English is world language. It is spoken by experts from a wide variety of professions. The language is used in music, science and art. It is not surprising that it is compulsory in the school curriculum of many countries. Both adults and children teach him to keep up with the times, get a more paid position, and just take the opportunity to communicate with foreign representatives without barriers. But despite the ease, many have difficulty with English grammar. This article will discuss types of interrogative sentences in English.
What are these suggestions?
Of course, interrogative sentences exist in any language. Even the smallest child can say what they are for. In English, interrogative words are distinguished from ordinary sentences by word order, the use of auxiliary verbs and interrogative words. In total there are 5 types of such proposals that are used at different times. How is an interrogative sentence constructed in English?
General question
General - this is a simple question, which implies the answer is yes or no. It is formed in several ways, or rather, with different verbs, the form of which varies depending on the time of the sentence, meaning and number: auxiliary, to be and modal. The construction of interrogative sentences in English is as follows:
| Present tense | Past tense | Future tense |
| Simple | Do or Does + P + C | Did + P + C | Will / Shall + P + C |
| Continous | Am / Is / Are + P + C | Was / Were + P + C? | Will / Shall + P + be + Ving? |
| Perfect | Have / Has + P + V3 | Had + P + V3 | Will / Shall + P + have + V3 |
| Perfect continous | Have / Has + P + been + Ving | Had + C + been + Ving | Will / Shall + P + have been + V3 |
| Future in the past | | | Would / Should + P + C |
It should always be remembered that almost every auxiliary verb corresponds to its number and face. So, for a third party unit. The following verbs are used in numbers: does / did, is / was, has, will / would. For the first person singular: do / did, am / was, have. For the same person, regardless of the number of future tenses, shall / should be used correctly, however, in the present tense, will / would be used for all subjects. For the plural: do / did, are / were, have, will / would (shall / should).
The second form of past tenses after did is not used. The same goes for ending -s for 3 person units. the numbers after does.
Special issue
The general and special question in English does not cause much difficulty. The main difference between them is that interrogative words are used in this category. The first place in the sentence is the interrogative word, then comes the auxiliary verb, subject and predicate. In addition to interrogative words, there are various interrogative constructions, for example, what time - how much time.
If the construction of special questions looks like a construction of general ones, only with the addition of a question word at the very beginning of the sentence, then the special question of who / what (to the subject) sounds a little different. Here the question words what or who are used depending on who the question is asked:
| Present tense | Past tense | Future tense |
| Simple | Issue + Vs | Issue + V2 | Issue + will + V |
| Continous | Issue + is + Ving | Issue + was + Ving | Issue + will + be Ving |
| Perfect | Issue + has + V3 | Issue + had + V3 | Issue + will + have V3 |
| Perfect continous | Issue + has been + Ving | Issue + had been + Ving | Issue + will have been + Ving |
| Future in the past | | | Issue + would + V |
Separated question
There is no need to change the word order in such a question: here it is direct. The uniqueness is that at the end of the sentence is the ending, which forms the question itself. Mostly translated into Russian as: right? How is the interrogative structure of such sentences in English constructed? If the sentence is affirmative, then the interrogative construct must be negative. If negative, then vice versa. It looks like this:
You play tennis, don't you? - You play tennis, right?
He has not been in Spain for ages, has he? “He hasn't been in Spain for ages, right?”
She can cook, can't she? - She can cook, right?
Depending on the time, at the end of the sentence it is necessary to put the auxiliary verb in the appropriate form, the verb to be or the modal verb. The first part of the sentence points to this. In the table below, you can see how the interrogative sentence is constructed in English:
Alternative question
The latter type of questions is used when it is necessary to make a choice between some things (objects, actions, persons). Such a sentence always contains the preposition or (or). The question itself is formed using auxiliary and modal verbs according to the principle of general questions. The following are some examples of how to build an alternative question in English:
Some comments
Above, it is discussed how to construct an interrogative sentence in English. Drawing up a question should not cause any particular difficulties. Basically, the whole problem lies in determining the correct time. In total there are 3 tenses (present, past, future), which form 12 temporary forms. They are divided into 4 groups: simple, long, perfect (perfect) and long perfect. In order not to get confused, there are pointer words if it is impossible to determine the time type by meaning.
Do not forget about the temporary forms of verbs. There are simple verbs to which the -ed ending is added in Past Simple, Present Perfect and Past Perfet. Another category is irregular verbs. They have 3 shapes. The second form is used for Past Simple, and the third is for perfect tenses.
To third-person verbs h. The ending -s is added. Do not forget that after auxiliary, modal and verbs to be endings -ed and -s are not put! After did, the second form of verbs is not used, but the infinitive is used. Continious always uses verbs ending in -ing (gerund).
In addition, in English, offers can be created not only in active voice. How is an interrogative sentence in English constructed in a passive voice? In the first place you need to make the auxiliary verb. At the end of the sentence there will be a predicate.
Was your cat stolen? - Was your cat stolen? / Your cat was stolen? (Past Simple)
Has the homework been written by her? “Is homework written to her? / Is this her homework?” (Present Perfect).
Remember that in Continious, after the verb to be of the desired form, there always is being + V3 (Perfect and Future Continious are not used). In Perfect, after have / has / had always been + V3. The Future Simple construct looks like will / shall + be + V3, and Future Perfect - will have been + V3.
Thus, English grammar has many subtleties that require careful analysis. We examined what are the basic rules and problems that may arise when constructing an interrogative sentence in English. In addition to all this, there are countless rules, including the use of articles, prepositions, adverbs, modal verbs, etc., as well as exceptions.
In order not to get confused in all this diversity, it is best to fix each new rule, as well as exceptions to them in various plates, mini-cheat sheets or simply purchase suitable items in an office supply store. In addition, you can create a notebook for grammar (in many schools and language courses, notebooks are divided into work, grammar and vocabulary) or print “reminders”. Additional prescribing of the rules, as well as the implementation of appropriate exercises - all this can improve memorization.