Interrogative Sentence

Arup Roy, Lecturer in English Language & Literature, Kanchkura University College

We know that sentence is of five types based on meaning: assertive, interrogative, imperative optative, and exclamatory. In the previous chapter, I talked about the assertive sentence. Now you know what an assertive sentence is. What is an assertive sentence? An assertive sentence describes anything. If you want to describe your opinion, you use an assertive sentence; if you want to describe your feelings, you use an assertive sentence; if you want to describe any event or incident or anything, you use an assertive sentence. So, in the simplest sense, an assertive sentence describes anything. But, is our life limited to the description of someone or something? You can surely say, "no". We are to ask questions for many purposes; we are to give commands or advice or make requests or wishes or we are to release sudden emotion in our daily life. These five types of sentences will help you express all the above-mentioned expressions. As the author has talked about the assertive sentences in the previous chapter, he has intended to talk about the interrogative sentence in this chapter. Learning interrogative sentences will help you ask questions properly.

If you look at the sources, you will see that there are four types of interrogative sentences: closed questions, open questions, choice questions, and tag questions. Besides these four types of questions, there are other three types of questions—statement questions, indirect questions, and rhetorical questions. But, these three types of questions are not considered interrogative sentences because they do not ask questions directly. That is why they are not considered interrogative sentences. However, this chapter will help you learn all these ways of asking questions.

Closed Questions

They are called closed questions because you are not open or free to answer this type of question. Your answer is limited to “yes” or “no.”

Question: Do you play the piano?

Answer: No, I don’t.

Question: Do you write books?

Answer: Yes, I do.

Closed questions follow two structures:

1. Main verb + Subject + remainder (if any)

2. Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + remainder (if any)

First Structure of Closed Question

Main verb + subject + remainder (if any)

Let’s talk about the first structure. You will come across the first structure when a sentence is present simple or past simple and when an auxiliary verb functions as a main verb.

Present Simple: He is happy.

First Structure of Closed Question: Is he happy?

Past Simple: They were sad.

First Structure of Closed Question: Were they sad?

Here “is” and “were” in present and past simple are functioning as a main verb. So, when you come across this type of situation when your sentence is present simple or past simple and auxiliary verb functions as the main verb, you should use the first structure of closed question: Main verb + subject + remainder (if any).

Another thing you should remember is that interrogative sentence also has positive and negative form.

Present simple: He is happy.

A positive form of Interrogative: Is he happy?

A positive form of an interrogative closed question: Is he not happy?

A negative form of interrogative: Isn’t he happy?

If you separate “not” from the contracted form, “not” should come after the subject. On the other hand, a contracted form should come first.

Second Structure of Closed Question

Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + remainder (if any)

Present continuous: He is playing the piano.

The second structure of the closed question: Is he playing the piano? (Positive form)

The second Structure of the closed question: Isn’t he playing the piano? (Negative form)

Present perfect: I have broken the glass.

The second structure of closed question: Have I broken the glass? (Positive form)

The second Structure of the closed question: Haven’t I broken the glass? (Negative form)

Present perfect continuous: It’s been raining since morning.

The second structure of closed question: Has it been raining since morning?

Second Structure of closed question: Hasn’t it been raining since morning?

Past Indefinite: I played football.

The second structure of the closed question: Did I play football?

Second Structure of closed question: Didn’t I play football?

Past continuous: I was playing cricket.

The second structure of the closed question: Was I playing cricket?

Second Structure of closed question: Wasn’t I playing cricket?

Past perfect: I had done it.

The second structure of the closed question: Had I done it?

Second Structure of closed question: Hadn’t I done it?

Past perfect continuous: He had been doing it

The second structure of the closed question: Had he been doing it?

Second Structure of closed question: Hadn’t he been doing it?

Future indefinite: He will go there.

The second structure of the closed question: Will he go there?

The second Structure of the closed question: Won’t he go there?

Future continuous: They will be working there.

The second structure of the closed question: Will they be working there?

The second structure of the closed question: Won’t they be working there?

Future Perfect: I will have bought a car.

The second structure of the closed question: Will I have bought a car?

Second Structure of closed question: Won’t I have bought a car?

Future perfect continuous: You will have been doing it.

The second structure of closed question: Will you have been doing it?

The second Structure of the closed question: Won’t you have been doing it?

