5 interrogative sentences. Types of questions in English. Special questions in English

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? -You're doing your own thing now.?

homework

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?

2. Is your brother at work? – Is your brother at work? 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.

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?

3. Whose beg was stolen? – Whose bag was stolen? 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.

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? – Does he do homework or play 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?

4. Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer? – Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer?

5. Separated question.

Question to the subject.

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.

Secrets of English grammar.
There are five types of interrogative sentences in English. Each of them has a specific construction structure.

1st type. General question (general).
The answer can be either “yes” or “no,” which is why a general question is often called a “yes/no question.” In this type of interrogative sentences, the word order is reversed. It begins with auxiliary or modal verbs.

Does she play the piano and the guitar?
Does she play piano and guitar?

Is the pupil reading the text?
Is the student reading the text?

Can your baby swim?
Does your baby know how to swim?

2nd type. Special question.
A special question is asked to obtain additional information, clarification of any details. It uses reverse word order, with one of the question words coming first: When? - When?; What? - What?; Where? - Where?; Which? - which?; Why? - Why?; How much/many? - How many? and others.

When will you be here?
When will you be here?

What are you planning to buy?
What are you going to buy?

How much did your plane ticket cost?
How many

3rd type. Disjunctive question / tag-question.
A disjunctive question is used to express surprise, doubt, or obtain confirmation. This interrogative sentence consists of two parts. The first part is the sentence itself without any changes (that is, with direct word order), the second is an auxiliary verb and pronoun, which are translated “isn’t it true”, “isn’t it so”. If the first part is an affirmative sentence, then in the second part not must be placed after an interrogative or modal verb. If the first part of the question is a negative sentence, then in the second part the particle not is not used.

You have done the homework, haven't you?
You did your homework, didn't you?

It is not so easy to translate that text, is it?
That text is not so easy to translate, is it?

All children like sweets, are not they?
All children love sweets, don't they?

4th type. Alternative question.
An alternative question can be asked to any member of the sentence. It involves choosing between two options. This type of question always contains the word or:

Is the dress you bought red or black?
Is the dress you bought red or black?

Did Peter or John present such beautiful flowers to you?
Did Peter or John give you such beautiful flowers?

Are the pupils reading a text or writing a dictation?
Do students read the text or write a dictation?

5th type. Question to the subject
This type of question is sometimes considered a type of special question. The word order in it does not change, but the words What (if the noun is inanimate) or Who (if the noun is animate) are put in first place instead of the subject. A question has the same structure as a declarative sentence, in which the role of the subject is played by interrogative pronouns.

What makes you feel happy?
What makes you happy?

Who wants to answer the question?
Who wants to answer the question?

Who will come to our party?
Who's coming to our party?

Interrogative sentences in English are built according to certain rules, regardless of the tense form of the verbs.

Questions in our speech occupy no less place than statements. Knowing the construction of such constructions in a foreign language is especially necessary, because they allow you to clarify important points, eliminate misunderstandings, and simply make new acquaintances or find out how to get to some attraction. Today our task is to understand what interrogative sentences are in English. , and learn to compose them yourself.

For beginners, it may seem difficult that the English language contains several at once and has special rules for constructing each of them. Yes, here you cannot beat the statement with a different intonation and get a ready-made question. Yes, you will have to memorize certain combinations and understand when to use them. But in fact, all this grammar is perhaps the simplest thing that is in the rules of the English language. We will analyze each subtype of questions separately, and later we will reduce them to a common basis.

General questions

The simplest and most frequently used type of construction in speech, which is notable for the fact that it does not require a detailed answer. The statement for such questions looks like this: “ Yes, I did / am / will do" or " No, I didn’t/I do/will do».

The composition of a general interrogative construction depends on which predicate is used in the original sentence. If the statement contains a verb tobe in any form, you just need to change the word order in English sentence, putting the predicate itself in first place. At the same time, depending on which person the question is asked, the form of the pronoun changes. The predicate of the answer is tobe.

In more common cases, when the predicate is expressed by any other verb, to turn the statement into an interrogative sentence it is enough to use an auxiliary verb do . This word is put first, and then they simply retell the original expression, without changing the original word order! Please note that the auxiliary word appears in the answer as a predicate.

Grammar notes : According to generally accepted rules, in English animals are classified as inanimate objects, so it is necessary to use the pronoun it. But there are exceptions to all rules, so when talking about their favorite pets, the British use the pronouns she or he. The following division is informally accepted: if the sex of the animal is unknown, use it; if known, use he/she, respectively.

Verb do used to formulate a question in the present or past tense ( did), while the word itself does not carry any semantic load, but acts only as a kind of intermediary. It is important to note that with a 3rd person subject, this assistant takes on the ending es, That's why again with predicate lettersno need to use!

If the question is posed to a sentence that contains a modal verb, the use of auxiliary constructions is not required.

