Unit 3
1 . Question Words as Subjects
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of questions: YES/NO questions and information questions. In "yes/no questions", the answers are usually simple and can only be either yes or no.
Example:
Are you a student? Yes (I am). ------- Can she sing well? No (she can´t).
In information questions, we use question words (wh-words) such as: when, who, whom, what, when, where and how.
Meaning:
What?: word normally used to inquire about a thing.
When?: used to asked about period of time.
Where?: word used to ask about location, place.
Who?: used to ask about people.
How?: word to inquire about what manner or to what extent.
The general structure of sentence containing an “Information question” is:
Object
|
Auxiliary verb
|
Subject
|
Main verb
|
What
|
did
|
Mary
|
see?
|
When
|
does
|
Carlos
|
arrive?
|
Where
|
did
|
peter
|
go?
|
Who
|
did
|
you
|
meet?
|
How
|
do
|
you
|
drive
|
BUT when the question word is “what” or “who” and these words represent the subject of the sentence, we do not use the auxiliary.
Subject
|
Main verb
|
What
|
happened?
|
Who
|
came home?
|
ALSO in the case of “what” it can also be used followed by a noun:
Object
|
Noun
|
What
|
car are you driving?
|
What
|
class are you in?
|
What
|
subject did you study?
|
Practice online:
2 . Tag Questions
A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.
A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag".
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure is:
+
Positive statement,
|
-
Negative tag?
|
Snow is white,
|
isn't it?
|
-
Negative statement,
|
+
Positive tag?
|
You don't like me,
|
do you?
|
Look at these examples with positive statements:
positive statement [+]
|
negative tag [-]
|
notes:
|
subject
|
auxiliary
|
main
verb
|
|
auxiliary
|
not
|
personal
pronoun
(same as subject)
|
|
You
|
are
|
coming,
|
|
are
|
n't
|
you?
|
|
We
|
have
|
finished,
|
|
have
|
n't
|
we?
|
|
You
|
do
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n't
|
you?
|
|
You
|
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n't
|
you?
|
You (do) like...
|
They
|
will
|
help,
|
|
wo
|
n't
|
they?
|
won't = will not
|
I
|
can
|
come,
|
|
can
|
't
|
I?
|
|
We
|
must
|
go,
|
|
must
|
n't
|
we?
|
|
He
|
should
|
try
|
harder,
|
should
|
n't
|
he?
|
|
You
|
|
are
|
English,
|
are
|
n't
|
you?
|
no auxiliary for main verb be present & past
|
John
|
|
was
|
there,
|
was
|
n't
|
he?
|
Look at these examples with negative statements:
positive statement [+]
|
negative tag [-]
|
subject
|
auxiliary
|
|
Main verb
|
|
|
auxiliary
|
personal
pronoun
(same as subject)
|
It
|
is
|
n't
|
raining,
|
|
|
is
|
it?
|
We
|
have
|
never
|
seen
|
|
that,
|
have
|
we?
|
You
|
do
|
n't
|
like
|
|
coffee,
|
do
|
you?
|
They
|
will
|
not
|
help,
|
|
|
will
|
they?
|
They
|
wo
|
n't
|
report
|
|
us,
|
will
|
they?
|
I
|
can
|
never
|
do
|
|
it right,
|
can
|
I?
|
We
|
must
|
n't
|
tell
|
|
her,
|
must
|
we?
|
He
|
should
|
n't
|
drive
|
|
so fast,
|
should
|
he?
|
You
|
|
|
are
|
n't
|
English,
|
are
|
you?
|
John
|
|
|
was
|
not
|
there,
|
was
|
he?
|
Some special cases:
I am right, aren't I?
|
aren't I (not am n't I)
|
You have to go, don't you?
|
you (do) have to go...
|
I have been answering, haven't I?
|
use first auxiliary
|
Nothing came in the post, did it?
|
treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements
|
Let's go, shall we?
|
let's = let us
|
He'd better do it, hadn't he?
|
he had better (no auxiliary)
|
Intonation
We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:
Intonation
|
You don't know where my wallet is,
|
do you?
|
/ rising
|
real question
|
It's a beautiful view,
|
isn't it?
|
\ falling
|
not a real question
|
Practice online:
3 . Indirect Questions
WORD ORDER
In direct questions, the verb is either first or comes immediately after the question word:
I she at home? Can you help me? Has she told them? How is she feeling? (With auxiliary do:) Does he understand? What did she say?
Indirect wh- question (who, when, what, where, how). Note that the do disappears.
What did he say? Becomes: Do you know what he said?
If we do not begin a question directly, but begin it with something like:
Can you tell me...?
Do you know...? I wonder if...?
The word order is the same as in an affirmative statement
Direct question: What is he doing?
Indirect question: Do you know what he is doing?
Direct question: Where have they been?
Indirect question: I wonder where they have been?
DO, DOES, DID
If the direct question contains do, does or did, we omit it in the indirect question
Direct question: What do you want?
Indirect question: Can you tell me what you want?
Direct question: When did she leave?
Indirect question: Do you know when she left?
YES / NO QUESTIONS
Do you know if she is at home? (Supply if or whether, usually if. Subject back to first position.)
In yes / no questions, we use if or whether (the word order is the same as in reported questions
Direct question: Have you seen my dog?
Indirect question: Could you tell me if you have seen my dog?
Contrasting examples:
Direct question
|
Indirect (embedded) question
|
Is she at home?
|
Do you know if she is at home?
|
Can you help me?
|
Do you think you can help me?
|
Has she told them?
|
Do you know if she has told them
|
(She is sick:) How is she feeling?
|
Have you heard how she is feeling?
|
Does he understand?
|
Do you think he understands?
|
What did she say?
|
Do you know what she said?
|
Practice online:
