Are are you sure we can't go to the theater tonight?
But today he is unfortunately busy: Excuse me, but I am busy tonight. I am having my Spanish classes from 6 to 8 p.m. Let's go to the theater at weekends. I wil be free on Sunday.
Knowing his friend's fickleness, the slender and good-natured man intervenes in the conversation. Have, who came to Lady Grammar with his sister Has.
Have you ever been to Edinburgh? Have you got a kilt? Have you heard about Lady Grammar's garden parties yet?
Lady Grammar has joined a lot of people from around the world to reveal a secret:
HOW TO GET READY FOR YOUR EXAMS and PASS THEM WITH FLYING COLORS!
And Lady Grammar will tell you at her first tea party simple truths about
How to construct general questions in English
(General questions or Yes / No questions)
- General issues we ask when we want to find out what is happening, has happened or will happen
- We start general questions with an auxiliary verb ( do, does, did, am, are, is, was, were, have, has, had, will, would, can, could)
- We answer them briefly: Yes/No, which is why they are often called Yes/No questions
- intonation in general questions moves upward (as if a plane is taking off)
- You can only specify one general question to the offer
For example,
- Jane is keen on jazz music. - Is Jane keen on jazz music? Yes, she is/No, she isn't
- Jane often listens to jazz music. - Does Jane often listen(without ending -s, it ran to does) to jazz music?
- Jane listened to jazz music yesterday. — Did Jane listen(without the -ed ending, it was hidden in did) to jazz music yesterday? (Past Simple)
- Jane has listened to jazz music today. —Has Jane listened to jazz music today? (Present Perfect)
- I'm sure, Jane will listen to jazz music tomorrow,too. — Will Jane listen to jazz music tomorrow? (Future Simple)
- Jane had listened to jazz music before her brother came home from gym. He hates jazz. — Had Jane listened to music before her brother came home from gym? (Past Perfect - one action occurs earlier than another in the past)
- Can I listen to jazz music with you, Jane? - Of course, you can. You can do it any time you like. (Modal verb)
To woo a young man named Be, whenever you meet him on your way, start a conversation with him:
Are you happy? Are are you hungry? Are are you cold? Are are you tired? Are are you afraid of spiders? Are are you proud of your friend? Is he still learning to play drums? Was he taking his music classes while we were having dinner?
But, alas, if it does not appear on the horizon, do not try to find a replacement for it. Nothing good will come of this.
I hope that your first acquaintance with Lady Grammar was successful and you understand how to construct general questions.
See you at the next tea party!
Watch a short video tutorial (only about three minutes!) on the rules for constructing general questions on my YouTube channel!
So, as the English proverb says—
General rule the construction of questions in English is as follows:
All questions (except for special questions to the subject of the sentence) are constructed by inversion.
Inversion is a violation of the usual word order in an English sentence, when the predicate follows the subject. Strictly speaking, only partial inversion takes place here, when only part of the predicate - an auxiliary or modal verb - is placed before the subject of the sentence.
In cases where the predicate of a sentence is formed without auxiliary verbs (in Present And Past Indefinite) an auxiliary verb is used to do in the required form - do/does/did.
1. General Questions is asked with the aim of obtaining confirmation or denial of the thought expressed in the question. A general question is usually given a short answer: " Yes " or " No ".
To construct a general question auxiliary or modal the verb that is part of the predicate is put at the beginning of a sentence before the subject.
A) When the predicate contains two or three auxiliary verbs, only the first of them is placed before the subject. The predicate is thus divided into two parts, separated from one another by the subject.
b) If the predicate contains no auxiliary verbs at all (Present and Past Indefinite), then an auxiliary verb appears in the question do/does(in Present) or did(in Past)
Are you a nurse? - Yes, I am.
Have you seen the film? - No, I-haven't.
Will you go to the cinema at 5 p.m? – Will you come to the cinema at 5 o’clock?
Have you ever been to Turkey? – Have you ever been to Turkey?
Did the II World War begin in 1941? - Did the Second World War begin in 1941?
