There are 5 types of questions in English. What is meant is their meaning, and not characteristics such as negation or affirmation, declensions and tenses of verbs. We will touch on verb forms later, when we look at interrogative sentences in more detail. In the meantime, it will help to form a first impression of what they are like. questions in English, table with examples.
As you can see, the question mark is everywhere. But the set of words and the construction of phrases are noticeably different. To understand better, let's look at each one separately. types of questions in English.
General questions
This is the simplest form that is used more often. In everyday life, people ask their interlocutors dozens of times every day. On general question easy to answer in monosyllables - yes or not. At worst, “I don’t know.” The questioner usually provides complete information necessary to obtain an answer. But if the wording is vague, clarification is required. Then the person answering asks again, trying to understand what exactly they want from him.
Despite the simplicity of the phrases, it is important correct word order in a sentence. IN the beginning is coming auxiliary, or modal verb. Auxiliaries include do, be, have in various word forms. Modals include can, may, must, should and some others.
It would be wrong to use a regular verb instead of a specific one, as is done in Russian language. For example, ask Play you football?, and not Do you play football? An English-speaking person, in principle, will understand such a “translation” of the thoughts of a Russian-speaking person, but it sounds very bad. Only tourists or refugees say this, not yet applying to enter British (American) life.
The exception is to be in the meaning of “to appear”, “to be”, “to be”. There is no need to repeat “to be” twice, just as you don’t need to insert “to do” first. The affirmative phrase She is a designer corresponds to the interrogative phrase Is she a designer? In the plural, the article "a" or "an" is not needed, since we are not talking about one person or an indefinite thing among many. They are sportswomen → Are they sportswomen?
Modal or auxiliary , rendered in beginning of a sentence, inclined according to tenses and persons.
- Do (Did, Will) you go to college? – Do you (have you gone, will you go) to college?
- Does (Did, Will) he visit his parents? – Does he (has visited, will visit) his parents?
- Is she a student? - She is a student?
- Was she in the park? – Was she in the park?
- Will she be here? – Will she be here?
- Are they there? - Were they there?
- Are they pupils? - They are students?
- Will they be in school? – Will they be at school?
In parentheses are options for the past and future tenses of the simplest expressions with present simple. As you can see, future simple with the verb “be” differs in that between “will” and “be” there is a pronoun. In this case, two auxiliary words are used instead of one, separated by a simple or compound subject.
When auxiliary verbs are replaced by modals at the beginning, the order of the remaining words resembles an affirmative sentence.
For example:
- Can she read this book? – Can she read this book?
- Could he have written that article? – Could he have written that article?
- May you keep quiet? -Can you be quiet?
- Might you calm down? - Could you calm down?
- Should they do exercises? – Are they required to do exercises?
- Must we wait here? – Should we wait here?
IN general issue can be emphasized with a stronger emphasis important word, say “wait” or “here”, which changes the meaning somewhat. The main thing is to wait, or wait in this particular place.
Perfect tenses
To have in the appropriate form always comes before the subject.
- Have you found the ball? – You [didn’t] find the ball?
- Has she listened to the teacher? – She [didn’t] listen to the teacher?
- Has it started to snow? – [Didn’t it] snow?
- Had they passed the exam? – They [didn’t] pass the exam?
- Will we finish the lesson? – We won’t finish the lesson?
- Will you eat an apple? – will you [not] take the apple?
The optional “not” is placed in square brackets to show, without compiling a separate list of examples, where this particle should be inserted. The participle is used everywhere past tense, either regular verb or incorrect.
You can ask “Will not have” or “Will have not”, but the first option is much preferable, according to native speakers.
Sometimes to have with a subject is separated from the main verb by an adverb that specifies the relationship to the period when the event occurred. Let's say Had you already got your drug? (You already got your medicine?). Although the same already can be placed at the end of a sentence, which is impossible in a Russian phrase.
If questions need to be translated, let's remember: there is no perfect in Russian, and perfect tense usually formed using various prefixes. For example, [do] complete, [finish], [pro]listen. Sometimes verbs with different consoles They are translated the same way in English. The euphony of a translation depends on the skill of the translator and the extensive knowledge of his native and foreign languages.
Long times
To be is placed at the beginning, according to the number and person of the subject.
For example:
- Am I going outdoors? – I [will not] walk down the street.
- Is it raining? – [Isn’t it] raining?
- Are you reading the fiction? – You [don’t] read science fiction?
- Was he writing an article? – He [didn’t] write the article?
- Were they swimming in the pool? – They [didn’t] swim in the pool?
- Will we play football? – We [won’t] play football?
The position of the particle not in English is strictly defined, although in Russian questions can be rephrased in different ways. Translating continuous is even more difficult than perfect. In some cases it is better to use simple Russian verbs, in others - with prefixes, in others - to add “were” or “will be”. There is no exact analogue, so you should focus on euphony and common sense.
