QUESTIONS

Remember that, when forming a questions, one must place the auxiliary or the verb be before the subject. If there is no auxiliary or be, one must use the correct from of do, does or did. After do, does or did, the simple form of the verb must be used. The tense and person are shown only by this auxiliary, not by the main verb.

Yes / no questions.

These are questions for which the answer is yes or no.

The rule for yes / no questions  :

Auxiliary

Be                                +          subject             +          verb …..

Do, does, did

Example  :

- Was Dewa sick yesterday  ?

- Do you want to use the car  ?

Information questions.

These are questions for which the answer is more than yes or no, there must be some information in the answer.

There are three different rule  :

1. Who or what in subject questions.

     A subject question is one in which the subject is unknown

     The rule is  :

     Who / what   +   verb   +   complement   +   modifier

     Example  :

     - What happened last night  ?

     ( something happened last night )

2. Whom and what in complement questions.

     A complement question is one in which the complement is unknown.

     The rule is  :

     Whom / what   +   auxiliary / do, does, did   +   subject   +   verb   +   modifier

     Example  :

     - Whom does father know from Australia  ?

     ( father knows someone from Australia )

3. When, where, how and why questions.

     These questions are formed the same as complement questions.

    

     The rule is  :

     When             Auxiliary

     Where     +     be              +    subject   +   verb   +   complement   +   modifier ……

     How               do, does

     Why               did

     Example  :

     - Where does Dita live  ?

     - How did Hanys get to school to day  ?

Embedded questions.

An embedded question is one which is included in a sentence or another question. The word order is not that of typical questions, except for subject questions.

The rule is  :

Subject   +   verb (phrase)   +   question word   +   subject   +   verb

Example  :

1. Question  : 

     How much will it cost to repair the car  ?

     Embedded questions  :

     The mechanic told me how much it would cost to repair the car.

     ( how ® Q word,  the car ® subject,  would ® verb phrase )

2. Question  :

     Why are they buying a new house  ?

     Embedded questions  :

     I don’t know why they are buying a new house.

Tag questions.

In tag question, the speaker makes a statement, but is not completely certain of the truth, so he or she uses a tag question to verify the previous statement. Sentences using tag questions should have the main clause separated from the tag by a comma. The sentence will always end with a question mark.

Example  :

- We have seen that movie, haven’t we  ?

- It sure is sunny today, isn’t it  ?

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