Don’t be afraid of the two predicates; these are just designations for the same auxiliary do, will and the main verb. To make it easier for beginners to understand such constructions foreign language Let's look at specific examples.

1. Where + 2. did + 3. you 4. live + 5. in 2007?

1. When + 2. will + 3. he + 4. work + 5. for this company?

From the examples it is clear that grammatically this compound predicate, but for simplicity we have designated it in two parts in the diagram.

In principle, questions of this type are quite easy to handle; we will only note the situation of their use with to be constructions.

Grammar notes: the interrogative word what can be used with an animate person when talking about his occupation. Compare.

In an interrogative sentence c whose, whichwhatkindof, after these words there may not be a predicate, but a subject or an object.

Selective type questions (Alternative)

Using such combinations, we can offer the interlocutor a choice of two different options in English. Such questions are constructed using a short preposition or(or) and can refer to any member of the sentence. Their structure consists of two phrases connected by the indicated preposition. Let's look at the examples given and their translations.

With a little practice, the formation of such structures will not be difficult.

Disjunctive questions

This subtype of interrogative sentences in English is a little similar to the previous one, but has a different connotation of meaning and is constructed according to its syntactic structure. Such questions are rather clarifications, confirmations of actions and are translated into Russian by the expressions “ is not it? Truth? it is so?". In order to make this construction, you do not have to change the order of words. On the contrary, at the end of the original sentence, an additional phrase is formed “ tobe/do/will+pronoun».

It’s not difficult to make such a proposal; you just need to pay attention to one nuance. If the original phrase contains a negation, then the additional construction will be in the affirmative form. The same rule is true for the reverse situation.

It isn't a very good idea, is it?	I don't know.
This is not a very good idea, right?	I don't know.
Do you work at the factory, don't you?	Yes, I am.
You work in a factory, don't you?	Yes.

Grammar notes: if the affirmative sentence contains a pronoun I, then in the additional construction the form of the verb will be aren't't. If the sentence has a negative context, the addition is expressed in words Iam. The use of the phrase in this construction Iamnot practically never occurs.

In order not to go beyond political correctness, you should remember the use of this combination with collective pronouns.

Everybody is here, aren't they?

Nobody is angry are they?

At the end of this section, it is worth mentioning another type of questions called direct questions. They are asked using question words and refer exclusively to the subject. To create such a construction, you need to replace the subject with who or what.

Interrogative sentences in English - summary table

Let's summarize our knowledge and see how varieties of English interrogative sentences are formed in different times. This table will be a useful cheat sheet for practicing constructions in practice.

Simple times
The present	Past	Future
Does she write letters? Does she write letters? Who writes letters? Who writes the letters?	When did she paint the picture? When did she paint this picture? There were many bookshelves, weren't there? There were a lot of bookshelves there, weren't there?	Will you play soccer tomorrow or next week? Will you be playing football tomorrow or next week?
Continuous tenses
The present	Past	Future
What are you playing now? What are you playing now?	Who was talking with him at that moment? Who was talking to him at that moment?	Will you be flying to Madrid at this time tomorrow? Will you be flying to Madrid at this time tomorrow?
Perfect tenses
The present	Past	Future
Has he studied here? Did he study here?	Had the concert already begun when did you enter the hall? When you entered the hall, had the concert already started?	You will have worked here by next week, won’t you? You'll be working here until next week, won't you?
Continuous perfect tenses (PerfectContinuous)
The present	Past	Future
Have you been living in Berlin for 10 or 12 years? Have you lived in Berlin for 10 or 12 years?	How long had they been waiting for us before they decided to go home? How long did they wait for us before they decided to go home?	Will you have been learning Russian for 3 years by the time you go to Moscow? Will you have been studying Russian for 3 years by the time you go to Moscow?

According to the purpose of an utterance, there are three main types of sentences in English: declarative sentences, interrogative sentences and imperative sentences. In this case, we are interested in interrogative sentences. The types of questions in English are the following: general, alternative, question to the subject, special and dividing.

Each type has its own characteristics, so we will consider each of them separately.

1. General Question

The general question is asked about the entire sentence. You can answer it either “yes” or “no”. That is why general questions in English are also called yes/no questions. The word order is reversed here. The auxiliary verb (Auxiliary Verb) should come first, then the subject (Subject), predicate (Predicate) and other members of the sentence. To pose a question grammatically, the auxiliary verb do (does) is required, in Past Simple

Does—did. If the sentence uses the verb to be or as a predicate (with the exception of have to and need to), then they will act as auxiliaries. Examples:
James smoke? — Does James smoke? Are
are you living in London now? — Do you live in London now?

I have a look at your photos? -Can I see your photos?

