🎱 🙈 🐒 Types of questions in English: construction, examples 🈸 😏 🐴

In English, there are several different types of questions (also called interrogative sentences) that a speaker can ask. Each of them should be given an answer of a certain structure. In this article, we will look at all kinds of questions in the English language, which include:

yes-no questions;
with a choice;
wh-questions;
separation;
indirect.

When we get to them, don't forget to pay special attention to two things: words and intonation. These two aspects are the most difficult things to consider when working with 5 kinds of questions in English.

Yes-no

The simplest kind of question in English is a yes or no question. It is incredibly simple, since either “yes” or “no” is expected as an answer (although not limited to this). Take a look at the following statement: It is going to rain next Sunday.

Now let's change it to a yes-no question: Is it going to rain next Sunday?

Two things to note here. The first thing that you, unfortunately, cannot notice, simply by reading the text, is that when you ask this question, the speaker’s intonation rises at the end of the sentence, which is the opposite of the tone drop used in affirmative constructions.

The second thing is the reordering of words. When a narrative sentence turns into a question, the subject (subject) and the corresponding auxiliary verb (predicate) are interchanged. Consequently, the sequence it is indicates the affirmative nature of the structure, while the sequence is it is required to construct an interrogative sentence. Here are some more examples of this type of question in English:

Are you going to take the car today? (You're going to take the car today.)
Can you understand Cantonese? (You can understand Cantonese.)
Would he mind switching seats with me? (He would mind switching seats with me.)
Should I leave my things here while we're gone? (I should leave my things here while we're gone.)
Will we be stopping by the gas station later? (We'll be stopping by the gas station later.)

Now consider the following construction: Do you speak Russian? This type is the most elementary and basic of the five types of questions in the English language.

Corresponding affirmative sentence to this question: You speak Russian. However, in a yes-no question, we must add the auxiliary verb to do, because there must be an inversion between the subject and the predicate (auxiliary verb).

Thus, if you want to ask this kind of question in English, you must first add the auxiliary to do (You do speak Russian), and then do the inversion (Do you speak Russian?).

Here are some more yes-no questions with the added auxiliary verb to do:

Do you like chocolate?
Does everything make sense?
Do I sound annoying when I talk?
Did Julie just walk out of the room?

Questions that suggest the answer “either yes or no” may also contain a negative not, which should appear in the question. Do you not have any friends?

In this situation, if you want to confirm that you have no friends, you will say: No. If you say: Yes, this will probably confuse the person who asked the question, and he probably won’t know what you mean until you clarify your answer. This may seem counterintuitive to many foreigners.

No inversion

Inversion is very important for yes-no questions (and most questions are in English). What types of questions are there in English where inversion is not needed? For instance:

A: What are you doing this summer?
B: I'm going to Brazil.
A: Wait, you're going to Brazil? My friend's gonna be there too!
B: Oh, no way!

In this situation, speaker A asks the question not because he needs information, but because he confirms what he just heard. For example, if you think that you did not understand some information, you can reformulate it into a question.

A: I'm going to stop by Starbucks. Do you want anything?
B: No, I'm fine. I don't like coffee.
A: Wait, you don't like coffee? I can't go a day without it!

Again, if you use this type of question in English, pay attention to intonation. Since inversion is not used in such constructions, the tone of the voice must necessarily go up at the end of the sentence.

Questions with a choice

One of the 5 types of questions in the English language is the type that is built on the basis of the previously described yes-no structure. We use this design when we ask a person to choose between two (or more) presented options. These options interact using the or union.

Do you like chocolate or vanilla better?
Are you going to drive or do you want me to?

Another way to ask a similar question is with wh-words. We will consider such constructions in more detail later.

Which do you like better? Chocolate or vanilla?
What do you prefer? That I drive or that you drive?

Wh-questions

While yes or no questions are usually answered with either yes or no, constructs that begin with wh words usually require accurate information.

Here is a list of wh-words (including how, which does not start with wh). Also note that different words refer to different parts of speech, which in turn affects how they are used in sentences.

Who (who?) Is a noun; Whose (whose? Whose? Whose?) Is an adjective; Whom (by whom? To whom?) - noun;
What (what? What?) - a noun, an adjective;
When (when?) - an adverb;
Where (where?) - an adverb;
Why (why?) - an adverb;
How (how?) - an adverb; How much / many (how much?) - adjective, noun, adverb;
Which (which? Which? Which?) Is an adjective, noun.

Next, various methods of constructing in English all kinds of questions of type wh, which are classified by parts of speech, will be explained. Note that many contain an inversion and an auxiliary verb.

Noun as subject. This type of construction is formed according to the following scheme: wh-word + the rest of the sentence.

