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Ask 5 questions in English. Types of questions in English in examples

To the question Compose 5 types of questions in English. given by the author Yatiana Pavlyuk the best answer is five types:
Wh- questions or Special questions (questions to the subject);
General questions (general questions);
Disjunctive questions or otherwise question tags (separating questions);
Alternative questions (alternative questions);
Questions with prepositions at the end.
Wh- questions or Special questions (Special questions)
The first type is special questions, in English they sound Wh-questions or Special questions. Sometimes they are also called questions to the subject. A special question always begins with an interrogative word, for example, what, who, when, why, where (What? Who? When? Why? Where?).
When did you come home? (When you came home?)
Why don't you believe me? (Why you do not believe me?)
All of these questions begin with WH, which is why the special questions are called Wh- questions. interrogative words in this type of questions also include how, how much, how long (How? How much? How long?).
How much money should we pay? (How much money do we have to pay?)
If a special question begins with who / what, then the word order in the question is direct, since the interrogative word replaces the subject.
Who is your doctor? (Who is your doctor?)
In this case, who/what is treated as 3rd person singular. number.
If the interrogative word in a special question does not replace the subject, then an auxiliary verb is placed after it (do/does, will(shall), did, have/has, etc.).
Compare:
Who is standing there? (Who is standing there?)
Who did you talk to? (With whom did you talk?)
General questions
They are called general because the answer to such a question can be either “yes” or “no”.
The second name of the general questions is yes/no questions. A general question begins with an auxiliary verb. After that, the subject or subject of the statement, then the semantic verb. Secondary members of the sentence go to the end.
Do you see me? (Can you see me?) - No, I don't.
Have you been there? (Were you there?) - Yes, I have.
Will you be here when I'm gone? (Will you be here when I leave?) - Yes, I will.
Thus, the answer to a general question contains "yes" or "no", and sometimes an auxiliary verb.
But! The verb to be in the present and past tense does not require auxiliary verbs.
Is he your friend? (Is he your friend?) - No, he isn't.
Disjunctive questions
The second name is question tags (questions with a tail). A tag is a kind of tail that is placed after the whole sentence. These questions are of the type denial - affirmation, and vice versa.
The second part of the sentence must correspond to what is included in the predicate.
You are ok, aren't you? (You're all right, aren't you?)
He knows my real name, doesn't he? (He knows my real name, doesn't he?)
These people don't know me, do they? (These people don't know me, do they?)
Tag or tail can be translated in many ways. Mostly, possible translations: is not it? is not it? right? But in the Russian translation it is possible not to use the tail, inserting the word "because" in the middle of the sentence.
We are young, aren't we? (Are we young?)
The emphasis in such matters should fall on the second part.
Alternative questions (alternative questions)
A distinctive feature of such questions is the presence of the union "or" (or). This question cannot be answered in one word, it is necessary to make a choice.
Are you going to go there by plane or by car? (Are you going to get there by plane or by car?) - I'm going to go there by plane.
Is she your wife or not? (Is she your wife or not?) - She is my wife.
Questions with prepositions at the end
They could not be singled out in a separate category, but their compilation differs in some features.
Put the preposition at the end if the semantic verb has a special preposition. For example, to look for (look for something), look at (see
Marina Marina
(4407)
why did you give so much unnecessary information to a person ??? and why did you translate special questions as a question to the subject? this is a special question, and it can begin with the words how much, for example. in short, so much superfluous writing.

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 a grammatically correct statement of the question, the auxiliary verb do (does) is required, in the 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 starts 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 Present time simple 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 staging special question This preposition is used at the very end of a 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 declarative sentences and can ask general questions to them.

Hello dear readers. Today I have prepared for you an introductory lesson on the topic - types of questions in English. After studying the material, you will get acquainted with the 5 types of questions that are distinguished in English grammar. We will go into more detail on each of them in the following lessons. And now our goal is to introduce you to in general terms with each of the 5 types of questions, explain their meaning, features and design. Types of questions in English The construction of interrogative sentences is a very important topic for learning any language. After all, our speech mainly consists of questions and answers. I want to say right away that the construction of interrogative sentences in English is much more complicated than in Russian. In Russian, to pose a question, it is enough to simply change the intonation. In English, to ask a question, you need to change not only intonation, but also the order of words in a sentence, and very often there is a need to use auxiliary words.

In order to clearly explain the features of each of the types, I will first give examples, and then explain their essence. I advise you to learn the construction of 5 types of questions by heart.

5 types of questions in English

So, in English there are 5 main types of questions: a general question, a special question, a question to the subject and its definition, an alternative question, a disjunctive question. We will start the lesson with a general question, as it is fundamental. Having learned the construction of a general question, it will be easy for you to deal with other types.