Does Short answers to common questions depend entirely on the auxiliary verb used. If the question begins with the verb does, then it should also appear in the answer. For example: she like English poetry? — Yes, she does
. — Does she like English poetry? - Yes. Is isn't Ann playing the piano? - No, she

. — Anna plays the piano? - No.

2. Alternative Question

An alternative question in English involves a choice. It always contains the conjunction or (or). The structure of this question is similar to the general one, but a choice sentence is also added here. 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?

When posing a question to the subject, the direct word order in the sentence does not change. You just need to use a suitable question word instead of the subject. Who (who), What (what) are usually used. It should be noted that over time Present Simple 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 it?
What caused the exlosion? — What triggered the explosion?

4. Special Question

Special questions in English are used to request specific information. They begin with the question words Who, What, Which, When, Where, Why, How, How many/How much .

The word order after the question 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 followed by a short general question, often called a tag.

This type of question is used to express surprise, doubt, confirmation of what was said. The “tail” itself is translated into Russian as “isn’t it true”, “isn’t it so”. When posing a question, the first part remains unchanged, in the second part an auxiliary verb is placed at the beginning (depending on the predicate in the first part), and then the nominative pronoun comes. If the sentence is affirmative, then the “tail” must be made negative and vice versa. Examples: You heard from him,
didn't isn't you? “You heard from him, didn’t you?”
Alex is a driver, is it he? — Alex is the driver, isn’t he?
That isn't Tom ? - It's Tom, isn't it? vshe? — Anya doesn’t have a color TV, does she?

When considering this type of question, it should be noted that dividing 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 begins 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 of a sentence, then the pronoun is placed in the second part they. For example:

Neither of them prepared for the lesson, did they? “None of them were prepared for the lesson, were 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, didn't they?

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 pose general questions to them.

I'm in such a musical mood today! what if we compare English to music? The English language is just as melodic Do re mi fa sol la si...

English as music

before– subject(that is, the one who performs the action);
re- this is a predicate(verb, action);
mi– addition or circumstance;
F- auxiliary verbs(do, does, did... or linking verb);
salt- question words(what? where? where? how? why? how much?);
la– or (or) ;
si(What, Who in questions specifically to the subject, who or what did the action).

For example:

I like music. – Do re mi;
I am listening to music.

Are you listening to music? – fa do re mi;
Do you like music? – fa do re mi.

English questions may sound different. I suggest listening to 5 different melodies - types of English questions.

General question (YesNo Questions) – Fa do re mi

As its name implies, these are questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no.” Let's look at an example of this “melody” in the most common English verb tenses.

Present Simple: Do you listen to music every day?
Past Simple: Did you listen to music yesterday ?
Future Simple: Will you listen to music tomorrow ?
Present Continuous: Are you listening to music now?
: Were you listening to music yesterday at 5 p.m. ?
Present Perfect: Have you ever listened to Hawaiian music?

Special Question. Special question (Wh question)

Let's listen - Sol fa do re mi

What do you listen to every day?
When did you listen to that music?
Where will you listen to music?
Why are you listening to music?
How were you listening to music?
How many symphonies have you already listened to?

Alternative question

This is a type of question that asks for an alternative, a choice.

For example, " Do you like classical or popular music? ”

Listen to one of the most common variations of this type of verb - Fa do re mi la mi

Do you like classical or popular music?

Tag question

This is a question with a “tail”, when we say some phrase containing information that we are almost sure of and ask the interlocutor for confirmation “isn’t it? is not it?"

You love classical music, don't you?

This is the only question type whose main part has direct word order.

The “tail” contains an auxiliary verb and a subject, but if the main part of the sentence is positive, the tail must be negative, and vice versa, if the main part is negative, the tail will be positive.

Do re mi fa do

You like classical music, don’t you?
You are listening to Mozart music now, aren’t you?
You haven’t heard it before, have you?

Subject question

This melody does not like auxiliary verbs (do, does, did). And of course there is no note here BEFORE, because it is about this note (about the subject) that we ask through the note SI(Who or What did the action). Here's a note SI and becomes the subject.

Si re mi

Who likes classical music?
What inspired him to compose that Symphony?

Please note, since the note F(purple, indicating the auxiliary verbs do, does, did) is missing in this melody, verb (blue note re) is placed immediately in the required form in accordance with grammatical tense, as in an affirmative sentence.

Who called? Past tense. Who called? The ending -ed was added to the verb, as in the affirmative sentence in the Past Simple.

Who calls you every day? Who calls you every day? The ending -s was added to the verb, as in the affirmative sentence in the Present Simple in the 3rd person singular (as with the pronouns he, she or it).

Now make 10 affirmative proposals at different times and ask all types of questions to everyone!

This way, the melodies will be firmly fixed in your memory, and you will not be out of tune.

We have made a short video lesson for you on this topic to better reinforce the material.

Enjoy watching.

Write in the comments if you liked the video?

Happy English to you!

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