In English, there are several different types of questions (also called interrogative sentences) that a speaker can ask. Each of them should be answered with a certain structure. In this article, we will look at all kinds of questions in English, which include:
- "yes-no" questions;
- with choice;
- wh-questions;
- separating;
- 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 dealing with the 5 types of questions in English.
Yes-No
The simplest kind of question in English is the yes-no question. It is incredibly simple, since the answer is expected to be either "yes" or "no" (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?
There are two things to note here. The first thing you unfortunately cannot notice just by reading the text is that when asking this question, the speaker's intonation rises at the end of the sentence, which is the opposite of the fall in tone used in affirmative constructions.
The second thing is changing the word order. When a declarative sentence becomes a question, the subject (subject) and its corresponding auxiliary verb (predicate) change places. Therefore, the sequence it is indicates the affirmative nature of the construction, while the sequence is it is obligatory for the construction of 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.
The corresponding affirmative sentence to this question: You speak Russian. However, in a yes-no question, we must addauxiliary 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 an auxiliary to do (You do speak Russian), and then do the inversion (Do you speak Russian?).
Here are some more examples of 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 require a "yes or no" answer can also contain a negative particle not, which must 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, it will probably confuse the person who asked the question, and they 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 in English). What types of questions are there in English where the use of inversion is not needed? For example:
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 is asking a question notbecause he wants information, but because he confirms what he has just heard. For example, if you think you didn't 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 kind of question in English, pay attention to intonation. Since inversion is not used in such constructions, the tone of voice must necessarily go up at the end of the sentence.
Choice questions
One of the 5 types of questions in English is the type, which is built on the basis of the previously described yes-no structure. We use this construct when we ask a person to choose between two (or more) options presented. These options interact with or.
- 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-no questions are usually answered with either yes, or no,answers on constructions starting 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?) - noun; Whose (whose? whose? whose?) - adjective; Whom (by whom? To whom?) -noun;
- What (what? what?) - noun, adjective;
- When (when?) - adverb;
- Where (where?) - adverb;
- Why (why?) - adverb;
- How (how?) - adverb; How much / many (how much?) - adjective, noun, adverb;
- Which (which? which? which?) - adjective, noun.
Next, various ways of constructing in English all kinds of wh questions, 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 direct object. Forto form this type of interrogative sentence, it is necessary to add the wh-word with an auxiliary verb, then 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 + the rest 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. The formation of this type of question occurs like this: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + the rest of the sentence + adverb.
- Who were you on the phone with? (I was on the phone withJennifer.)
- With whom was Mr. Ramos seen 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? (Rhetorical question)
Noun as a predicate in a subordinate clause. This type of sentence should be constructed as follows: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + the rest of the main part of the sentence + the rest 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 according to the following formula: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + the rest 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 inChina, 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 looks like this: wh-word + auxiliary verb + + subject + the rest of the sentence + adverb. Also, similar constructions can be formed according to the following scheme: adverb + wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + the rest of the sentence.
- When do you plan on leaving the city by? I plan on leaving the city by 9 p.m.
- When will theafter party 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 a subordinate clause: wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + the rest of the main clause + the rest 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 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 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 questions in English. When you ask a yes-no question, the voice usually rises at the end.
As for wh-constructions, in this case the tone of voice usually coincides with the tone of the affirmative sentence. The main indicator of the interrogative nature of the sentence is the question word itself.
However, there are times when the height rises at the end of the wh question. This usually happens when the speaker wants to confirm a piece of information, either out of surprise, or because they didn't hear a piece of information, or forgot it.
A: What are you wearing to the dinner tonight?
B: A dress shirt.
A: Wait, what are you wearing? (Voice rises)
B: (Speaking more clearly) A dress shirt.
Native speakers also tend to raise their tone with general questions like: Where are you from? What time is it?, almost as if they were remarks.
So far we have seen wh questions that start with wh words. However, it is possible that such a word will end up in a position that is characteristic of affirmative sentences. This technique is used expressively to express surprise or misunderstanding. Placing the wh word in its affirmative position is usually accompanied by a rising intonation.
A: What are youwearing to dinner tonight?
B: A dress shirt.
A: Wait, you're wearing a what? (Intonation rising)
B: (Speaking more clearly) A dress shirt.
Wh-one-word questions
Speaking about the types of questions in English, it is important to mention the existence of one-word questions. While wh words can be used to construct more complete wh questions, they can also stand on their own in colloquial speech. 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.
Divisive questions
Not all types of questions in English are based on inversion. So, the divisive type of interrogative construction (sometimes called dissected) is a regular 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 "isn't it so." Usually this type of question is used when the speaker expects to hear confirmation of his words in response.
This type of question is common in many languages. So, in Korean or Japanese, question tails are endings attached to verbs. In English, these are separate phrases that are given at the end of statements in severalforms.
One of the ways to form a disjunctive question is to take a noun and its corresponding auxiliary verb (if there is none, you need to use the auxiliary verb to do) and form from them the opposite question of the “yes-no” type stated in the sentence. It is easier to understand the scheme with an example.
It is becoming isn't it?, but can you? will turn into can't you? Note that question tails are usually shortened. You can certainly say something like is not it? or can't 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 variation of the tail is the word right. In general, any other word that has the meaning of looking for confirmation (no matter how random it seems) can be used. For example:
- 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 tag question by inverting the noun and auxiliary verb in the actual sentence and making it negative in the same way.
- Aren't you old enough to drink?
- Didn’t the president of the company retire last year?
- Doesn't he like romanticcomedies?
Constructions of this type are usually translated into Russian using the word "unless".
Indirect questions
Despite the fact that we are used to thinking that there are 4 types of questions in English, examples of real speech indicate the presence of many other types of interrogative constructions.
Thus, indirect questions, or also known as inline questions, are not asked directly, but nested within another sentence/question. There are two main types of indirect questions, both of which perform different functions: polite questions and indirect questions.
Constructions of politeness
Instead of asking the question directly, you can make the sentence more polite by beginning it 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 constructions 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. Note that although the direct wh question contains an inversion, it does not occur in the embedded wh question. The subject and auxiliary verb do not change places. Usually the latter goes to the end of the structure.
This is a very common mistake foreigners make when 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 + rest of sentence (or not);
- main question + whether (or not) + rest of sentence;
- main question + whether + the rest of the sentence (or not).
For example:
- 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
Have you probably heard of 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 sentences do not contain inversion.
- 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 inclass.
Note that when the main sentence containing the verb ask is in the past tense, the question asked is also in the past tense - this is known as tense matching and is used to keep the sentence logical. Pay attention to the difference between the following constructions:
- 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.
Such verbs as to tell also 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 questions
Rhetorical questions cannot be classified in one grammatical category. Rather, they do not expect a response and are used primarily 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 with the purpose of expressingsurprise or disbelief. 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 disbelief. But even if they're rhetorical, it's okay 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…
Separating NOT questions
These are statements like Isn't he cute! Even though they look like tag questions. They are not. The thing is, they don't end with a question mark and don't expect an answer in return.
Not every statement can be turned into such a rhetorical question. That being said, 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 referring to children, animals, etc.).
- Aren't you smart (has a sarcastic edge).
- 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!
Questions-complaints
An interesting form of rhetorical construction, usually used to express 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?
A question answered by the speaker himself
Some questions are asked so that the speaker can answer them himself. They are often found in the context of speeches, essays, articles, or advertisements for the purpose of presenting some persuasive argument. For example:
- 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 have covered 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 complex topic. Do exercises on the types of questions in English and very soon you will notice progress. Good luck!
