English is the world language. It is spoken by specialists of various professions. The language is used in music, science and art. Not surprisingly, it is mandatory in the school curriculum in many countries. Both adults and children teach him to keep up with the times, get a better paid position, and simply take the opportunity to communicate with foreign representatives without barriers. But despite the ease, many have difficulty with English grammar. This article will discuss the types of interrogative sentences in English.
What are these offers?
Of course, interrogative sentences exist in any language. Even the smallest child can tell what they are for. In English, interrogative sentences are distinguished from ordinary sentences by word order, the use of auxiliary verbs and interrogative words. In total, there are 5 types of such sentences that are used at different times. How is an interrogativea sentence in English?
General question
General is a simple question that requires a yes or no answer. It is formed in several ways, or rather, with different verbs, the form of which changes depending on the tense 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 + S | Did + P + S | Will/Shall + R + S |
| Continous | Am/Is/Are + P + S | Was/Were + P + S ? | 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 + S + been + Ving | Will/Shall + P + have been+ V3 |
| Future in the past | Would/Should + P + S |
It should always be remembered that almost every auxiliary verb corresponds to its number and person. So, for the third person unit. numbers, the following verbs are used: 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 the future tense, it is correct to use shall / should, however, in the presenttime will/would is used for all subjects. For plural: do/did, are/were, have, will/would (shall/should).
The second form of past tense verbs after did is not used. The same goes for the ending -s for 3rd person singular. numbers after does.
Special issue
General and special questions in English are not particularly difficult. The main difference between them is that question words are used in this category. The interrogative word comes first in the sentence, then comes the auxiliary verb, subject and predicate. In addition to question words, there are various interrogative constructions, for example, what time - what time is it.
If the construction of special questions looks like the construction of general ones, only with the addition of an interrogative word at the very beginning of the sentence, then the special question who / what (to the subject) sounds a little different. The interrogative words what or who are used here, depending on who the question is about:
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Future Tense | |
| Simple | Quest. + Vs | Quest. +V2 | Quest. + will + V |
| Continous | Quest. + is +Ving | Quest. + was + Ving | Quest. + will + be Ving |
| Perfect | Quest. + has + V3 | Quest. + had + V3 | Question w + will + have V3 |
| Perfect Continous | Quest. + has been + Ving | Quest. + had been + Ving | Quest. + will have been + Ving |
| Future in the past | Quest. + would + V |
Dividing question
There is no need to change the word order in this question: here it is direct. The uniqueness is that at the end of the sentence there is an ending that forms a question in itself. It is mainly translated into Russian as: isn't it? How is the interrogative construction of such sentences constructed in English? If the sentence is affirmative, then the interrogative construction must be negative. If negative, then vice versa. It looks like this:
You play tennis, don't you? - You play tennis, don't you?
He has not been in Spain for ages, has he? - He hasn't been in Spain for ages, has he?
She can cook, can't she? - She can cook, right?
Depending on the tense, at the end of the sentence you need to put the auxiliary verb in the appropriate form, the verb to be or the modal verb. The first part of the sentence indicates this. In the table below you can see how an interrogative sentence is built in English:
Alternative question
The last type of question is used when it is necessary to make a choice between some things (objects, actions, persons). In such a sentence, the preposition or (or) is always present. The question itself is formed with the help of auxiliary andmodal verbs according to the principle of general questions. Below are some examples of how an alternative question is constructed in English:
A few notes
The above is how an interrogative sentence is constructed in English. Compiling a question shouldn't be too difficult. Basically, the whole problem lies in determining the correct time. In total there are 3 times (present, past, future), which form 12 temporary forms. They are divided into 4 groups: simple, continuous, perfect (perfect) and continuous perfect. In order not to get confused, there are pointer words if it is impossible to determine the temporary type by meaning.
Don't forget about tense forms of verbs. There are simple verbs to which the ending -ed is added in Past Simple, Present Perfect and Past Perfet. Another category is irregular verbs. They have 3 forms. The second form is used for the Past Simple and the third for the perfect tenses.
On third person singular verbs. hours, the ending -s is added. Do not forget that after the auxiliary, modal and verbs to be, the endings -ed and -s are not put! After did, the second form of the verbs is not used, but the infinitive is used. Continious always uses -ing (gerund) verbs.
Besides, in English sentences can be created not only in the active voice. How is an interrogative sentence constructed in English in the passive voice? In the first place must be takenauxiliary. At the end of the sentence there will be a predicate.
Was your cat stolen? - Was your cat stolen? / Was your cat stolen? (Past Simple)
Has the homework been written by her? - Is the homework written for her? / Is it her homework? (Present Perfect).
Remember that in Continious the correct form of the verb to be is always followed by being + V3 (Perfect and Future Continious are not used). Perfect always has been + V3 after have/has/had. The Future Simple construction looks like this will/shall + be + V3, and Future Perfect - will have been + V3.
Thus, English grammar has many subtleties that require careful parsing. We have analyzed 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 variety, it is best to fix each new rule, as well as exceptions to them in various plates, mini-cribs, or simply purchase suitable items in a stationery store. In addition, you can get a grammar notebook (in many schools and language courses, notebooks are divided into work, grammar and dictionary) or print "reminders". Additional writing down the rules, as well as doing the appropriate exercises, can all improve memorization.