Who’s going to take care of the dog while we're gone? (The neighbor is going to take care of the dog while we're gone.)
Who cooks the most in your family? (My mom cooks the most in my family.)
Who ate the rest of my pizza? (Rohit ate the rest of your pizza.)
What’s going on? Nothing's going on.
What’s on TV right now? 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' is on TV right now.

Noun as a direct complement. To form this type of interrogative sentence, you must add the wh-word with the auxiliary verb, put the subject and add the rest of the sentence.

Who did they end up choosing for the lead role? They ended up choosing Erin for the lead role.
Whom specifically will this new policy affect? This new policy will affect the working class, specifically.
Who are you calling an idiot? I'm calling you an idiot.
What are you cooking for dinner? I'm cooking pasta for dinner.
Which do you like better? Jeans or sweats? I like jeans better.

Noun as a nominal part of a predicate. The formula for this type of question is as follows: wh-word + auxiliary verb to be in the necessary personal form + subject + remaining part of the sentence.

Who are all these people in the streets? (All these people in the streets are protestors.)
Sorry, who are you? (I'm Regan.)
Who are you going to be in the play? (I'm going to be a supporting character in the play.)
What is photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is a process by which plants make their own food.
Which is the best option out of the two? The best option out of the two is the first one.

Noun with a preposition. This type of question is formed in this way: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + remaining part of the sentence + adverb.

Who were you on the phone with? (I was on the phone with Jennifer.)
With whom was Mr. Ramos seen with earlier this morning? (Mr. Ramos was seen with his wife earlier this morning.)
Who are you sending that package to? (I'm sending this package to my cousin.)
What is this world coming to? (A rhetorical question)

Noun as a predicate in the subordinate clause. This type of sentence should be constructed as follows: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + remaining part of the main part of the sentence + remaining part of the subordinate clause.

Who do you think should be president? I think Elizabeth Warren should be president.
Who did you say tends to gossip a lot? I said that Amity tends to gossip a lot.
Who does Pierre want to win the World Cup? Pierre wants Barcelona to win the World Cup.
What do you think will happen if I skip class again today? I think the professor will notice.
Which do you think tastes better? Soymilk or almond milk? I think almond milk tastes better.

Using an adverb, interrogative constructions are formed by the following formula: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + remaining part of the sentence.

When are you flying back to the States? I'm flying back to the Stateson the 5th.
When are you walking over to the party? I'm walking over to the party in an hour.
When did you start wearing makeup? I started wearing makeup about a year ago.
Where did you go while you were in China? While I was in China, I went to Beijing and Shanghai.
Where on the map does this train go? This train goes to Wilmington on the map.
Why do you hate cats so much? I hate cats so much because they scratch everything.
Why do stars twinkle? Stars twinkle because of the way their light travels through our atmosphere.
Why did your mom come to visit you last weekend? My mom came to visit me last weekend to celebrate her birthday.
How are you? I'm fine, thank you.
How did you finish your food so fast? I finished my food that fast by not talking.
How can I become more productive? You can become more productive by meditating.
How many times did you go on that rollercoaster? I went on that rollercoaster five times.
How nicely do I need to dress for tonight? You need to dress nice enough for tonight.
How well does she speak in public? She speaks decently well in public.
Which way should I go to get to the market? You should go down the main road to get to the market.
What time does the sun usually set nowadays? The sun usually sets around six nowadays.

Adverb with a preposition. The formula is: wh-word + auxiliary verb + + subject + rest of the sentence + adverb. Similar constructions can also be formed according to the following scheme: adverb + wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + remaining part of the sentence.

When do you plan on leaving the city by? I plan on leaving the city by 9 pm
When will the after party go until? The party will go until three in the morning.
By when do you think you'll finish your application? I think I'll finish my application by next week.
Where did you pass by on the way here? I passed by the golf course on the way here.
From where does the first chapter of the dissertation begin? The first chapter of the dissertation begins after the roman numerals.

Adverb in the subordinate clause: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + remaining part of the sentence of the main sentence + remaining part of the subordinate clause.

When do they say is the best time to buy plane tickets? They say the best to buy plane tickets is 47 days before the flight.
When do you think we should have lunch? I think we should have lunch around noon.
Where did you say is your favorite restaurant? I said my favorite restaurant is Jin Ramen.
Where do you think is the best place to live in California? I think the best place to live in California is the Bay Area.
How much do you think you're going to eat? I think I'm only going to eat a little bit.
How quickly should I expect to be out of this meeting? You should expect to be out of this meeting within an hour.

Adverb with an adjective: wh-word + adjective + auxiliary verb to be + subject.

