Question Forms in English - Rules and Examples.pptx

Question Forms in English

1. QUESTION FORMS IN ENGLISH

2. OUTLINE QUESTION WORDS YES/NO QUESTIONS WH- QUESTIONS ABOUT OBJECTS / ADVERBIAL MODIFIERS SUBJECT QUESTIONS INDIRECT / REPORTED QUESTIONS TAG QUESTIONS PRACTICAL TASK

3. QUESTION WORDS Question word Possible extension Reference Who ------ person/people What / Which + noun thing(s) Where ------ place(s) When ------ time(s) Why ------ reason(s) How + adjective/adverb manner

4. YES/NO QUESTIONS Auxiliary / modal verb is placed before subject (stage 1). Positive sentence: Subject Auxiliary verb Main verb Object Adverbial modifier My colleagues are sending the documents to Paris. Subject Modal verb Main verb Object Adverbial modifier My colleagues can send the documents to Paris. Yes/No question: Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Object Adverbial modifier Are my colleagues sending the documents to Paris? Modal verb Subject Main verb Object Adverbial modifier Can my colleagues send the documents to Paris?

5. WH- QUESTIONS ABOUT OBJECTS / ADVERBIAL MODIFIERS Question word (QW) is added at the beginning of Yes/No question and the answer is removed (stage 2) = (QW + stage 1 — answer). Subject Auxiliary verb Main verb Object Adverbial modifier My colleagues are sending the documents to Paris. Yes/No question: Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Object Adverbial modifier Are my colleagues sending the documents to Paris? Wh - question about object (Who? or What? ) : Question word Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Object Adverbial modifier What are my colleagues sending the documents to Paris? Wh - question about adverbial modifier (When?, Where?, Why? or How? ) : Question word Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Object Adverbial modifier Where are my colleagues sending the documents to Paris?

6. SUBJECT QUESTIONS Question word ( Who or What ) is placed instead of the subject . Who and What are singular subjects and require singular verbs . Auxiliary / modal verb is NOT placed before subject (word order of a positive sentence). Positive sentence: Subject (plural) Aux. verb (plural) Main verb Object Adverbial modifier My colleagues are sending the documents to Paris. Subject question: QW (Who/What) Aux. verb (singular) Main verb Object Adverbial modifier Who is sending the documents to Paris?

7. INDIRECT/REPORTED QUESTIONS Introductory clause begins the question: The clause is a question or a statement of request in an indirect question. Question clauses: Can you tell me…; Do you know…; May I ask…; Can you explain me…; Would you mind telling me…; Have you any idea… Statement clauses: I’d like to know…; I wonder…; I don’t know…; I’d like to find out… The clause is a reporting statement in a reported question: He/She/They asked / wanted to know… / wondered… / inquired… When introductory clause is a question , we need a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence; when it’s a statement , we need a full stop (.)

8. INDIRECT/REPORTED QUESTIONS Auxiliary / modal verb is NOT placed before subject (word order of a positive sentence ). Yes/No questions are introduced with if / whether . Indirect question Introductory clause if / whether Subject Auxiliary verb Main verb Object I wonder if you will call a lawyer. Direct question Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Object Will you call a lawyer?

9. INDIRECT/REPORTED QUESTIONS Wh - questions are introduced with question words . Indirect question Introductory clause if / whether Subject Auxiliary verb Main verb May I ask how this machine works? Direct question Question word Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb How does this machine work?

10. INDIRECT/REPORTED QUESTIONS The one difference between indirect and reported questions: Indirect questions are used by a speaker to make his/her own questions more polite . Reported questions are used by a speaker to report someone else’s questions. Sometimes, to be very polite, a speaker can use double indirect questions. For this, two introductory clauses are used before the question (the first of them is usually I wonder… ). The second introductory clause must also be changed into an indirect question : Direct question: Do you have children? Single indirect question: Could you tell me if you have children? Double indirect question: I wonder if you could tell me whether you have children.

11. TAG QUESTIONS Short questions at the end of positive sentences that change positive sentences into questions Auxiliary / modal verb from the main sentence is added at the end of the sentence with an appropriate subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they). A positive statement is followed by a negative tag ; a negative statement is followed by a positive tag . Positive sentence: Helen is baking a cake. Tag question: Helen is baking a cake , isn’t she? Positive sentence: You don’t eat meat. Tag question: You don’t eat meat , do you?

12. PRACTICAL TASK Below are five positive sentences. Make 5 questions from every sentence: a yes/no question , a wh - question about object/adverbial modifier , a subject question , an indirect question and a tag question . Englert and Higgs received a Nobel prize in 2013. The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho has sold over 150 million books in more than 150 countries. Computers are helping many people in all parts of the world. My brother and I have won gold medals in swimming. The Sun rises in the East in the mornings.