2. Special Questions begins with a question word and is asked in order to obtain more detailed clarifying information. The question word in a special question replaces the member of the sentence to which the question is posed. Special questions can begin with the words:
who? – Who?
whom? – whom?
whose? - whose?
what? – What? Which?
which? – which?
when? – When?
where? – Where? Where?
why? – Why?
how? – How?
How much? – How many?
How many? – How many?
How long? – how long? how much time?
how often? – how often?
Construction of special questions:
1) Special questions to all members of the sentence except the subject (and its definitions) are constructed in the same way as general questions - through inversion, when an auxiliary or modal verb is placed before the subject.
2) Special questions to the subject or to the definition of the subject - the only type of questions in which inversion does not occur and the direct word order characteristic of a declarative sentence is observed.
A special question (except a question to a subject) begins with a question word or group of words followed by an auxiliary or modal verb, a subject and a semantic verb (the structure of the general question is preserved).
Special question outline:
A special question is constructed according to the same pattern as a general question: the first auxiliary verb or modal verb is placed before the subject, in Present And Past Indefinite(where there is no auxiliary verb) an auxiliary verb is used to do (do, does, did), and the semantic verb is placed in the infinitive without to(dictionary form). Verbs to be And to have(as a semantic verb) do not require an auxiliary verb to do, (they themselves are placed before the subject).
A special question may be asked to any member of the sentence: addition, circumstance, definition, predicate; subject
What's your name? - My name is Pete.
Where are you going? - To the park.
When did you get up yesterday? – At half past seven.
In a question to the subject, the word order is maintained. We just remove the subject and use a suitable question word instead: Who? What? (who what). In neither the present nor the past tense, this type of question in English does not require the use of auxiliary verbs.
What happened to us? -What happened to us? What makes you feel upset? – What makes you sad? Who invites guests for the party? – Who invites guests to the party?
3. Alternative Questions is asked when it is proposed to make a choice, to give preference to something. An alternative question may begin with an auxiliary or modal verb (as a general question) or with a question word (as a special question) and must necessarily contain a conjunction or[L]- or. Part of the question before the union or pronounced with rising intonation after a conjunction or- with a lower voice at the end of a sentence.
Is he reading or is he writing? Is he reading or is he writing?
Did he pass the exam or did he fail? Did he pass the exam or fail?
4. Tail Questions The question consists of two parts: narrative and interrogative.
The first part is a declarative affirmative or negative sentence with direct word order.
The second part, separated by a comma, is a short general question consisting of a subject pronoun and an auxiliary or modal verb. The auxiliary or modal verb that is part of the predicate of the first part is repeated. And in Present And Past Indefinite where there is no auxiliary verb, the appropriate forms are used do/ does/ did.
In the second part, the reverse word order is used, and it can be translated into Russian: isn't it?, isn't it?, isn't it?
1. If the first part of the question is affirmative, then the verb in the second part is in a negative form, for example:
You speak French, don't you? You speak French, don't you?
You are looking for something, aren't you? You are looking for something, aren't you?
Pete works at a plant, doesn’t he?Pete works in a factory, doesn't he?
I can go now, can't I? I can go now, can't I?
Note. Verb to be in 1st person singular numbers ( am), if the interrogative part of the sentence is negative, has the form aren't, (because Am not I And Am I not practically not used) for example:
But if the second part of the question is positive, then:
2 If the first part is negative, then the affirmative form is used in the second part, for example:
It is not very warm today, is it? It's not very warm today, is it?
John doesn't live in London, does he? John doesn't live in London, right?
You friend can't speak English, can he? Your friend doesn't speak English, does he?
EXERCISES
Exercise1. Put the words in correct order to make affirmative or interrogative sentences.
1. family the mine in I only am child.
2. are you where from.
3. friend computer my games is now playing.
4. his parents have just arrived in Moscow.
5. America have been to I never.
6. aunt me gave my a present birthday.
7. school there language is a laboratory in ours.
8. museums there are a lot of Moscow of in.