Interrogative sentence in English
How to correctly construct questions in English?
Interrogative sentence – in the English language, the following types of questions are distinguished: general, special, disjunctive, alternative, alternative, negative. Interrogative sentences are used in asking questions:
- Is this your book?
- Did you receive my message?
- Have you found a new job yet?
- Should I telephone you or send an email?
- Do you want tea, coffee, or espresso?
General questions
General questions are interrogative sentences to which you can answer “yes” or ? “No“. They begin with an auxiliary or modal verb followed by the subject and then the main verb. If the predicate in the sentence is expressed by the verb to be, it will be at the beginning of the sentence:
- Do you like chess? (Yes, I do / No, I don’t)
- Is he a pupil? (Yes, he is / No, he isp’t)
- Can you swim? (Yes, I can / No, I can’t)
Word order in a general question
| Auxiliary or modal verb | The subject and its meaning | The main verb | Other members of the sentence |
| Will | they | arrive | tomorrow? |
| Did | you | see | the film? |
| May | I | use | your phone? |
| Does | she | go | to school? |
Special questions
Special questions —is a question about certain members of the sentence that begin with a question word. Question words:
- What?
- Which?
- Whose?
- Where?
- When?
- Why?
- How many?
- Who?
- How (old, long etc)?
- How much?
Word order in a special question
| Interrogative word | An auxiliary verb | Subject and its definitions | The main verb | Other members of the sentence |
| What | do | you | do | every day? |
| Where | did | he | go | yesterday? |
| When | will | your sister | return | home? |
| Where | have | you | been | recently? |
Запитання до підмета та його означення мають певні особливості утворення. Порядок слів у них прямий, допоміжні дієслова не вживаються:
- Who knows his address?
- Whose father is a doctor?
| Questions about the subject and its definition | Question to Object |
| Who was talking to you? | Who were yoii talking to? |
| Which computer will wbrk best? | Which computer will you use? |
| How many pupils came to us? | How many pupils did you see? |
Disjunctive questions (Question Tags)
Disjunctive questions (Question Tags) has two parts. In the first – a narrative sentence in affirmative or negative form, in the second – a concise general question. In the second part, a pronoun (corresponding to the subject of the main part) and an auxiliary or modal verb (corresponding to the predicate) are used.
| Affirmative sentence + negative question | Negative sentence + affirmative question |
| There is a mistake, isn’t there? | There is not а mistake, is there? |
| The boys can sing, can’t they? | The boys can’t sing, can they? |
| It will be cold in winter, won’t it? | Itnyon’t be cold in winter, will it? |
Alternative questions
Alternative questions involve a choice. It can be separate or part of a special question. The parts of the alternative question are connected by the conjunction or:
- Are you tired or (are you) ill?
- Is she seven or (is she) eight?