1. General question

Question	Answer
Do you have a dog? Does he read that book? Did you visit your grandmother? Is she a student? Was he in Moscow? Can I help you? Must children do the homework?	Yes, I do/ No, I don't Yes, he does/ No, he doesn't Yes, I did/ No, I didn't Yes, she is/ No, she isn't Yes, he was/ No, he wasn't Yes, you can/ No, you can't Yes, they must/ No, they must not

As you can see, a general question is asked to the whole sentence, and it can be answered with just one word - yes or no. That is why it is called general.

For the correct formulation of a general question, it is necessary to use an auxiliary verb:

• do→ for I, you, we, they
• does→ for he, she, it
• did→ for past tense.

So, in the first place we put the auxiliary verb, and then the declarative sentence remains unchanged. Example:

• Narrative suggestion: You speak English. → add an auxiliary verb in the first place, and we get →
• General question: Do do you speak English?

If the verb is the predicate in the sentence to be (am, is, are, was, were - its forms), or modal verbs can (could), may (might), must, shall (should), will (would), then they are taken to the first place as auxiliary ones. Example:

• Narrative suggestion: I can help you. → endure modal verb in the first place, and we get →
• General question: Can I help you?

Summarize! The general question scheme looks like this:
Auxiliary verb (Auxiliary Verb) → subject (Subject) → predicate (Predicate) → other members of the sentence.

Video on the topic: General and alternative questions in English

2. Alternative question

Question	Answer
Is this a pen or a pencil? Does Ann work as a teacher or a doctor? Is that pencil red or green? Was Peter in Moscow or in Minsk? Does Jim like playing chess or watching TV?	It's a pencil. She works as a doctor. It's green. He was in Minsk. He likes playing chess.

As you may have noticed, an alternative question is a question that prompts the respondent to choose between two homogeneous members of the sentence (a pen - a pencil, teacher - doctor, red - green, Moskow - Minsk, playing chess - watching TV). These homogeneous members of the sentence can be expressed by additions, circumstances, definitions, the nominal part of the compound predicate, etc.

An alternative question is very easy to recognize by the union or which offers an alternative. An alternative question is usually given a full answer.

Please note that the alternative question is practically the same as the general question, except for the obligatory presence of the union or.

3. Special question

Question	Answer
Where do you have vacation every summer? When can I see her? What is your favorite colour? How does he get to work? Why are you eating at my desk?	I have a vacation in London. You can see her today. My favorite color is blue. He gets to work by bus. Because I am hungry.

Special questions in English are asked for more information. In the first place there is always a special question word:

• what?- What? Which?
• why?- Why?
• where?- Where? Where?
• how?- How?
• how long?- how long?
• which?- which?
• who?- Who?
• when?- When?

Special questions in English The word order after the interrogative word is the same as in the general question.

• General question: Does he see her every day? → add an interrogative pronoun to the first place, and we get →
• Special question: Where does he see her every day?

So the diagram will look like this:
Interrogative pronoun (interrogative pronoun) → auxiliary verb (Auxiliary Verb) → subject (Subject) → predicate (Predicate) → other members of the sentence.

Note that in English it is common to see phrasal verbs, i.e. any prepositions are closely connected with these verbs. When special questions are asked in English, these prepositions are placed at the very end of the sentence. For example:

• What are you busy with? - What are you doing?
• What are you asking for? - What are you asking for?
• Who were they waiting for? Who were they waiting for?

Answers to special questions, as a rule, are given in detail.

Video on the topic: Special question in English

4. Question to the subject and its definition

Question	Answer
What is going on there? Who is listening to the tape? Which of the children is going to the Zoo on Sunday? Whose children are having dinner now?	A fight is. Peter is. John is. Peter's children are.

Questions to the subject or to its definition always begin with interrogative pronouns:

• Who- Who
• What- What
• Which- which
• Whose- whose

In questions to the subject, the word order of the declarative sentence is preserved.

For example:

• Narrative Suggestion: They must do it every day. → instead of the subject They put Who, the rest of the sentence is left unchanged, and we get →
• Question to the subject: Who must do it every day?

Note that if the sentence refers to the present tense, then the interrogative words who, what, which usually agree with the predicate in the form of the 3rd person singular. Because we do not know what answer will follow, it is customary to use the 3rd person.

For example:

• Narrative Suggestion: They study at school. → instead of the subject They put Who, and add to the verb 3rd person ending, and we get →
• Question to the subject: Who stud ies at school?

You also need to remember that the question word " which- which" involves the choice of a certain number of objects or persons. Therefore, it is often used in conjunction with a noun or pronoun, which is preceded by a preposition of. For example:

• Which of the children ... - Which of the children ...
• Which of you… - which of you…

Questions to the subject or to its definition are given short answers, which consist of the subject, expressed by a noun or pronoun, and the corresponding auxiliary verb.