It should be remembered that many English verbs are not used in the continuous tense at all. Cannot be persuaded present continuous, past or future actions that express sensory sensations, emotions and desires, a state of mind, the possession of something. Here or you accept the terms, imposed by the English-speaking mentality, or your speech will seem extremely awkward to native speakers.
Question phrases are constructed in the most complex way in perfect continuous.
- Have you been preparing for tests? – have you prepared for the tests?
- Has she been cooking the dinner? – Has she prepared dinner?
- Had they been visiting a museum? – Will they visit the museum?
- Will we be coming? - We will come?
- Will you have been meeting? – Will you meet?
As you can see, been is placed everywhere together with the gerund (verb ending in -ing), without a break. In the future tense, different options for placing “not” are possible, but placing this particle immediately after “will” is preferable. However, the combination of continuous and perfect tenses is practically never found in everyday speech. This is a purely theoretical construction, which is presented here for completeness of presentation of the material. It is quite difficult to translate it perfectly. When translating back from Russian, it is better to avoid such verb forms.
Passive (passive) voice
In the passive, instead of to do, we use to be and past participle.
Here are examples of how to use passive voice in questions:
- Am I called? – Me name is?
- Is he prepared? – Is he prepared?
- Are you born in Moscow? – Were you born in Moscow?
- Was she bitten by cat? - Was she bitten by a cat?
- Were they accepted well? – Were they received well?
- Will we be outrun by rivals? - Will our rivals overtake us?
In the future tense, "be" appears next to the participle. If you need to insert the particle “not”, it is logical to do this after the first word (to be in different declensions). We will not give a complete set of examples with the passive for perfect and continuous tenses, as we did with the active. After looking through the blog pages dedicated to passive, you will easily understand how to write sentences similar to active. The same applies to conditional sentences with would.
Answers
Answers to general issues are short and full. The shortest ones are monosyllabic, “Yes” or “No”. Also, after affirmation or negation, you can add a pronoun with an auxiliary (modal) verb:
- Yes, I do;
- No, we didn't;
- Yes, you will do;
- No, he isn’t;
- Yes, she was;
- No, they will not.
- Yes, you can;
- No, you may not;
- Yes, we should;
- No, they must not.
Negative questions in English differ from affirmative ones only by the presence of the particle “not”. As a rule, even in writing, abbreviations with an “apostrophe” are used: don’t, didn’t, haven’t, hadn’t.
A complete answer is an extended sentence, with the affirmation or negation coming first. It is not necessary to repeat exactly the words of the person asking, but it is advisable to answer close to it. This way you will show that you heard him well, understood what he said, and are responding consciously. But when you are very busy, when you want to shorten the conversation, it is better to answer in monosyllables. Just figure out properly what they want from you in order to answer correctly. If you don't know, how correct answer, or the topic is generally beyond your understanding, say so - I don’t know!
Special questions
At the beginning it goes question word.
Here are the main ones question words in english:
- what (what);
- who (who);
- whom (to whom);
- why (why);
- when (when);
- where (where, where);
- whence (from);
- how (how).
More complex expressions are made from two or more words: what for, where from, how many/much (for countable/uncountable things), how often, how long, at what time. To construct them, words that are not included in the interrogative range are used. It would be difficult to provide a complete list of them.
Further special question are built according to exactly the same rules as the general one. After question word or a whole phrase there is one of the additional verbs that cannot be skipped. In Russian this seems redundant, but even spoken English built according to strict rules, and there are no deviations from them May be. The exceptions are questions to the subject, discussed later in this article.
It will help you to better understand how to ask special questions English language table with translation.
It should be noted that the phrase “where from” is divided into parts. For example, Where are you from ? - Where are you from? But the combinations how many/much/often/long are not separated.
Like the common ones, special questions Declined according to persons, also according to verb tenses. There are affirmative and negative.
Cannot be used in present perfect phrases that begin with When or At what time. For perfect questions use the past or future perfect.
Please remember that it is possible to use question words in affirmative expressions where they do not take first place. These are completely different figures of speech, not related to the questions. If you are going thoroughly Learn Engish, you can get acquainted with them in the corresponding blog articles.
Questions to the subject (What-questions, Who-questions)
Here the questioner only aims to clarify who is performing the action, or on what object it is being performed. This one has type of questions simplified design. No accompanying person question word auxiliary verb. Any question to the subject start with "Who" or "What". Then, instead of “do” or “be”, the main semantic verb is used in various forms. For example, we need to say Who played football?, but not Who did play football?
