5 common questions in English. Question in English: ask correctly

“I heard about conversation clubs for a long time, but it seemed to me a rather strange activity. I didn't know what to talk about strangers Yes, even in broken English. Nevertheless, the first session involved me from the very first minutes. In such conversations, a forming center is needed, bright and perky. Sean, a native speaker, turned out to be just that. In a matter of seconds, he involved all the participants in a single game. Thanks a lot to Sean for the pleasure of communication. Thanks to Irina for another push from my comfort zone into a pleasant floundering in an unfamiliar environment. I study individually with an Australian teacher, but group experience is important and necessary on a par with other types of practice. I will gladly continue. Thanks to the organizers"

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Mikhail Chukanov

Onlinewell: "Learning to read English with pleasure": « Thanks to all the creators of the course for this opportunity!!! What happened is a very significant event for me - I really started reading (and continue to enjoy it) in English ke! This is amazing, because I was afraid to get close, not like books on English language, even viewing small information, English-language sites caused significant difficulties for me.

Milana Bogdanova

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Online course "Learning to read in English with pleasure":“Seriously, if someone told me a couple of months ago that I would devote every evening to reading in English, I would be very surprised. Before, for me it was more torture than pleasure, more a necessity than a choice.

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 modal verb will replace the auxiliary one, that is, it will be moved to 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 one of the question words must be put at the beginning:

• What?- What?
• When?- When?
• Where?- Where?
• Why?- Why?
• Which?- Which the?
• 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 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 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 supplement begins with 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 being 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 interrogative sentences in English, which are connected through 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(several).

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

As you know, a question is a request for information or an action. Every day we ask ourselves and others many different types of questions (Who am I? Why did I come into this world? Who is the cutest in the world? How to learn English in a month? ..). The questions are different, but formally they are united by one common feature(or rather, a sign): at the end of each interrogative sentence there is always a question mark.

So, let's see what types of questions are in English.

Closed questions

Closed questions are those types of questions that require a yes/no, true/false answer.

Auxiliary verbs are used for this type of questions in English ( do/does, am/is/are, have/has). The auxiliary verb is placed at the beginning of the sentence. Thus, the predicate and the subject are reversed.

Formation of questions in Present Continuous

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The word order in general questions is as follows (with examples):

I have seen the new film by E. Ryazanov.
I saw a new film by E. Ryazanov.

have you seen the new film by E. Ryazanov?
Have you seen the new film by E. Ryazanov?

You will go to the theater with me.
You will go to the theater with me.

Will you go to the theater with me?
Will you go to the theater with me?

5. If the predicate contains two or three auxiliary verbs (I have been working, a letter will be written, the article would have been translated), then the first auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.

Has not been working here since 1985.
He has been working here since 1985.

Has he been working here since 1985?
Has he been working here since 1985?

6. A general question in a negative form is formed using the auxiliary verb to do in the appropriate form (do, does, did, etc.) and the particle not. In Russian, the corresponding sentences begin with the words really? is it? and express surprise, etc.

If negation is used in short form: don't, doesn't, didn't, then it is placed before the subject.

Don't you want to go to the flower-show?
(Don't) you want to go to the flower show?

If the negation is not used in a short form, but in full - separately, then the following word order is used: in the first place - the auxiliary verb, in the second place - the subject, then the negation not, then the main verb, etc.

Do you already have a lot of interesting points for which there are not enough answers? Then it's time to learn how to clearly formulate a question in English in order to get everything the right solutions. So, go ahead with Mr Question!

Welcome, dear Questions!

Today we will talk about the rules for formulating the most famous interrogative sentences. A few years ago, 4 varieties were studied in schools and universities, and modern linguistics proposes to consider already 5 types of questions in English. What happened, and what Questions should you be aware of?

General question

In another way, it is also called "yes / no-question". This is the main type of question that implies an affirmative or negative answer. The statement STRICTLY begins with an auxiliary verb, then comes the subject, semantic verb, etc. The table below lists the auxiliary verbs according to tenses.

NB! If a sentence in Present Simple or Past Simple is constructed using the verb TO BE, then it also acts as an “assistant”. As a rule, these are statements about the state, attribute of an object, etc. (and not about his action). For example:

Is this dog angry? Or Was the trip long?

If a modal verb is used in a statement, it also comes first in the question, for example:

Can the girl swim? – Yes, she can. / No, she can't.

Word order in a general question

We draw your attention to the fact that the general question can also be negative (the particle not is added here to the auxiliary verb). For example, Don't you want to go to the theatre? (Don't you want to go to the theatre?)

Special question

Another name is wh-question. This type implies obtaining any additional information. A similar statement begins with a question word (see the figure below).

Interrogative words in English

As for word order, it is the same as in general questions. That is, in the first place is an interrogative word, then an auxiliary question, subject, predicate, secondary members (in that order).

NB! A proposal can be built using phrasal verb(a stable combination with a certain preposition), then in a special question this preposition should be placed at the very end of the sentence. For example: What are they waiting for? Who (m) are you talking about?

Question to the subject and its definition

This type of interrogative sentences began to be placed in a separate group quite recently. The fact is that they are formed using the question words WHO (who) and WHAT (what), like the previous form, BUT here the direct word order is preserved in the sentence. This happens because who / what replace the subject, as a result, the formation scheme is as follows: an interrogative word - a verb-predicate - an object.

Scheme alternative question and examples

Separated question

Other names: tail question or tag-question. This is a “request” question, that is, the speaker needs to confirm the accuracy of the information. The structure of this type of statement is quite simple. First comes a sentence with a direct word order, then a comma is placed and a “tail” is added. The tail, in turn, consists of an auxiliary verb with or without the negative particle not and a personal pronoun, which must match the subject.

NB! The presence of a negative particle depends on common sense statements:

• NOT needed if the main part of the thought is affirmative;
• NOT is omitted if there is a negation in the main part.

You can translate any “tail” with the phrases “isn’t it”, “isn’t it”, “is it so”.

And finally, you should remember the unusual "tails":

• Let's go to the museum, shall we?
• I'm late, aren't I?

NB! ALWAYS use the exact tense (grammatical) that is indicated in the question in your answer. Listen carefully to the interlocutor, and everything will work out for you!

So, now you know how a question is correctly formulated in English, what varieties of it exist, how they differ from each other, and, of course, you can correctly answer any of them. We wish you success in your further study of a foreign language!

100 popular questions(American English) with translation: