Types of questions: general, special, alternative and others. How many types of questions are there really in English? Understanding

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 language to set general question, it is necessary to put the auxiliary verb in the first place in the sentence.

So, we 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! There are "strong verbs" in English 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 question of choice. Let me show you with our example: "DO THEY or WE go to Sochi every summer?", "Do they GO or FLY to Sochi every summer?", "Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?", "Do they go to Sochi every SUMMER or WINTER?"

Conclusion: we can give an alternative to each member of the sentence. In this case, we always use the union "or" - "or". Remember it!

To summarize. To ask an alternative question, we bring forward the auxiliary verb (as in a general question) and do not forget to ask an alternative to any member of the sentence using the union "or".

We get: "Do we or they go to Sochi every summer?"
or: "Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?"

3) A dividing question. Tag-question

A question with a "tail")) We translate the tail "Isn't it?"
A disjunctive question is constructed according to the following formula:

our sentence unchanged + comma + tail?

What is this ponytail? 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, you need to accurately determine the time .. In our case - Present Simple .. auxiliary verbs "Do" / "Does .. "They" - "Do". We look again at our proposal and determine whether it is negative or affirmative .. Affirmative - it means that 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, we 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 "I am" acts as the subject and predicate, we write "...., aren" t I?"

4) Special question. Special Question

A question in which the speaker asks for 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 referred to as 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:
Interrogative 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 kind of special question separately, since it has a different structure:

Who / What + rewrite the sentence without the subject.

Attention!!! Most importantly - Who / what - 3rd person, singular! Do you remember that in Present Simple, in this case, the ending "-s / -es" is added to the verb!

We get: "Who goes to Sochi every summer?"

There are five types of questions in English. Let's take a closer look at each of them together. Each of the five types interrogative sentences your word order, which you need to remember in order to learn how to ask questions correctly.

1. Question to the subject

In a sentence of this type, we keep the direct word order, leaving all the members of the sentence in their places. You just need to find the subject in the sentence and replace it with a suitable question word, i.e. question, to which the subject answers: either Who? Who? or What? -What? A question to the subject does not require the use of an auxiliary verb in the present and past tense. It is only necessary to remember that the verb-predicate in the present tense takes the form of the third person singular.

Google shortcode

What forced you to do this? - What made you do it?
What made you worry? – What made you worry?
Who works in this office? Who works in this office?
Who traveled to the south? Who traveled south?
Who like swimming? - Who likes to swim?

2. General question

IN this case the question is asked to the entire sentence as a whole, there is no interrogative word in this case, and the answer is always unambiguous: either “yes” or “no”. Questions of this type are also known in English as "yes / no question". To translate such a sentence from Russian into English, you need to remember the following word order: Auxiliary verb (depending on the number of the subject and on which grammatical tense the sentence belongs to) - subject - predicate - minor members.

Do you often go shopping? – Yes, I do – Do you often go shopping? - Yes
Does she like studying? - No, she doesn't - Does she like studying? - No
Is this film interesting? – yes, it is – is this film interesting? - Yes
Are you hungry? - no, I am not - are you hungry? - No

Notice how easy it is to put a general question to English declarative sentences. You just need to find the subject, choose the appropriate auxiliary verb for it and put it at the beginning of the sentence.

We live in a comfortable flat – Do we live in a comfortable flat?
He studies at a college – Does he study at a college?
They usually come here - Do they usually come here?
This student is very prospective – is this student very prospective?
My favorite colors are red and white – are my favorite colors red and white?

3. Alternative question

This question can be asked to each member of the sentence and you need to follow the same word order as when posing a general question, but with one feature - the sentence implies a choice between two persons, objects, actions or qualities and requires the use of the union “or”. Let's put an alternative question to the following sentence: We finished cooking dinner at 2 o'clock - we finished cooking dinner at 2 o'clock.

Did we finish cooking dinner at 2 or 3 o'clock? Did we finish cooking dinner at 2 or 3 o'clock?
Did we finish cooking or eating dinner 2 o'clock? Have we finished cooking or is there lunch at 2 o'clock?

