5 simple questions in English. Other semantic verbs

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). AT 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 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? - Not.

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 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?

In English, phrasal verbs are common, 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, to which a short general question, often referred to as a "tail" (tag), is attached. 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.

There are five types of questions in English. Let's take a closer look at each of them together. Each of the five types of interrogative sentences has its own 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 tenses. 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 time 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 to any member of the English sentence and requires the use of an interrogative 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 what grammatical tense does the sentence refer to) - subject - predicate - minor 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.

Hello my dear readers.

Russian-speaking people rarely ask themselves the question of terminology. We don't like these complex words and that's it. But those who have to learn English face this much more often. An example of how we can know a rule but not know its name is the types of questions in English.

There is hardly a student who can easily name all the variations with examples. Well, let's fix it. Today we are waiting for an interesting theory with explanations, tables and examples, followed by an equally interesting practice.

General

The general question is the most common one. That's why it's common, as they say. The answer to it will always be the words "yes" or "no". Of course, later the answer can be expanded and supplemented, but confirmation or denial is the basis.

I have already written about this topic in as much detail as possible in a separate one. However, let's take a look at some examples.

Are you going to the cinema tonight? - Are you going to the cinema today?

Yes, I am. - Yes.

And one more example.

Are they our new neighbors? - Are these our new neighbors?

Special

A special question always begins with a certain question word. Its main purpose is to get more detailed information. The most common question words in speech are:

whom- Whom
When- When
Whose- Whose
Which- Which
Where- Where
why- Why
how- How
And others (about them)

A special question is formed according to a simple structure:

Interrogative word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb-predicate + object.

When did the bell ring? - When did the bell ring?

Where did they go? - Where did they go?

Interestingly, this type is divided into two groups:

Questions for the whole offer
Questions to the subject.

You can find out more about the latter in. But we will talk about the first group in great detail here. Their main difference is word order. Let's find out with examples.

Who goes to the theater tomorrow? - Who is going to the theater tomorrow? This is a question for the subject.

When did you break the plate? - When did you break the plate? This is a question for the entire proposal.

The difference lies directly in the word order. If in the first sentence the order remains direct, then in the second there is an inversion: the auxiliary verb is written immediately, and then the pronoun.

To make it clearer, let's rephrase the second sentence.

Who broke the plate? - Who broke the plate?

Dividing

Schoolchildren most often know the dividing question as "tail". It is usually taught somewhere in the 6th grade and is perhaps the favorite topic of any student. Its main task is to test any assumption, express doubt or just confirm your thought.

It consists of two parts: the affirmative part and the question, that is, the tail. We can see its structure right away with an example.

She lives in a big city, doesn't she? - She lives in a big city, doesn't she?

She was working as a steward, wasn't she? She worked as a flight attendant, didn't she?

Note that if our sentence is affirmative, then the tail will be negative. Let's look at the opposite situation with other examples.

She doesn't trust him, does she? She doesn't trust him, does she?

He hasn't returned yet, has he? He hasn't returned yet, has he?

Probably, you immediately had a doubt: how to answer such a thing? Everything is simple here. If your proposal is affirmative, but we say “yes” for consent, “no” for disagreement.

She will be home at five, won't she? She will be home at five, right?

Yes, she will. - Yes, it will.

No, she won't. - No, it will not.

But if your initial proposal is negative, then you express your consent with the word “no”, disagreement with the word “yes”. Let's quickly disassemble the example, until we get completely confused.

She doesn't have any objections, does she? She doesn't have any objections, does she?

No, she doesn't. - Yes, no.

Yes, she does. - No, there is.

Alternative

This type of question gives a choice: between two objects or actions. It is not used very often, but it is still necessary to know it.

The main component here is the “or” particle - or. Otherwise, the parts of this question are very similar to the general one. Let's get a look.

Are you writing an essay or are you writing a report? - Do you write an essay or do you write a report?

Is she drawing or is she sewing? - Does she paint or does she knit?

Okay, I won't torture you. In fact, the second part can be set not completely, but only an alternative can be left.

Are you writing an essay or a report?

Answers to such questions are given in full. There is no "yes" or "no" here.

Is she drawing or sewing?

She is drawing a picture. - She is painting a picture.

Useful repetition

To conveniently summarize everything we have learned today, I have a cool table for you.

General
Is she going to marry him?- Is she going to marry him? Does Lucy believe it? Does Lucy believe this? Did they have practice at school? Did they have practice at school? Have you finished the project?— Did you finish the project?
Special
To the whole offer	To the subject
When does the plane take off?- What time does the plane take off? Why did Sam leave? Why did Sam leave? How will you cope with it?— How will you deal with it?	Who damaged that?- Who messed it up? What brought him here?-What brings him here? Who controls it?- Who controls this?
Dividing
They are leaving tomorrow morning, aren't they?- They're leaving tomorrow morning, aren't they? They weren't honest, were they? They weren't honest, were they? Maya knew that, didn't she? Maya knew about it, didn't she?

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 making mistakes is possible even at a higher level when it comes to constructing 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 English. 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 a detailed and detailed explanation. A special question can be asked to any member of an interrogative sentence in English. The word order in such questions is the same as in general, only at the beginning one of the question words must be put:

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), you can use it to 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 of the sentence

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 this?

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 sentence member 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 an 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? Correctly, 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

To the question Compose 5 types of questions in English. given by the author dewdrop 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. Basically, possible translations: right? 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.