How scary is the haunted house? The haunted house isn't that scary.
How tall is your boyfriend? My boyfriend is six feet tall.
How cool is that? (Rhetorical question)
How big of a space are we going to have for the performance? We're going to have a fairly big space for the performance.
How cheap of a souvenir are you looking to buy? I'm looking to buy a souvenir less than twenty dollars.
How romantic did you expect that movie to be? I didn't expect that movie to be too romantic.
How cold is it going to be outside? It's going to be very cold outside.
How casual do you want this paper to sound? I want this paper to sound a little casual but not too much.

Adjective with a noun.

Which car model did you end up buying? I ended up buying a Toyota.
Which runner on the team has the best stamina? Sophie has the best stamina on the team.
Which one should I pick? You should pick the left one.
What kind of laptop is the best for computer games? PCs are the best for computer games.
What brand of clothing do you usually like to buy? I usually like to buy Zara.
What person would ever buy a flight for four in the morning? Rhetorical question
What area did you go to while visiting Brooklyn? I went to Williamsburg while visiting Brooklyn.

Definitive pronoun.

How much cash do you have in your wallet? I have about twenty dollars in my wallet.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop? It takes many licks to get to the center of a lollipop.

Intonation in questions like wh

As we saw earlier, intonation is a very important part of English language issues. When you ask a yes or no question, the pitch usually rises at the end.

As for the wh-constructions, in this case the tone of the voice usually coincides with the tone of the affirmative sentence. The main indicator of the interrogative nature of the proposal is directly the interrogative word.

However, there are times when the height rises at the end of the wh-question. This usually happens when the speaker wants to confirm part of the information, either because of surprise, or because he did not hear part of the information, or forgot it.

A: What are you wearing to the dinner tonight?
B: A dress shirt.
A: Wait, what are you wearing? (The tone of voice rises)
B: (Speaking more clearly) A dress shirt.

Native speakers also tend to raise their tone by asking general questions, such as: Where are you from? What time is it ?, almost as if it were comments.

So far, we have seen wh-questions that begin with wh-words. However, it is possible that such a word will appear in a position that is characteristic of affirmative sentences. This technique is used with an expressive purpose to express surprise or misunderstanding. Placing a wh-word in its affirmative position is usually accompanied by increasing intonation.

A: What are you wearing to dinner tonight?
B: A dress shirt.
A: Wait, you're wearing a what? (Growth of intonation)
B: (Speaking more clearly) A dress shirt.

One-word wh-questions

Speaking about what types of questions in the English language, it is important to mention the existence of single-word questions. Although wh-words can be used to build more complete wh-questions, they can also speak independently in conversation. The same intonation rules apply here, especially with the word what, which is often used as an exclamation.

A: Guess who I just ran into today.
B: Who?
A: Simon. I haven't seen him in ages.
A: I'm going to do some shopping downtown soon.
B: Oh, when?
A: Probably around one o'clock.

Separation Issues

Not all types of questions in the English language are built on inversion. So, the dividing type of the interrogative construction (sometimes called dissected) is the usual affirmative sentence, to which a kind of tail with an auxiliary verb is attached. The end of the question can be translated into Russian with the construction "is not it." Usually this type of question is used when the speaker expects to hear confirmation in his own words.

This type of question is common in many languages. So, in Korean or Japanese, the ponytails of questions are endings attached to verbs. In English, these are separate phrases that are given at the end of statements in several forms.

One of the ways to form the separation question is to take the noun and the auxiliary auxiliary verb corresponding to it (if it is not there, it is necessary to use the auxiliary verb to do) and form from them a yes-no question, which is opposite to the one approved in the sentence. Understanding the circuit is simpler with an example.

It is not going to be it ?, but can you? turn into can't you? Note that the ponytails of the questions are usually shortened. You can certainly say something like is not it? or can not you ?, but it will look, at least, strange.

You're old enough to drink, aren't you?
The president of the company retired last year, didn't he?
I should probably apologize, shouldn't I?

Another common variant of the tail is the word right. In general, you can use any other word that matters the search for confirmation (no matter how random it seems). For instance:

You're old enough to drink, right?
It's going to be a long car ride, huh?
Brian's gonna be covering your shift tomorrow, yeah?

You can also turn a whole sentence into a separation question by inverting the noun and auxiliary verb in the actual sentence and likewise making it negative.

Aren't you old enough to drink?
Didn't the president of the company retire last year?
Doesn't he like romantic comedies?

Constructions of this type are usually translated into Russian through the word “unless”.

Indirect issues

Despite the fact that we are used to thinking, as if in English there are 4 types of questions, examples of real speech testify to the presence of many other types of interrogative constructions.

So, indirect ones, or also known as built-in questions, are not asked directly, but embedded in another sentence / question. There are two main types of indirect questions, both of which perform different functions: polite questions and indirect questions.

Courtesy Designs

Instead of asking the question directly, you can make the proposal more polite by starting with one of the following phrases:

Could you tell me ...?
Do you know ...?
I was / am wondering ...
Do you have any idea ...?
I'd like to know ...