4. Special question

A special question is asked of any member English sentence and requires the use of a question word, and the word order is also reversed: in the first place (When? What? Where?, etc.) - an auxiliary verb (depending on the number of the subject and on which grammatical tense the sentence belongs to) - the subject - predicate - secondary members.

When does your lesson begin? – When does your lesson start?
What are you doing here? - What are you doing here?
When did you buy this vase? – When did you buy this vase?

5. Dividing question

The presence of such a question in English allows you to unobtrusively ask about things of interest, and in addition to express either doubt, surprise, or confirm what has been said. In Russian, a similar turnover is translated “isn't it? , is not it?". A similar question is divided into two parts: the first part is the sentence itself without changing the word order, the second part is a question consisting only of an auxiliary verb related to the grammatical tense of the sentence and the subject. If the sentence is affirmative, then the second part - the question will be negative, and if the sentence is negative, then vice versa, the question will not contain negation.

Your sister is a student, isn't she? Your sister is a student, isn't she?
Are you not busy, are you? You are not busy, are you?
He goes to bed very late, does not he? He stays up very late, doesn't he?
She doesn't eat meat, does she? She doesn't eat meat, does she?

Knowing the rules, you can easily correctly compose any interrogative sentence.

According to the purpose of the utterance in English, three main types of sentences can be distinguished: declarative (declarative sentences), interrogative (interrogative sentences) and imperative (imperative sentences). In this case, we are interested in interrogative sentences. The types of questions in English are as follows: general, alternative, question to the subject, special and disjunctive. Each type has its own characteristics, so we will consider each of them separately.

1. General Question

A general question is asked to the entire sentence as a whole. You can answer it either "yes" or "no". That is why general questions in English are also called yes / no questions. Here the word order is reversed. The first place should be the auxiliary verb (Auxiliary Verb), then the subject (Subject), predicate (Predicate) and other members of the sentence.

For grammatically correct setting the question requires the auxiliary verb do (does), in past simple did. If the sentence uses the verb to be or (with the exception of have to and need to) as a predicate, then they will act as auxiliary. Examples:

• Does James smoke? Does James smoke?
• Are you living in London now? — Do you live in London now?
• I have a look at your photos? - Can I see your photos?

Brief answers to general questions depend entirely on the auxiliary verb used. If the question begins with the verb does, then it should also sound in the answer. For example:

• Does she like English poetry? — Yes, she does. Does she like English poetry? - Yes.
• Is Ann playing the piano? — No, she isn't. Does Anna play the piano? - No.

2. Alternative question (Alternative Question)

An alternative question in English involves a choice. It always contains the union or (or). The construction of this question is similar to the general one, but here a choice clause is also added. Compare:

• Do you want to go to Warsaw by car? — Do you want to go to Warsaw by car?
• Do you want to go to Warsaw by car or by train?— Do you want to go to Warsaw by car or by train?

• Is Kate going to buy shoes? Is Katya going to buy shoes?
• Is Kate going to buy shoes or high boots? Is Katya going to buy shoes or boots?

3. Question to the subject (Subject Question)

When posing a question to the subject, the direct word order in the sentence does not change. Just use the appropriate question word instead of the subject. Usually used Who (who), What (what). It should be noted that in the Present Simple tense, the verb will be used in the third person, singular. Examples:

• Who lives in that old house? Who lives in that old house?
• Who will post this letter? Who will send?
• What caused the explosion? - What caused the explosion?

4. Special Question

Special questions in English are used to request specific information. They begin with the question words Who (who), What (what), Which (which), When (when), Where (where, where), Why (why), How (how), How many / How much (how much) . The word order after the interrogative word remains the same as in the general question, you just need to remove the part of the sentence to which the question is asked. For example:

• What does Jane do on Sundays? What does Jane do on Sundays?
• Why are you sitting at my desk? Why are you sitting at my desk?
• When did he borrow your car? When did he take your car?
• How many pictures have they bought? How many paintings did they buy?

Often found in English phrasal verbs, that is, the sentence contains a preposition that is closely related to the main verb. When posing a special question, this preposition is used at the very end of the sentence. For example:

• What are you busy with? - What are you doing?
• Who was Jack waiting for? Who was Jack waiting for?

5. Disjunctive Question.

Disjunctive questions in English are an affirmative or negative declarative sentence, which is joined by a short general question, often referred to as a "tail" (tag). This type of question is used to express surprise, doubt, confirmation of what has been said. The “tail” itself is translated into Russian as “isn’t it”, “isn’t it”.

When posing a question, the first part remains unchanged, in the second part an auxiliary verb is placed at the beginning (depends on the predicate in the first part), and then comes the pronoun in the nominative. If the sentence is affirmative, then the “tail” must be made negative and vice versa. Examples:

• you heard from him, didn't you? You have heard from him, haven't you?
• Alex is a driver, isn't he? Alex is the driver, isn't he?
• That isn't tom is it? It's Tom, isn't it?
• Ann hasn't got color TV set has vshe? Anya doesn't have a color TV, does she?

Considering this type of question, it should be noted that tag questions in English have several nuances that are important to remember.
1. I am the first part requires a question aren't I.

• I'm so exhausted, aren't I? "I'm so tired of everything, aren't I?"

2. If the first part starts with let's, then in the second part we use the question shall we.

• Let's visit our grandparents, shall we? Let's visit our grandparents, okay?

3. If the pronouns anyone, anybody, nobody, none, neither, everybody, everyone, somebody, someone are used as the subject in the sentence, then the pronoun is put in the second part they. For example:

• Neither of them prepared for the lesson, did they? None of them prepared for the lesson, did they?
• Someone had seen him, hadn't they? Someone saw him, didn't they?
• Everyone liked your story, didn't they? Everyone liked your story, right?

There are 5 types of questions in English. Mastering them will not be difficult if you know the word order in narrative sentences and you can ask them general questions.

In such an interrogative sentence, the word order is direct (unchanged), and in the sentence itself, everything remains in its place. We just remove the subject and use a suitable interrogative word instead: Who? What? (who what). Neither in the present nor in the past tense does this type of question in English need the use of auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs shall / will may appear in the future, but they are an indicator of precisely the time and, in principle, have nothing to do with the question.

There is only one caveat - in the present tense we use the verb in the third person and singular.

Examples: 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

2. General question.

This interrogative sentence in English means posing a question to the whole sentence. The answer to this question is the words Yes and no. Therefore, this type of question in English is also called yes/no question. IN this issue reverse word order and in the first place an auxiliary (do, does, is, etc.) or modal verb.

Examples: Does she like knitting? Does she like to knit? Do you play computer games? - Do you play computer games? Is this his book? - This is his book? Just do not forget that the verb to be in the present and simple past does not require any auxiliary verbs: Are you at home? - Are you home? Or Was he at the cinema yesterday? Was he at the theater yesterday?

3. Special question (special question)

This type of question in English is different in that it can be asked to any member of the sentence. The word order is also reversed, and a number of question words are used to obtain the necessary information: What? - What?; When? - When?; Where? - Where?; Why? - Why?; Which? - which? and others.

Examples: Where are you going to move? – Where are you going to move?What would you like to read? -What would You wanted read? When did you leave the house? -When You gone from Houses?

4. Alternative question (alternative question)

We ask to any member of the sentence, however, a feature of this interrogative sentence is the choice between two objects, persons, qualities, actions, etc. In such a question, there will necessarily be a union or - or. Examples: They finished writing the article at 5 p.m. -They finished write article V 5 evenings. Did they finish writing the article in the morning or at night? -They finished write article in the morning or In the evening? Did they finish writing or reading the article? -They finished write or read article?

5. Disjunctive question (tag-question / disjunctive question).

When posing such an interrogative sentence in English, a person tries to express doubt, surprise, confirmation of what was said. The analogue of this question in Russian is the turnover isn't it?, isn't it?. Such a question consists of two parts: the first is the whole sentence itself, with the word order unchanged, and without those parts of speech to which the question is actually asked; the second is a short question in which an auxiliary or modal verb will appear that is present in the predicate of the first part.

There are two ways to form such a question in English: the sentence is affirmative, the short question is negative; the sentence is negative, the short question is positive.

Examples: My mother prefers meat to fish, doesn't she? "My mother prefers meat to fish, doesn't she?" I am a pessimist, ain't/aren't I? I am a pessimist, am I not? You can cook this dish, can't you? You can cook this dish, can't you? She doesn't go to the church, does she? She doesn't go to church, does she?

Here are all types of questions in English. Having studied the ways of constructing them, you can easily formulate any interrogative sentences in English for any statement.

5 types of questions in English are sometimes incomprehensible to pupils, students and all those who study English. Therefore, all types of interrogative sentences in English are considered here.
1. General Questions

The general question in English is the simplest. This is a question that provides either "yes" or "no" as an answer. That is the question, to get general information. Therefore, sometimes this question is called "yes / no question".

It is formed by moving an auxiliary verb or modal verb to the first position in a sentence. Full rule:

Auxiliary verb + subject + semantic verb + object

The auxiliary verb depends on what tense you want to ask:

Past Simple - Did
Present Simple - Do / Does
Future Simple - Shall / Will
Past Continuous - Was / Were
Present Continuous - Am / Is / Are
Future Continuous - Shall / Will
Past Perfect-Had
Present Perfect - Have/Has
Future Perfect - Shall / Will + after the subject comes the auxiliary verb have
Past Perfect Continuous- Had + after the subject comes the auxiliary verb has been
Present Perfect Continuous - Have / Has + after the subject comes the auxiliary verb has been
Future Perfect Continuous - Shall / Will + after the subject comes auxiliary have verbs been
future in the Past— would

Answers to a general question can be either short (Yes / No + subject and auxiliary or modal verb) or complete. The time remains unchanged. examples:

Have you been to London? - Yes, I have (Yes, I have been to London). - Have you been to London? Yes (I was in London).

Did you buy this car? - Yes, I did (Yes, I bought this car). — Did you buy this car? — Yes (I bought this car).

Do they play football? - No, they do not (No, they do not play football). - They play football? No (they don't play football).

Could you do that? - No, I could not (No, I could not do that). - Could you do it? — No (no, I can do it).

2. Special Questions

A special question is a question to get additional information. This question always begins with an interrogative word (except for the interrogative words What and Who - they are used in questions to the subject).
Word order in special issues the same as in general, but with one exception: the auxiliary verb is preceded by a question word. Examples:

What did you visit in Kyiv last time? — What are you in Lately visited in Kyiv?

Where do they go? — Where are they going?

How did you manage to get tickets? How did you manage to get tickets?

3. Question to the subject (Who ...? What ...?)

If there is a need to put a question to the subject, then use the interrogative words Who? and What?. The word order in the question is slightly changed from the previous two, since the subject itself is not used in relation to the subject. That is, the formula will be as follows:

Who / What + semantic verb + object

Who is he? - Who is he?

What is that? - What is this?

4. Alternative questions(Alternative Questions)

An alternative question involves two or more choices through the use of the word or. The word order in such a question is the same as in the general question.

Does she like coffee or tea? Does she like coffee or tea?

Did he buy motorbike or bicycle? Did he buy a motorcycle or a bicycle?

5. Questions with punctuation marks (Disjunctive Questions)

The dividing question is called so because it is divided into two parts by means of a coma. In the first part of the question there is a statement, and in the second - a question to this statement. The purpose of the disjunctive question is to test the veracity of the statement. These questions are often used in colloquial speech when the interlocutor "inadvertently" tries to find out some information based on the available facts.

Part 1 - part of the dividing question - this is a typical affirmative sentence with a typical word order in it: subject - verb - application.

Part 2 is an auxiliary verb in the tense indicated in part 1 and the subject. If we build a question from a statement, then there will be objections in part 2. If we build a question from negation, then there will be an affirmation.

Example:

Are you playing tennis? You play tennis, don't you?

He goes to the gym, does not he? He goes to the gym, doesn't he?

Bill is not famous person, is he? Bill is not a known person, is he?

They have not been to Paris, have they? They haven't been to Paris, have they?