5. Dividing question

Question	Answer
He is a student, isn't he? My friends don't play football, do they? She can play piano, can't she? It isn't warm today, is it? Alex speaks English, doesn't he?	Yes, he is. No, they don't. Yes, she can. No, it isn't. Yes, he does.

Disjunctive questions in English are asked to test an assumption or express doubt. The peculiarity of the dividing question is that it consists of two parts and is separated by a comma. That's why it's called separating. The first part consists of a declarative sentence in direct word order. The second part is a short question that consists of an auxiliary or modal verb and a pronoun that replaces the subject. A comma is placed between them. In the second part, as you already understood, the reverse word order is used, and it is translated into Russian: isn't it?, isn't it?, right?

Remember that if the first part of the question is affirmative, then the verb in the second part must be in negative form. If the first part of the question is negative, then in the second part the verb must be in the affirmative form.

Let's look at a couple of examples:

• Narrative suggestion affirmative: She can cook that dish. → can, add a piece " not» and the pronoun itself she. We get →
• Separated question: She can cook that dish can't she?

• Narrative suggestion negative: She can't cook that dish. → We rewrite the sentence, put a comma, put the indicator of the question, i.e. in this case, the modal verb can, you don’t need to add the “not” particle, because it is in the first part of the sentence, and finally the pronoun itself she. We get →

Our topic today is the English language. Namely: how to ask them correctly, about the difference between general and special questions, questions to the subject, and also talk about the use of various interrogative words. This topic is relevant for students of any level of language proficiency, because mistakes are possible even on more high level when it comes to building questions in English. They confuse word order, skip auxiliary verbs, use wrong intonation. Our mission is to prevent such errors from occurring. Can we start?

The first thing to know about questions in English is that they are different 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.

Continuing to delve into this topic, it should be mentioned what types of questions are in the English language. Differences in the construction of those very questions in English depend on this.

5 types of questions in English

Common question in English

We ask this question when we want to know general information. Are you learning English? We can answer it with one word “yes” or “no”.

Special question

We need such questions in order to find out certain, specific information that interests us. When did you start learning English?

Question to the subject

We ask it when we want to know who is performing the action. Who teaches in your English courses?

Alternative question

This is a question in which a choice of 2 options is given. Do you study English with a teacher or on your own?

Separated question

This question involves confirmation of some information. You continue to study English in the summer, don't you?

Now let's look at how each of these questions is built in English.

General issues

In the formation of such questions, the reverse word order is used. This means that we put the auxiliary verb in the first place, the subject in the second place, and the main verb in the third place.

Tom likes swimming in the sea. -Does( auxiliary) Tom ( subject) like ( main verb) swimming in the sea?

She goes to work everyday. -Does( auxiliary) she ( subject) go ( main verb) to work everyday?

General questions in English are also built with modal verbs. In this case, the modal verb will replace the auxiliary, that is, it will be placed in the first place.

Could you close the door, please? - Could you close the door, please?

May I come in? - May I come in?

Should I put on a sweater? - Should I wear this sweater?

Pay attention to the verb to be. We can safely consider it special - in general questions, you do not need to add an auxiliary verb to it.

Is he a teacher? - He is a teacher?

Was the weather good yesterday? - Was the weather good yesterday?

We form a negative general question. To do this, you need to add a particle not. It will come immediately after the subject. However, if we use the shortened form not - n't she will stand in front of him. Let's look at an example:

Does she not go to work on Sunday? = Doesn’t she go to work on Sunday? Does she not go to work on Sunday?

Have you not watched this movie? = Haven't you watched this movie? - Have you seen this movie?

Special questions

This type of question requires detailed and detailed explanation. A special question can be asked to any member interrogative sentence in English. The word order in such questions is the same as in general, only one of the question words must be put at the beginning:

• What?- What?
• When?- When?
• Where?- Where?
• Why?- Why?
• Which?- Which?
• Whose?- Whose?
• Whom?- Whom?

In a descriptive format, we will build a special question according to the following scheme:

Interrogative word + auxiliary (or modal) verb + subject + predicate + object + other members of the sentence.

Easier - on an example:

What (question word) are (auxiliary) you (subject) cooking (predicate)? - What are you cooking?

What (question word) do (auxiliary verb l) you (subject) want to eat (predicate)? - What do you want to eat?

When (question word) did (auxiliary) you (subject) leave (predicate) the house (addition)? - When did you leave home?

Due to the fact that a special question in English is posed to almost any member of the sentence (addition, circumstance, definition, subject), with its help you can find out any information.

Questions to the subject

This type of questions differs from the previous topics discussed, since auxiliary verbs are not used in its construction. You just need to replace the subject with who or what, add interrogative intonation and veil - the question is ready.

