INTERROGATIVES
YES/NO QUESTIONS
(A) Study the following sentences:
1. It is raining. 2. Is it raining?
Sentence (1) is a declarative sentence but sentence (2) is an interrogative sentence. We have two verbs; ‘is’ and ‘raining’ in the verb phrase. Here ‘is’ (be) is an auxiliary verb and ‘raining’ is the main verb. In sentence (2) We have shifted the auxiliary verb ‘is’ to the left of the subject to make the sentence interrogative.
3. Mitu has completed the work. 4. Has Mitu completed the work?
5. They have been working for two hours. 6. Have they been working for two hours?
(First auxiliary ‘have ‘ of the verb phrase ‘have been working’ is shifted to the position before the subject.
7. He can win the race. 8. Can he win the race?
(The modal auxiliary ‘can ‘ is put before the subject.)
Thus, If the first element of the verb phrase is an auxiliary, it is placed just before the subject to trun the declarative sentence into an interrogative sentence.
(B) Now look at the following sentences:
9. Mr. Rath is a rich man. 10. Is Mr Rath a rich man?
In sentence (9) ‘is’ is the main verb and the only verb in the verb phrase.
So, while turning sentence (9) into interrogative form (sentence 10), we have placed the verb ‘is’ before the subject Mr Rath.
11. He has a headache . 12. Has he a headache? (less usual)
Does he have a headache? (More usual)
Note to the teacher:
He has a new car.
Interrogative forms Has he a new car?———–(i)
Has he got a new car? ——-(ii)
Does he have a new car? ———-(iii)
Now the form (iii) is mostly used whether the verb ‘have’ means possession, illness, relationship or any other meaning, interrogative sentence (i) is less used now.
13. They play football everyday. 14. Do they play football everyday?
In sentence (13), there is no auxiliary verb. The verb is ‘play’. While turning sentence (13) into an interrogative sentence (14), We have used the auxiliary ‘do’ before the subject.
(in present simple question, we use ‘do’/does)
15. He plays tennis every day. 16. Does he play tennis every day?
Now look at the following sentences:
17. He sold his car. 18. Did he sell his car?
In sentence (17), the verb sold is in the past simple form, So, in the interrogative sentence (18) we have put the auxiliary did (past tense of ‘do’) before the subject and changed the past tense form of the main verb sold to the present tense form sell.
EXERCISE-1
Turn the following sentences into Interrogative:
(i) That seat is free.
(ii) He was regular in the class.
(iii) She was angry with me.
(iv) They were in the garden.
(v) The milkman has two cows.
(vi) Your ailing brother was in hospital.
EXERCISE-2
Use the auxiliary verbs do/does/did to turn the following sentences into interrogative:
- His son broke the window.
- They work hard for the examination.
- Minakhi collected some old coins.
- You bought this pen at a shop.
- She hides her face for shame.
- His voice shook with emotion.
EXERCISE-3
Turn the following sentences into interrogatives. The first one has been done for you.
- We can see from here.
Ans: Can we see from here?
- You must write to her.
- You’ll meet him in the evening.
- I shall open the door for you.
- The workers will be working in the field.
- He could give me the help
- The might have broken the plates.
(viii) The boy has been studying since 8 o’clock.
(ix) The teacher has corrected my answer book.
(x) Everybody had returned before four o’clock.
Wh-questions
(A) Look at the following sentences:
1. Ramesh broke the glass.
2. Who broke the glass?
3. Something happened.
4. What happened?
In sentence (i), ‘Ramesh is the subject. While asking of r information about the subject, we have put ‘who’ at the beginning of sentence (2) to change it into an interrogative sentence.
Similarly ‘what’ is put in (4) for the subject something in (3).
Generally we use ‘who’ for persons and ‘what’ for things. The word order is the same as in the statement.
A ‘wh-question’ begins with a question word. Question words are ‘who’ , ‘what’, ‘which’, ‘whose’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’, and ‘how’.
(B) Let’s study the following sentences:
(i) ‘who’ as subject:
Who keeps the accounts ? (My father)
Who took my camera?(Ramesh)
Questions about a part of an NP.