Keep in mind that when you have two auxiliaries you should revert the first auxiliary verb with the subject.

You should also be aware of the fact that present and past simple tenses do not show auxiliary verbs. So, there is no chance to revert the auxiliary verb and the subject here. You have to bring “do” “does,” and “did” to form questions. ‘Does” and “did” are used for present simple and “did” is used for past simple.

Ø He works hard.

Ø Does he work hard?

Ø Doesn’t he work hard?

Ø They know it.

Ø Do they know it?

Ø Don’t they know it?

Ø They knew it.

Ø Did they know it?

Ø Didn’t they know it?

Now, you have understood what a closed question is. The closed questions are answered with either “yes” or “no,” and closed questions follow two structures:

· Main verb + subject + remainder (if any)

· Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + remainder (if any)

Open Question

They are called open questions because you can answer them openly. It means, unlike closed questions, your answers are not limited to “yes,” or “no.” They require detailed answers. So, open questions require a detailed answer. Open questions follow three structures:

· W/h words or w/h phase + main verb + subject + remainder (if any)

· W/h words or w/h phase + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

· Who + main verb + remainder (if any)

You will come across the first structure when your sentence is present simple or past simple and the auxiliary verb is functioning as the main verb.

Ø They are happy.

Ø How are they?

Ø This is a pen.

Ø What is it?

Ø I was there in the morning.

Ø When was I there?

So, when you come across present simple or past simple and your auxiliary verb is functioning as the main verb, you should follow the first structure. Now go to the second structure: w/h word or w/h phrase + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + remainder (if any.)

Ø What are you doing?

Ø Why have you broken it?

Ø How long have you been working on this project?

Ø When did you go there?

Ø Where did you live?

Ø When will you buy this car?

Ø How long have you been working on this project?

Ø How much money will you earn?

Structure three begins with “who” followed by an (auxiliary) verb, main verb

Ø Who has done it?

Ø Who are you?

Choice Question

In a choice question, an answer is given within the sentence and you have to choose the answer from the sentence.

Ø Do you want to eat a burger or pizza?

Here your answer should be either burger or pizza.

Ø Will you go to Singapore or New York?

Again, your answer should be either Singapore or New York.

Ø Do you want to have Coffee or Tea?

So, in a choice question, the answer just lies within the sentence. You just choose the answer from the given options.

TAG QUESTION

Tag question is another form of an interrogative sentence. They are called interrogative sentences because there is an interrogative tag after any declarative or imperative statement. But some scholars say that tag questions are not interrogative sentences because they do not ask questions directly. They are used only for confirmation and that is why tag questions are not interrogative sentences. By the way, we need to learn tag questions. So, let’s study the tag question.

Question tags can replace simple yes / no questions but they can also reinforce the statement that you made.

What is a question tag?

A question tag is a short question added to the end of a statement to change it into a yes/no question.

ü It’s dinner time, isn’t it?

ü It’s not lunchtime, is it?

Notice when the statement is positive, the tag is negative; and, when the statement is negative, the tag is positive. Notice that the negative tag is in contracted form. It is possible to use a full form such as “is it not”. But it will sound too formal. So, keep it to the contraction.

Formulation of question tag

Ø Auxiliaries that you can see in the statement

· Verb ‘to be’, Present and Past Continuous Tenses

ü She’s working, isn’t she?

ü She isn’t working, is she?

ü We’re late, aren’t we?

ü We aren’t late, are we?

ü He was angry, wasn’t he?

ü He wasn’t angry was he?

ü They were lying, weren’t they?

ü They weren’t lying, were they?

Ø Auxiliaries that you can see in the statement

· ‘Will’ & Modal verbs

ü You’ll be there, won’t you?

ü You won’t be there, will you?

ü I can go, can’t I?

ü I can’t go, can I?

ü It could happen, couldn’t it?

ü It couldn’t happen, could it?

ü We should stay, shouldn’t we?

ü We shouldn’t stay, should we?

ü He must exercise, mustn’t he?

ü He mustn’t exercise, must he?

Ø Auxiliaries that you can see in the statement

· Present and Past Perfect Tenses

ü They’ve finished, haven’t they?

ü They haven’t finished, have they?

ü She’s done it, hasn’t she?

ü She hasn’t done it, has she?

ü You’d seen him, hadn’t you?

