Questions in English are the most important part of its grammar. The ability to ask general and specific questions is necessary for everyone who wants to master the English language. What is the difference between general interrogative sentences and special ones? What are the features of the construction of each of them? What can you ask a person using different types of questions? We will solve these and some other problems in this article.
First, consider the main characteristics of each type of question.
General Questions
This type of question is asked to the entire sentence as a whole. That is, unlike special questions, general ones do not have a specific answer. The most common answers to common questions are the words "yes" and "no". In addition to simple general questions, there are also alternative questions, the answer to which is one of the options voiced in the question. For example, a person likes coffee or tea; Prefers to watch interesting movies at homeor at the cinema and so on.
General questions are asked using auxiliary verbs of the English language: in the present tense it is do or does (depending on the person and number of the subject); in the past tense - did; in the future, as a rule - will; in a long time - is / are or was / were; in the "perfect" tense - have, has or had; and in the subjunctive mood - would. Consider examples of sentences-general questions in different tenses and moods.
Examples of common questions
Present:
- Do you like reading books? (Do you like reading books?).
- Does she tell us about the nature of our planet? (She talks about the nature of our planet?).
- Do you prefer traveling by plane or by car? (Do you prefer traveling by plane or by car?).
Past tense:
- Did you like the guide's story about this wonderful monument? (Did you enjoy the tour guide's story about this beautiful monument?).
- Did you enjoy painting when you were a child? (Did you like to draw when you were a child?).
- Was it difficult to pass your exam in mathematics? (Was it hard to pass the math exam?).
Future tense:
- Will you go for a walk with me? (Will you walk with me?).
- Will you choose hamburger or pizza? - No, thank you. I'd like to have some soup. (Will you choose a hamburger or a pizza? - No, I'd rather takesoup).
- Will you come to my sister's birthday party tomorrow? She's very sorry for this unexpected invitation, but you know, she always does everything at the last moment. (Are you coming to my sister's party tomorrow? She apologizes for such an unexpected invitation, but you know her, she always does everything at the last moment.)
Continuous (present and past tense):
- Are you enjoying the performance? (Do you like the show?).
- Are your brothers watching cartoons or doing their homework? I need to know that! (Do your brothers watch cartoons or do their homework? I need to know that!)
- Were you doing the washing up, when Melissa came home? (Were you washing the dishes when Melissa got home?).
- Were you doing gymnastics during your childhood? (Did you do gymnastics as a child?).
Present perfect and Past perfect:
- Have you chosen the trombone as your musical instrument in the orchestra? I can't understand this. (Did you choose a trombone to play in an orchestra? I don't get it.)
- Have you ever been in Jamaica? (Have you ever been to Jamaica?).
- Has Clara's boyfriend seen her new haircut? I'm sure he won't like it. (Clara's boyfriend has already seen her new hairstyle? I'm sure he won't be thrilled.)
- Had you visited this wonderful place before? (Have you been to this place before?).
- Had he been so gallant before he met her? I think no. He was awfully ill-mannered. (Was he so kind untilmet her? I think not. He was terribly ill-mannered).
Subjunctive (I would like to…, would rather…, would do, etc.):
- Would you like to have some espresso? (Would you like some espresso?).
- Would your son like to visit this kid's center? (Would your son like to visit this children's center?).
Thus, general questions in English are simple interrogative sentences that pose a question to previously known or unknown statements. Special questions in English are considered more intense and complex.
Special questions
This type of question is asked to a specific member of the sentence in the statement. So, special questions are to the subject (who?, what?), to the addition (what?, what?, for whom?, about what?, to whom?, etc.), to the definition (what?, which?, whose?) or circumstance (why?, why?, how much?, where?, where? and others). Special questions are more difficult than general ones, but they have a similar structure.
Question words
In the general form of questions in the English language there are always auxiliary verbs, which were mentioned above. However, in a special type of interrogative sentences, a certain interrogative word is necessarily placed before the auxiliary verb, reflecting the meaning of this question. The following are the main question words used to make special questions in English:
- Who? - Who?
- Whom? - Whom? To whom? For whom?
- Whose? - Whose?
- Why? - Why?
- When? - When?
- Where? - Where? Where? Where?
- Which? - Which? Which one?
- What? - Who? Which one?
- How? - How?
- How much/how many - How much? How much?
- How long/how often - How long? How often?
It is worth noting that quite often interrogative words in English turn into relative pronouns in complex sentences. Therefore, the question word is used in the affirmative sentence and no special question is asked. This happens in Russian as well. For example, compare:
- When do I need to come to class? - interrogative word "when";
- I hurried to find out when I need to come to the next class - the relative pronoun "when".
Design
So, what is the right way to write a special question? The scheme is as follows:
- First use the question word we need. For example, "when", if you need to know the time of an incident, or "how long", if you need to clarify the duration of an action or process.
- Followed by an auxiliary verb, one of those discussed above. The only exception in special questions is the word "who". When the question is addressed to the subject in the construction of the affirmative sentence, there are practically no changes: only the subject is replaced by the interrogative word “who”. At the same time, it must be remembered that this word refers to the third person singular, therefore, verbs in the present tense retain the ending-s.
- After the auxiliary verb, the structure of the general question that was considered earlier is repeated.
Sample Questions
Now consider some examples of special questions.
Questions to the subject:
- Who has eaten all the pie? I've cooked it for our family reunion! (Who ate the cake? I made it for our family reunion!)
- What is that? Oh no! It's a huge spider! (What is it? It's a giant spider!)
- What happened to us? Who is this person Jack? I don't know him! (What happened to us? Who is this man, Jack? I don't know him!)
Questions for addition:
- What are you doing here? Nobody had invited you! (What are you doing here? You weren't invited here!)
- Whom should I pay for this? (Who should I pay?).
- For whom have you arranged this party? (Who are you throwing this party for?).
- What do you usually prefer reading? (What do you usually read?).
Questions for definition:
- Whose fishing rod did you use when we went to the lake. I remember, you said that you haven't got any rods at home. (Whose rod did you use when we went to the lake? I remember you saying you never kept rods with you.)
- What kind of music do you prefer listening: rock or some classical music? (What genre of music do you like to listen to: rock or classical?).
- Which of these pieces of cake do you like the most? (Which of these pieces do you like best?).
Questions to circumstance:
- Why are you usually so late for the first lesson? It becomes insufferably! (Why are you always late for your first class? This is becoming unbearable!)
- Where have you found it?! Oh God! I've been searching for this for years! (Where did you find this?! Oh my god, I've been looking for this for years!)
- How much does it cost? I'm afraid, I don't have enough money. Excuse me, I'll come later. (How much does it cost? I'm afraid I don't have enough money. I'm sorry, I'll come back later.)
- When did you start painting? It looks like the masterpiece of art! I think you were born with a tassel in your arm! (How long ago did you start painting? Your work is a true work of art! I think you were born with a brush in your hand!)
- How often do you visit our swimming pool? As for me, I actually hate this because the water is dirty and nasty! (How often do you go to our pool? I just hate it, because the water in it is terribly dirty and nasty!)
Conclusion
So, in this article we got acquainted with the construction and meaning of questions - both general and special. Now, if someone says "ask a special question", you can easily complete such a task. Having mastered this topic, you can accurately ask the right questions in oral and written form, write grammatically correct letters. Knowing what is the difference between one or another type of questions is fundamental in the study of both English and other foreign languages. pluck uppatience, and then everything will definitely work out!