The actual question you want to ask becomes embedded in the main one. Such designs are actively used both in communication with strangers and friends.

Do you have any idea when the next bus arrives? (When does the next bus arrive?).
Do you know where the bathroom is? (Where is the bathroom?).
Could you tell me how this remote works? (How does this remote work?).

This type of construction is used for queries. Please note that although the direct wh-question contains an inversion, it does not occur in the built-in wh-question. The subject and auxiliary verbs do not change places. Usually the latter goes to the end of the structure.

This is a very common mistake that foreigners make in speaking English. The following indirect questions containing inversions are incorrect:

Could you tell me when does the next bus arrive?
Do you know where is the bathroom?
Do any of you know how does this remote work?

To formulate an indirect question from type wh, you must use one of the following formulas:

main question + if + the rest of the sentence (or not);
main question + whether (or not) + the rest of the sentence;
the main question is + whether + the rest of the sentence (or not).

For instance:

Do you know if Daniel is lactose intolerant (or not)?
I was wondering if you could drop me off at work later.
I'd like to know whether or not it's possible to open an account.

Indirect questions. Types of questions in English with examples

You probably heard about such a term as indirect speech? Actually, on the basis of this phenomenon, indirect interrogative constructions were formed. In this case, the same rules apply as with polite requests: such offers do not contain inversions.

He asked me suspiciously what my favorite dessert was.
I'll ask her where we should drive in a second.
The professor queried the student why he wasn't showing up in class.

Please note that when the main sentence containing the verb ask is in the past tense, the asked question is also posed in the past tense - this phenomenon is known as the coordination of tenses and is used to save logic in the sentence. Note the difference between the following designs:

I'll ask Kenny if he has any spare phone chargers.
I'm asking Kenny if he has any spare phone chargers.
I asked Kenny if he had any spare phone chargers.
I was asking Kenny if he had any spare phone chargers.

Verbs such as to tell work identically. to wonder, to know, to understand, to sense, to predict, to say, to explain and so on.

I wonder where my watch could be.
I don't think I understand what you're talking about.
I can't tell whether you're being serious or sarcastic.
Can animals sense if it’s going to rain?
My mom can always predict when I'm going to call her.
Nobody should ever tell the boss what to do.

Rhetorical issues

Rhetorical questions cannot be assigned to one grammatical category. Rather, they do not expect an answer and are used mainly for stylistic purposes. Therefore, almost any question can be considered a rhetorical question in the right context. Here are some examples of common types of rhetorical questions:

What? Instead of literally asking “what is it,” the word what is used to express surprise or distrust. Because of this, in most cases it is written with an exclamation mark instead of a question mark.

A: My boyfriend just proposed to me!
B: What! That’s amazing, congratulations!

Are you kidding me? or are you serious? Questions like: "Are you kidding?" or "Are you serious?" also express shock or distrust. But even if they are rhetorical, it is quite normal to answer them.

A: I think all of the project files got deleted somehow.
B: What? Are you kidding me?
A: No. I don't know where they went.
B: This is a disaster ...

Separation NOT questions

These are statements like Isn't he cute! Despite the fact that they look like dividing questions. They are not. The fact is that they do not end with a question mark and do not expect an answer in return.

Not every statement can be turned into such a rhetorical question. It should be noted that some of them are usually perceived as sarcastic, while others are not. Here are some examples:

Isn't he adorable! (often applies to children, animals, etc.).
Aren't you smart (has a sarcastic shade).
Isn't that neat!
Isn't that cool!
Isn't that exciting!
Isn't that (just) great (sarcasm).
Isn't that fantastic (sarcastic construction).
A: Do you want to see a picture of my dog?
B: Sure. Aw, isn't she precious!

Complaints

An interesting kind of rhetorical construct, commonly used to reflect dissatisfaction with a person, thing or situation.

Why does this store have to close so early?
Who do you think you are?
Why do you have to act like such a child?
When can I catch a break around here?
Why does everything always have to happen to me?

Question answered by the speaker himself

Some questions are asked so that the speaker himself can answer them. They are often found in the context of speeches, essays, articles or advertisements in order to present some convincing arguments. For instance:

Many people consider justice to be a fundamental virtue. But what exactly is “justice”? Different philosophers have found several answers ...
What's the best way to lose weight fast? The answer might surprise you ...
Why do we call it “social media” when all it does is isolate people? Perhaps we should come up with a better name for it ...

So, we looked at all kinds of questions in English with examples. Of course, at first it may seem that it is impossible to understand this topic. However, constant practice will help you deal with this difficult topic. Do exercises on the types of questions in the English language and very soon you will notice progress. Good luck!

Types of questions in English: construction, examples