ü You’d not seen him, had you?

ü You hadn’t seen him, had you?

Ø Auxiliaries that you can’t see in the positive statement

· Present and Past Simple Tenses

ü They live in Spain, don’t they?

ü They don’t live in Spain, do they?

ü She always smiles, doesn’t she?

ü She never smiles, does she?

ü It snowed, didn’t it?

ü It didn’t snow, did it?

· Verbs ‘to have’ and ‘to have to’

ü They have a car, don’t they?

ü They don’t have a car, do they?

ü They’ve got a car, haven’t they?

ü They haven’t got a car, have they?

ü He has to work, doesn’t he?

ü He doesn’t have to work, does he?

ü He’s got to work, hasn’t he?

ü He hasn’t got to work, has he?

Ø Special Tags

· Making a suggestion with "Let’s":

ü Let’s go for a walk, shall we?

ü Let’s not go out, shall we?

· Giving an order / making a request:

ü Do me a favor (please), will you?

ü Don’t forget the letter (please), will you?

· Verb ‘to be’ with the pronoun ‘I’:

ü I’m right, aren’t I? (or formal: am I not?)

ü I’m not right, am I?

Ø Usage

· Formulate a yes / no question (rising intonation)

ü You haven’t seen my key, have you? = have you seen my key?

No, I haven’t. Or Yes I have. It’s over there.

ü She’s coming, isn’t she? = Is she coming?

Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.

ü He works in a hospital, doesn’t he Does he work in a hospital?

Yes, he does. No, he doesn’t.

· Reinforce a statement and get agreement from the listener (falling intonation)

ü You haven’t slept very well, have you?

No, I had a terrible night last night.

ü She is really friendly, isn’t she?

Yes, she is so nice to everyone

ü He drives too fast, doesn’t he?

Yes, he is a dangerous driver.

Ø Common Mistakes

· Using ‘No?’ or ‘Isn’t it?’ as a general tag.

ü It’s cold, no? (wrong) It’s cold, isn’t it? (correct)

ü You have a car, isn’t it? (wrong) You have a car, don’t you?

In conclusion, we can say if the statement is positive, the tag will be negative. If the statement is negative, the tag will be positive. In the case of an imperative sentence, we should use “shall” or “will.” If your subject is an indefinite pronoun, the verb will be in its plural form. This is all about tag questions. These are the four types of interrogative sentences: closed questions, open questions, choice questions, and tag questions.

Besides these four types of questions, we have other three types of questions. But they are not considered interrogative sentences because they do not ask questions directly. Statement question is one of these three types of question. Statement question does not have any grammatical recognition.

Statement Question

Ø I am happy?

It is a statement, but we use our intonation to make others understand that it is a question. In the written form you can put a question mark after the statement sentence, but it does not have any grammatical rule. But we use them in our real life. In the speech, we are to raise our voice at the end of the sentence to make these questions.

Ø You are happy?

Ø You are disappointed?

We need to use our intonation to make this type of question.

Indirect Question

After the statement questions come to the indirect question. An indirect question is a statement but through this type of statement, we can actually generate questions indirectly. For example:

Ø He asked me if I did it.

Ø I asked him whether he has finished this work.

So, it is a statement. But, through this type of statement, we can make questions indirectly. That is why it is also called an indirect question.

Rhetorical Question

Finally, we have a rhetorical question. A Rhetorical question looks like an open question. It starts with a w/h word followed by an auxiliary verb, subject plus main verb plus remainder (if any). But still, it is not considered an interrogative sentence because it does not ask questions directly. It is a type of question through which we actually talk about ourselves. For example:

Ø How could I do it?

Here, I am not asking anyone any question; I am actually talking to myself. Let’s have some other examples:

Ø How foolishly did I do it?

This type of question is called a rhetorical question. Though they look like open questions, they are not interrogative sentences because they do not ask questions directly.

Exercise:

1. What is an interrogative sentence?

a. An interrogative sentence asks a question.

b. An Interrogative sentence expresses wish

c. An Interrogative sentence expresses our sudden emotion

d. An Interrogative sentence describes anything.

2. Which one is the example of an Interrogative sentence?

a. Do you know her?

b. Let me do the work.

c. Birds are flying in the sky.

d. How beautiful the scenery is!

3. Choose the structure of Interrogative sentence.