There are four key groups of interrogative sentences - general, special, alternative and dividing. According to the traditional academic system, except for special. questions subject, all the rest are built with a rearrangement of members regarding a similar affirmative turn. However, in real speech (both oral and written), interrogative sentences are often found that are identical to affirmative. How to make a question in English? There are sentences whose interrogative expression is carried out only due to intonation, without setting the predicate in front of the subject and using additional meaningless verbs (to be, do) and interrogative words. Some phrases with permutation of words will sound incorrectly, absurdly or even impolite in certain situations. Therefore, along with the classical scheme, we will also analyze in what cases it is possible to compose a question from words in English without a mandatory rearrangement.
The semantic orientation. Words bearing the main burden
It is necessary to determine which word carries the fundamental “questioning” burden in order to approve the scheme for construction and to understand how to compose a question in English. It is somewhat incorrect to classify interrogative sentences according to their relationship with the sentence-answer, i.e., for example, to say that the question with which we want to know something about the object that performs the action is a question for the subject. After all, we still do not know what the answer will be, and whether it will be at all; our task is to ask, and we should be based only on this.
The members by which we express the basic information need, and should serve as a signal for identification. We will call it questions through the subject, etc., to tell you how to write questions in English. The table below shows line by line whether questions are asked through the subject, for example - / Who did it? / Who did it? /, Or through the predicate, for example - / Did he do it? / He did it? /, Or through the secondary a member, for example, through a circumstance - / He did it in time? / Did he do it on time? / It is easy to confuse the expression of a question through a secondary member to verify this, compare the last example with the sentence - / Did he do it in time? / He did it on time? Of course, the proposal / He did it on time ? / Can be built in exactly the same way, however, a change of emphasis will be required here: / Did he do it in time ? /. The question expressed through the predicate is constructed with the statement of the meaningless verb (do, to be) in front of the subject.
The purpose of the question. Ignorance and prejudice
How to write questions in English? The construction scheme depends on the purpose of the question, on whether absolutely new information is expected in the answer, or whether you are specifying what is already known. In the second case, your question contains an assumption regarding the answer or a manifestation of surprise, doubt about any fact or previous remark of the interlocutor (we call such questions biased). For example, you do not know if your friend is in Chicago, and inquire about this: / Is he in Chicago? / Is he in Chicago? /; or do you assume that your acquaintance may be located in Chicago, and specify this point: / He is in Chicago? / Is he in Chicago ? /; or you heard that your friend came to Chicago, and are surprised by this: / He is in Chicago already? / Is he already in Chicago? / (Compare with the case when your friend was supposed to come, but you do not know anything about it: / Is he in Chicago already? / Is he already in Chicago? /.)
In this case, you do not need to try to pass through each of these schemes absolutely all revolutions. Some combinations, due to their specificity, may have a limited range of use.
Interrogative sentences are divided by type based on what information they expect to receive in response.
Are common
How to make a general question in English? Such a question requires a negative or positive answer, which will be disclosed directly (yes, no) or indirectly (using the explanation from which such a conclusion can be drawn). Those classical schemes that we used to see in textbooks relate to expressions through the predicate, when a suitable non-sense verb or the verb part of the compound predicate is located in front of the subject. However, in English there are often similar affirmative interrogative sentences, so we will analyze the semantic shades that can allow this.
Common through predicate
/ Did you do it? / Did you do it? / [Of course I did./Of course, did.]
General through subject
/ Will you do it? / Or / You will do it? / Will you do this? / [No, I won't. / No, I won’t do it.]
Common through minor members
/ Did you do it quickly ? / You did it quickly? / Did you do it quickly ? / [As quickly as possible./ How much is it possible.]
How to compose a question in English if it clarifies the proposed or partially known information? Prejudiced issues can be classified as general. When the question through the predicate is prejudiced, the structure of a similar affirmative sentence does not change. For example, / He took more points than anybody else. - He won? / [He scored more points than the rest. - He won?] (Compare with / He took part in the competition. - Did he win? / He took part in the competition. - He won? /)
Interrogation
We can distinguish a group of general questions that ask the interlocutor again, expressing interest. The logical place of these questions is before the answer, that is, the answer is ahead of the question, and the request is expressed as if to re-voice it. Such a requirement retains the scheme, but some members of the sentence are often omitted.
/ I am living in Chicago too. - Are you? / I also live in Chicago. - Seriously? / [Imagine./ Imagine.]
Special
How to make a special question in English? Such a question involves an answer containing unique information. It is given by means of special words / Who / Who, Whom / Whom, Whose / Whose, What / What / Which, Which / Which, When / When, Where / Where, Why / Why, How / How (/ How / is often used with verbs, adjectives, etc. that complement its meaning: / How many / How many, How long / How long, How come / How it happened, etc.), which take the first position. These questions are not biased. Cases when a meaningless verb part is required before the subject is determined by the term through which the need for information is expressed - through the predicate, subject (or definition of the subject) or other secondary parts of the sentence. To know how to put together a question in English using spec. words, remember - if a special question is obtained from a general question by simple substitution, for example, / Why / or / When /, the sequence of members, by analogy, can remain unchanged compared to a similar affirmative sentence.
The pattern may remain unchanged in statements starting with a special word inserted in the interrogative sentence. For example, / Do you know why he is looking at it? /, Do you know why he is looking at it / / where / why he is looking at it / why he is looking at it / is a specific reason.
In cases where the interrogative pronouns Who, What, Whom, Whose, Which are subject or included in the subject, the construction scheme is identical to the affirmative sentence. If the interrogative pronoun plays the role of definition with the subject, the rebuild also does not occur. In other cases, the meaningless verb rises in front of the subject.
For example, how to compose a question in English in a situation where / Who / acts as the nominal part of a predicate or when it is a subject? - / Who would you pretend to be in the game? / Who would you like to be in the game? / [I would pretend to be a superman./ I would rather be superman.], - / Who is the superman? / Who is superman ? / [I'm the superman./ I'm a superman.].
Special through compound noun predicate
/ Who is she to you? / Who is she for you?
Special questions through subject
/ Who will join me? / Who will join me? /
Specials through determination at subject
/ Which bus goes to the airport? / Which bus goes to the airport? /
Special through other minor members
/ Where did they meet? / Where did they meet? /
/ For how long have we been here? / How long have we been here? /
How long until it happens?
Suggestions like / How long until it happens? / How long before this happens? /, / How long before it happens? / How long before it happens? / Etc., in which overspeed like / should we wait / should we wait / or / does it need / required / (/ How long should we wait until it happens? / How long should we wait before this happens? or / How long does it need before something happens? / How long does it take for something to happen? /).
Alternative
How to compose an alternative question in English? Such a question offers possible options, expressed through similar members, and asks to approve any of them.
/ Am I alright or not? /
Dividing
How to make a separation question in English? Such a question is often rhetorical in nature, that is, the answer is implied in the question itself. The first part expresses a certain statement, and the second requires confirmation or refutation. The second part is separated from the first comma, sometimes by a dot or by a polynomial, in some cases even pronounced by another person.
/ He is alright, isn't he? /
It is not the same ... Is it?
Need to remember
Also, in order to know how to correctly compose a question in English, you need to remember that the verb in front of the subject becomes in accordance with the time and conjugation, and after that in its original form.
When a verb is used with a preposition supplementing its semantic meaning, the preposition is the last in the order of words. For example, / What are you looking at? / What are you looking for? / What is going on? / Can we get out? / If the preposition is part of a supplement, it is also put at the end, for example: / Are you looking at me ? /.
In the special. sentences used with interrogative pronouns, nouns are used without articles.