Actually, the second option also has a right to exist, only this is a Special question, and it’s difficult to discern the difference. If you ask Who did play? with an emphasis on “Who”, it will actually be the same, but a little longer, and not so beautiful. Who played? shows a special desire to clarify the identities of the players or the name of the team, paying minimal attention to verb tenses.
Defining verb subject used in any number. But the interrogative "Who" exists only in the singular. This is a radical difference from Russian speech, where the word “who” can mean either one person or group, or a whole variety of characters. With "Who" you need to use verbs correctly singular.
Clearly illustrates such questions in english table.
You don't have to speak in the third person. For example, in the rhetorical question Who am I? (who am I?) face is obviously the first.
Perfect and lasting tenses in English built more difficult, but with some training you will get used to it correctly to ask questions. Worth a read
Today we will look at and, of course, examples with them. In order not to make a mistake, the main thing is to understand three things: 1) what kind of question you will have, 2) in what tense it should be asked, and 3) what should be the order of words in an interrogative sentence. In this article we will deal with the first point.
5 types of questions in English and examples with them
Usually isolated 5 types of questions in English. We will briefly dwell on each of them and consider examples.
1. General question. Here you don't even need question words, since the question type itself does not imply their use. When asking a general question, the interlocutor expects to hear a short positive or negative answer from you.
Examples:
Are you doing your homework now? – Are you doing your homework now?
Do they go to the cinema every Friday? – Do they go to the cinema every Friday?
Was he reading a newspaper when I phoned? – Was he reading the newspaper when I called?
Will you give me a couple of recommendations? – Can you give me some recommendations?
Is your brother at work? – Is your brother at work?
2. Special question. Here you will already need a question word or even a phrase. From this moment the special question should begin. Next, you should adhere to the standard question structure.
Examples:
How much do these books cost? – How much do these books cost?
What is he doing here? -What is he doing here?
Where were you yesterday? - Where were you yesterday?
What city did he visit last week? – What city did he visit last week?
Whose beg was stolen? – Whose bag was stolen?
3. Alternative question. This type of question implies OR. Before or everything looks the same as in the general question, and then a suitable addition follows.
Examples:
Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? – Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?
Is he doing his homework or playing computer games? - He does homework or plays computer games?
Will they go on a business trip on Tuesday or Wednesday?
Does Bob speak Spanish or Italian? – Does Bob speak Spanish or Italian?
Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer? – Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer?
4. Separated question.
5. Question to the subject.
The last two types of questions require special attention, so we will consider them separately.
How to ask a dividing question in English? Examples
If you don't know, it's worth brushing up on auxiliary verbs, as you'll definitely need them. Pay attention to the structure of the question and examples.
Declarative sentence + , + auxiliary verb + not + person
Negative sentence + , + auxiliary verb + person
He is doing his homework now, isn’t he? – He does his homework, doesn’t he?
Miranda was in Germany last week, wasn’t she? – Miranda was in Germany last week, wasn’t she?
They speak Russian, don’t they? – They speak Russian, don’t they?
You haven’t forgotten to phone her, have you? “You didn’t forget to call her, did you?”
They won't leave for Prague, will they? – They won’t go to Prague, will they?
As you can see, the second part of the question (the tail) depends on what kind of beginning you had. One of the parts (and not two at the same time) must be negative.
If in the process of learning English you still do not understand how to ask questions, now we will correct this problem.
So, first you should remember that in English there are only 5 types of questions. Let's start bending our fingers:
- The first type of question is general
Do you like traveling?- Do you like to travel?
As mentioned above, the answer can either Yes, I do, or No, I don't.
In order to construct a general question, you need to think about an affirmative sentence, which in this case will sound like this:
You like traveling.- Do you like to travel.
By adding an auxiliary verb, which is placed at the very beginning of the sentence, a general question is formed. Each tense in the English language has its own auxiliary verb.
Please note that in the Present Simple for 3rd person singular verbs the auxiliary verb will be does:
Does she like traveling?- She loves to travel?
Yes, she does.- Yes
Did the weather smile on you?– Was the weather favorable to you?
Yes, it did. It was a fine day. Yes, it was a wonderful day.
- The second type of question is special
It is called so because it begins with special :
What?- Who? What? Which?
Who?- Who?
When?- When?
Where?- Where? Where?
Why?- Why?
Which?- Which? Which?
Whose?- Whose?
Whom?- Whom?
How?- How?
How long?- How long?
How often?- How often?
How much?- How many?
How many?- How many?
The main difference between a special question and a general one is the question word at the beginning of the sentence. Everything else is a general question. Let's look at an example:
Did she tell the truth?
– Did she tell the truth? (general question)
Why did she tell the truth?- Why did she tell the truth? (special question)
Did the plane landtake off? The plane has landed? (general question)
When did the plane land?– When did the plane land? (special question)
- The third type of question is alternative
Here you can choose only one answer from two proposed alternatives.
Do you prefer tennis or football?– Do you prefer tennis or football?
Please note that if you drop the auxiliary verb at the beginning of the sentence and the alternative at the end, you will get an affirmative sentence.
Would you like mashed potatoes or spaghetti?– Would you like mashed potatoes or spaghetti?
Did you live in Russia or in the Ukraine?– Did you live in Russia or Ukraine?
- The fourth type of question is dividing
Used to confirm your own thoughts and proposals. It is constructed as an affirmative sentence, at the end of which a comma and an auxiliary verb are added in a negative or affirmative form, depending on the first part of the sentence.
She is a good teacher, isn’t she?- She good teacher, it is so?
He plays the violin, doesn’t he?– He plays the violin, doesn’t he?
- The fifth type of question is a question to the subject
Such a sentence begins with a question word, the word order does not change.
Who came to the pajamas-party?– Who came to the pajama party?
What happened at the end?– What happened at the end?
Who feels tired?– Who feels tired? (note that the ending ‘s’ is added to the verb, since the action takes place in the Present Simple).
Special questions in English are very common and are used regularly. Specific cases of their use and individual varieties, formation patterns and nuances should be studied.
Special questions are asked to obtain specific information about a phenomenon or subject. A specific feature of such questions in English is the presence of question words. How to ask questions in English is described here. When forming a special question, the basis is a general question. To make it special, it is enough to supplement the question with a question word, which is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Did they visit the exhibition? - Did they visit the exhibition?
When did they visit the exhibition? - When did they visit the exhibition?
In this case, the auxiliary verb must be placed before the noun, and the semantic verb must be placed after it.
The general scheme for forming a special question is as follows:
question word + auxiliary verb + subject + predicate + other parts of the sentence.
What is she writing? - What is she writing?
A special question can be posed to different members of the sentence. Due to this, we can obtain information about what specifically interests us.
A separate category consists questions with who in English, as well as questions with what. This type of question stands out from the crowd. Its peculiarity is the absence of auxiliary verbs when forming special questions to the subject. It's simple - just replace the subject with who or what, adding also a questioning intonation. IN general view The scheme for forming a question to the subject looks like this: question word + predicate + other parts of the sentence.
Who has built this bridge? -Who built this bridge?
Questions with what in English, like questions with who, can be posed to an addition - a member of a sentence that allows you to obtain additional information and answers the following questions: whom? what? to whom? what? What? The word who or what is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
They are waiting for the taxi. - They are waiting for a taxi.
What are they waiting for? -What are they waiting for?
She read a new book at the library. - She read a new book in the library.
What did she read at the library? - What did she read in the library?
The question “what is this?” with the corresponding question word what is asked in relation to an inanimate subject or object. If we're talking about about a person, the question “who is this?” is applied. with the question word who?
What did he write? - What he wrote?
What is she? - Who is she? (by profession)
The interrogative word what can also be part of interrogative phrases. Their list is given below.
What is he doing for a living? - What does he do for a living?
An auxiliary verb in a special question in English is not needed in all cases. If a sentence is composed using the semantic verb to be, you can ask a question by changing the places of the subject and predicate.
Last Sunday she was at home. - She was at home last Sunday.
Where was she last Sunday? -Where was she last Sunday?
If there is a modal verb, there is also no need to use an auxiliary. The question is formed by rearranging the subject and predicate.
They can meet at the bus stop. - They can meet at the bus stop.
Where can they meet? -Where can they meet?
The examples given clearly show how to ask questions 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. The topic of the lesson is interrogative sentences in English. 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:
- General question. We ask this question when we want to know general information. We can answer it with one word “yes” or “no”.
- 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?").
- Alternative question. You are asked to choose one from several proposed options.
- 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.”
- 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
| Question type | Formula | Characteristic | Example question | Sample answer |
| General question | Do/does/is/can… + subject + V…? | You can answer “yes” or “no” | Do you like oranges? Will she go with us? |
Yes, I do. No, she will not. |
| Tag question | Subject + V… + Isn’t it?/aren’t you?... | You can agree or disagree with the statement | You like oranges, don’t you? She will go with us, won’t she? |
Yes, I do. No, she will not. |
| Alternative question | Do/does/is/can… + subject + V + 1st object or 2nd object? | You can choose one option from several | Do you like oranges or bananas? Will she go with us or with them? |
I like oranges. She will go with them. |
| Special question | What/when/where… + is/do/did/will… + subject + V…? | Can you give a complete answer? | What fruit do you like? Where will she go? |
I like oranges. She will go with them. |
| Question to subject | Who/what + is/do/did/will… + V…? | You can give a complete answer related to the subject | Who likes bananas? Who will go with us? |
She likes bananas. He will go with us |
*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