The following two examples show us how to ask questions about elements which are inside Noun phrases:
I. The Principal’s car broke down. Whose car broke down?
II. The Utkal Express arrived first. Which train arrived first?
Note: When we seek information about a part of a Noun Phrase, the whole Noun Phrase moves to the beginning. This is true when the Noun Phrase is not in the subject position. Which of them is the eldest? (Rashmita)
(iv) What as subject
What caused the fire? 9Fault in the electric line)
What made him frightened? (An explosion)
(C). Look at the following sentence:
(a) What can you see? à(a bus) (you can see something)
(b) Who did you meet? à(Ramesh) (you met somebody)
In the above sentences ‘a bus’ (something) is the object of the verb ‘can see’ and ‘Ramesh’, (somebody) is the object of the verb ‘did meet.
Let’s look at the the examples to see how Wh-qustions are formed.
1. (a) You can see . Statement.
(b) What can you see? Question.
We get the Wh-question in (b) by following the steps below:
Step-1
Place the auxiliary can. You can see a bus.
In the front of the subject. Can you see a bus?
Step-2
Replace the object ‘bus; with can you see a bus?
The Wh-word what. Can you see What?
Step-3
Place the Wh-word ‘What’ Can you see What?
Infornt of the auxiliary can. What can you see?
2.
They met her father yesterday.
Step-I: Did they meet her father yesterday? (We have taken the support of do in the absence of an auxiliary)
Step-II: Did they meet whose father /who(m) yesterday?
Step-III: Whose father /whom(m) did they meet yesterday?
3.
They helped Hari yesterday.
Step-I: Did they help Hari yesterday?
Step-II: Did they help Hari When?
Step-III: When did they help Hari?
4.
There are fifty students in the class.
Step-I: Are there fifty students in the class?
Step-II: Are there how many students in the class?
Step-III: How many students are there in the class?
*Study the above examples again and see how the statements have been changed into Wh-interrogatives.
Wh-interrogatives.
List of wh-words used in questions.
Who -persons
What -a person’s occupation or status, identity of thins, time, day , date, other creatures, color, etc.
Where -adverbial of place.
When -time
At what time – time
In which time – time
Whose –Possessive
How often –frequency adverbs
How long -duration/period of time
Since when -a particular time/point of time
Why -reason.
Exercise-4
Make a question to which the italic part will be the answer:
- My father lives in this village.
- Shyam woke up suddenly.
- Something fell on the ground.
- The teacher spoke to your parents.
- Iron expands when heated.
- Children like sweets.
- Fifty is the half of one hundred.
Exercise-5
Make questions using the word/ words given in brackets:
- The sky is blue . (What colour?)
- He has been waiting here for two hours. (How long?)
- Mr Patnaik lives about three kilometers away. (How far?)
- This gentleman comes from Puri. (Where?)
- I went to the temple with my mother. (who..?)
- We have been learning English for years. (How long?)
- This watch cost me five hundred rupees. (How much?)
- Anil goes to school on foot. (How?)
- I took Rama’s book by mistake. (Whose?)
- I write t my father twice a week. (How often?)
Exercise-6
Based on each of the sentences below, form a question to which the part in italics will be the Answer:
i. We are now going to the Samrat Cinema.
ii. A good student studies attentively.
iii. he carried his luggage on his back.
iv. he was running after gold and glory.
v. He arrived at the station at 5 p.m.
vi. All of us liked your lecture.
Negative Interrogative
Look at the following ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ interrogative sentences:
A. B
Positive Negative
Have you completed your work? Haven’t you completed you work?
Do the children like sweets? Don’t the children like sweets?
In the above sentences, the sentences in group ‘s are positive interrogative and those in ‘B’ are negative interrogatives. The auxiliary verb + n’t is put at the beginning of the sentences.
We can write the negative interrogative in ‘two ways’.
(i) Hasn’t he arrived yet?
(ii) Has he not arrived yet?
In spoken English sentence (i) is more usual . In answer to ‘negative question’ yes’ and ‘no’ are used according to the facts, not according to the form of the question.
(i) Didn’t you write to your father yesterday?
Yes, I wrote to him yesterday.
No, I didn’t have time to write.
(ii) Couldn’t you get into the theatre?
Yes, I got into the theatre?
No, I couldn’t get into the theatre. I didn’t have the tickets.
Exercise-7
Write answers to the following negative questions:
(i) Haven’t you bought the books yet?
(ii) Don’t you like football?
(iii) Shouldn’t he be more polite?
(iv) Can’t you do this work?
(v) Doesn’t he work hard?