The scheme for constructing a question to the subject in English is as follows:

Interrogative word + predicate + minor members offers

Who went to the supermarket? - Who went to the supermarket?

What happened to your friend? - What happened to your friend?

Who did that? - Who did it?

At first glance it is very simple. But one should not confuse questions to the subject and special questions questions in English to the addition. An addition is a member of a sentence that gives some Additional information and answers questions in English: “who?”, “what?”, “to whom?”, “what?”, “what?”. And most often the question to the addition begins with the interrogative pronoun who or whom and what. This is where the similarity with questions to the subject lies. Only context will help you figure it out. Examples for comparison:

The girl saw me yesterday. - The girl saw me yesterday.
Whom (Who) did the girl see yesterday? - Who did the girl see yesterday?

We are waiting for the train. - We're waiting for the train.
What are you waiting for? - What are you waiting for?

Alternative questions

Based on the name, it is clear that these questions involve an alternative or the right to choose. By asking them, we give the interlocutor two options.

Will you fly to England or Ireland? - Will you fly to England or Ireland?

In such a question, there is always the union "or" - or. The question itself is built as a general one, only at the end with the help of the above or we add a selection.

Scheme for constructing a question:

Auxiliary verb + actor + action performed + ... or ...

Will they go to the park or to the cinema? - Will they go to the park or to the cinema?

Did you buy an apples or pears? - Did you buy apples or pears?

Does he work or study? - Does he work or study?

If in alternative question contains several auxiliary verbs, then we place the first one before the subject, and the rest immediately after it.

She has been studying for several years. She has been studying for several years.
Has she been studying or working for several years? - Is she studying or working for several years?

An alternative question in English can also begin with a question word. Then such a question consists directly of a special question and the following two homogeneous members of an interrogative sentence in English, which are connected by means of a union or.

When were you interrupted: at the beginning or in the middle of your speech? - When were you interrupted: at the beginning or in the middle of your speech?

Separation questions

These questions in English can hardly be called questions in full, since their first part is very similar to an affirmative sentence. We use them when we are not 100% sure about something and we want to check or clarify the information.

Separation questions consist of two parts: the first is an affirmative or negative sentence, the second is a short question. The second part is separated from the first comma and is called tag or in the Russian version "tail". That is why the disjunctive questions are also called tag-questions or tail questions of the English language.

Discrimination questions are very popular in spoken English. And that's why:

• They do not ask the question directly, but encourage the interlocutor to answer.
• They can express many emotions and states (irony, doubt, politeness, surprise, etc.).
• They use direct word order. A regular sentence is built, a “tail” is added to it, and the question is ready.

In Russian, "tails" are translated by the words "true", "isn't it true", "isn't it", "correctly", "yes".

Let's look at some examples and see for ourselves:

I am your friend, aren't I? - I'm your friend, right?

He isn't your brother, is he? - He's not your brother, is he?

They aren't at home now, are they? They're not at home right now, are they?

Your friend worked in IT, didn't he? - Your friend worked in IT, didn't he?

You used to get up at 5 a.m., didn't you? - You got up early at 5 am, right?

Pay attention to the “tails” for the pronoun I (I) - in the negative sentence, the auxiliary verb changes.

I am not right, am I? - I'm wrong, right?
I am right, aren't I? - I'm right, right?

If you have a sentence with a verb have, then several options for “tails” are possible with it.

You have a cat, have you? (British English) - You have a cat, don't you?
We have a car, don't we? (American English) - We have a car, right?

Also sometimes there is no negative in the first part of the sentence not before the auxiliary verb, and it will still be considered negative. For example: They never went there, … What shall we deliver? Right, did they! And all because the word never(never) is negative. For words like never, can be attributed rarely(rarely), scarcely(barely) hardly(hardly), barely(barely) little(few), few(some).

They rarely go out, do they? - They rarely go out, do they? ( there is a word with a negative meaning rarely)

It's unbelievable, is it? - It's incredible, right? ( the word unbelievable with a negative prefix, so the first part is considered negative)

Nothing is impossible, is it? - Nothing is impossible, right? ( nothing and impossible are words with a negative meaning)

They have nowhere to go, do they? - They have nowhere to go, right? ( nowhere - a word with a negative meaning)

Conclusion

As you managed to replace, there is nothing complicated in asking a question and finding out the information of interest. We hope that this article will help you deal with all the subtleties and nuances. Learn English, be inquisitive and ask the correct English questions to your interlocutors. Cheers!

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

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Online course "ENGLISH THROUGH SELF DEVELOPMENT": "I began to use English more for practical tasks. For example, recently he himself chose an offer to sell a guitar on a London classifieds website, he himself corresponded with sellers and bought a legendary guitar from an English musical family in London. We even sat and talked with them for life. For me, this is a small victory! »

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