"Wh" or "question word" questions:
The "question words" are "what, who, which, when, why, where", and sometimes
"how" and "if": Who was that masked man?
Why is she crying? When is your birthday?There are three kinds of questions:
"Wh" or "question word" questions:
The "question words" are "what, who, which, when, why, where", and sometimes
"how" and "if": Who was that masked man?
Why is she crying? When is your birthday?
Yes/No questions:
Are you going to the movie? May I
take you home? Is that a new car?
Either/Or
questions:
Is it June 14 or June 15 today? Do
you want steak or chicken? Are you Lithuanian or Finnish?
Notice that in many of these examples the verb comes before the subject. In some examples, only part of the verb comes before the subject however: Did Julian remember your birthday? Have you eaten breakfast yet? When you write or say a question in English, a specific word order needs to be used if you are using a form of the verb 'to be' as the main verb.
question word (where, how, who, why, which, when, what), "to be" verb, subject:
Where is my coat? What was that noise? Why am I here? ("here" is an adverb, not part of the subject)
You can create questions in several forms.
1. You can take a sentence and rearrange it.
Brandon Poe is a teacher. becomes: Is Brandon Poe a teacher?
2. You can make a question that stands alone.
When will you be home?
3. You can make a question as part of a sentence as a direct quote.
4. You can even make two questions in one!
Did Hamlet ask Ophelia, "Will you marry me"?
See the difference in the last two examples? In the first, the ? is inside the quote marks because the quote is a question. In the second example, the ? is outside the quotes because "Did Hamlet ask Ophelia" is a questions also, so the question mark is used to indicate that both the quote and the non-quote are questions.
Another way to use a question is by 'embedding ' it.
Embed means to put into another substance; to implant. An embedded question is one that is implanted in another sentence. When you do this, you might have a sentence, or you might have a question, depending on the words order you select. Look at the examples carefully.
What is Carlotta wearing to the party?--A question
I don't know what is Carlotta wearing to the party.--Embedding the question in a statement, but it sounds wrong because the word order must be changed a bit. This is how it should be: I don't know what Carlotta is wearing to the party.--Notice that we moved the verb "is" to be after the noun.
You could also to it this way:
Sometimes we embed questions because it sounds more polite. A direct question may sound abrupt and even rude. Embedded questions can be used in questions of course, but can also be used in the answer. Pay attention to the change in word order in the embedded sentences. An embedded question is really a 'noun clause'. The main clause has a subject and a verb of its own. The embedded question (noun clause) is usually the object of the sentence. Do you know what time it is? (You= subject, do know = main verb, what time it is = a noun clause functioning as a direct object.)
| Whose cigar is that? | becomes | Do you know whose cigar
that is? I don't know whose cigar that is. |
| What's the address for music store? | becomes | Can you tell me what the address
for the music store is? I can't tell you what the address for the music store is. |
| When are your parents leaving? | becomes | Have you got any idea when your
parents are leaving? I wish I knew when my parents are leaving. (or an '!' if you really wish they were leaving!) |
"'Wh' or questions words" really begin noun clauses (The questions words are where, which, when, how, what, why, who) that look like questions when they are in a sentence. Embedded 'question word' clauses always begin with a 'question word'.
When you 'embed' these questions in a sentence (as shown above), see how the word order changes, most importantly, the place you put the 'to be' verb form. When you change (embed) these questions into a statement or another question, the verb comes before the subject. In noun clauses, the subject comes first. Pattern: First Clause + Question Word + Subject + Verb
| Who is the new mayor? | Jenny doesn't remember who the new mayor is. | |
| Where is the mail? | She asks her roommate where the mail is. | |
| What is the problem? | Her roommate wonders what the problem is. | |
| What is that noise? | He doesn't know what that noise is. | |
| How is your mother? | I want to know how your mother is. | |
| Why are you singing? | We wonder why you are singing. |
You can also embed this type of questions inside another question:
| Who is the new mayor? | Does Jenny know who the new mayor is? | |
| Where is the mail? | Have you seen where the mail is? | |
| What is the problem? | Can you tell what the problem is? | |
| What is that noise? | Will someone tell me, what that noise is? | |
| How is your mother? | May I ask how your mother is? | |
| Why are you singing? | Can you explain why you are singing? |
Now you try to write some embedded statements or questions
How tall is he?
When does the movie end?
Who is that?
When is Douglas driving over?
Where are my boots?
Why is the dog barking?
Yes/No and Either/Or questions can also be embedded in a statement or an another question. Instead of a 'question word' to begin the embedded clause, you use 'whether', 'if', 'whether or not', and similar words (I'm can't think of others, but if they exist, you can use them).
Is Myra arriving for lunch or for tea?
Did you tear my new dress?
Yes/No and Either/Or questions can be embedded in statements or other questions also. Since there isn't a 'wh or question' word beginning the clause we use 'whether', 'if', 'whether or not'.
| Did the bank statement arrive? | I don't know if the bank statement arrived. | |
| Is it time for dinner? | Pia asked if it is time for dinner. | |
| Will it snow this weekend? | He wasn't sure whether it would snow this weekend or not. | |
| Does Fanny prefer candy or pie? | Aunt Tilly wonders whether Fanny prefers candy or pie. | |
| Is Andre returning by Friday? | We need to know if Andre is returning by Friday or not. |
| Did the bank statement arrive? | Can you tell me if the bank statement arrived? | |
| Is it time for dinner? | Did Pia ask whether it was time for dinner or not? | |
| Will it snow this weekend? | Do you know whether or not it will snow this weekend? | |
| Does Fanny prefer candy or pie? | Does Aunt Tilly have any idea whether Fanny prefers candy or pie? | |
| Is Andre returning by Friday? | Can you tell me if Andre is returning by Friday? |
Remember this pattern when you are embedding a 'yes/no or either/or' question:
Clause + if (whether, whether or not) + Subject + Verb ( + or not)
The meaning of the sentence stays the same whether you use 'if' or 'whether'.
Did the bank statement arrive?
I don't know if the bank statement arrived.
I don't know
whether the bank statement arrived.I don't know if the bank statement arrived
or not.I don't know
whether or not the bank statement arrived.I don't know
whether the bank statement arrived or not.Re-make these 'yes/no & either/or' questions into other statements and questions:
Can you yodel? becomes: Tell us
if you can yodel (or not).
Is she your wife?
Do dogs like carrots?
Would you like to go to the concert or to the movies with me?
Did Aunt Tilly call the dentist?
Will anyone volunteer for this?
Questions with Infinitives may be used when an embedded question uses 'can', 'should', 'could'. When these modal are present, you can leave out the subject and change the verb to the infinitive form. Watch out! This doesn't always sound that good. Read your sentence aloud and think about what you are saying before you use this construction. After a while, it will be natural to you.
Pattern: First Clause + Question Word (or 'whether') + infinitive
| Sheila doesn't know when she should phone Barbie. | Sheila doesn't know when to phone Barbie. | |
| Please tell me how I can write the winning essay. | Please tell me how to write the winning essay. | |
| Bobby taught Mimi how she could make money by growing flowers. | Bobby taught Mimi how to make money by growing flowers. |
Now you try:
John can't decide whether he should eat pizza or tacos for lunch.
The clown showed us how we could make animals from balloons.
Aunt Tilly told her husband how he should do everything!
Let me know whether I can leave early or not.
Tag Questions are something I believe might be uniquely English (but I have been wrong before). They are those little questions that are 'tagged on' to the main sentence. They are used to involve the person spoken to in what was said (or written). They are easy to figure out because they all follow the same pattern. They are hard to figure out because the words used for the tag depend on the subject and the verb used in the main sentence body. When you know that the main clause is, the tag is easy to figure out. Tag questions use auxiliary verbs or modals as their verbs.
Here are some tag questions:
| Her new haircut is frightful, isn't it? | Ramon forgot to shave, didn't he? | |
| This soup tastes salty, doesn't it? | Sarah has a sweet voice, hasn't she? | |
| I do not shout, do I? | They were quite late to the party, weren't they? | |
| You will remember to put out the cat, won't you? | Livvie wouldn't tell on us, would she? |
If you were really looking at these sentences, you may have figured out some things about tag questions.
1. The verb tense of the main verb affects the tag question verb. If the main verb of the body of the sentence is in present tense, the verb in the tag must be also. If it is past tense, then the tag must use past tense. If it is future tense, the tag must use future tense. These are the only tenses that tags use, but since the auxiliary verb and modals determine what a tense is, this is sufficient.
Examples:
It had been snowing, hadn't it?
Ariel is early for class, isn't he?
Murielle will remember to pick us up, won't she?
2. Very often if the main verb is affirmative, the tag question verb is negative, depending of course on you are trying to say. When the main verb is affirmative, and the tag question verb is negative, the question is one asking affirmation of what was said.
Example:
Peter is very handsome, isn't he? The speaker is stating that Peter is handsome, then with the tag question, is asking the listener to agree.
If you change the tag question, the meaning of the sentence changes. Peter is very handsome, is he? Now the speaker is challenging the opinion or thought that Peter is handsome. Intonation and facial expression help to convey meaning of a tag question. As with any word in a sentence, a different intonation can change the meaning one gives the listener.
3. The pronoun used in the tag question must agree in number and gender and case with the subject of the main sentence.
We use the nominative case for pronouns in tag questions because they are subjects of a sort. They can stand alone as complete thoughts. Also because the pronoun in the tag question is the same entity as the subject of the main sentence.Examples:
It is going to rain, isn't it?
Sally is yelling at her cat again, isn't she?
Douglas plays guitar nicely, doesn't he?
They are leaving soon, aren't they?
Tag questions involve the listener in what is being said. They are led to agree or disagree with what the speaker is saying. That is one of the reasons it isn't used much in writing, and hardly ever in formal speaking or writing. When we are being perfectly proper, we use terms like: Peter is obviously very handsome Surely Peter is very handsome. As every one knows, Peter is very handsome.