General questions
In general questions, the auxiliary verb (do, be, have, will) is placed before the subject, and the main verb follows the subject, i.e., the word order is: auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (+ object + adverbial modifier). Responses to general questions can be in the form of short «Yes» or «No» answers or in the form of full statements. (General questions are also called Yes / No questions or yes-no questions.) General questions are pronounced with rising intonation.
Do you live here? – Yes, I do. / Yes, I live here. – No, I don’t. / No, I don’t live here.
Does Bell work? – Yes, she does. – No, she doesn’t.
Did you like the film? – Yes, I did. – No, I didn’t like the film.
Are you reading now? – Yes. / Yes, I am. / Yes, I’m reading now. – No. / No, I am not. / No, I’m not reading.
Have the guests left already? – Yes, they have. – No, they haven’t.
Will you see him tomorrow? – Yes, I will. / Yes, I will see him. – No, I won’t. / No, I will not.
General questions with modal verbs have the same structure and word order.
Can you help me? – Yes, I can. / Yes, I can help you. – No, I can’t. / No, I can’t help you.
Should we call Maria? – Yes. / Yes, we should. – No. / No, we shouldn’t.
May I come in? – Yes, you may. – No, you may not.
In general questions with the verb BE as a main verb or a linking verb, the verb BE is placed before the subject.
Is he in Rome now? – Yes. / Yes, he is in Rome now. – No. / No, he isn’t.
Is Anna a teacher? – Yes, she is. / Yes, Anna is a teacher. – No, she isn’t. / No, Anna is not a teacher.
Were they happy? – Yes, they were. – No, they weren’t.
Word order in negative questions
Didn’t she like the film? – Yes, she did. / Yes, she liked the film. – No, she did not. / No, she didn’t like it.
Aren’t they reading now? – Yes, they are. / Yes, they are reading now. – No, they aren’t. / No, they are not reading now.
Isn’t he a student?
Hasn’t he left already?
Won’t you see him tomorrow?
Can’t you speak more slowly?
Note: Negative questions usually contain some emotion, for example, expecting «yes» for an answer, surprise, annoyance, mockery. Negative questions may sound impolite in some situations, for example, in requests. Read more about negative questions in Word Order in Requests and Requests and Permission in the section Grammar.
Special questions
When the question is put to any part of the sentence, except the subject, the word order after the interrogative word (e.g., how, whom, what, when, where, why) is the same as in general questions: interrogative + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (+ object + adverbial modifier). The answer is usually given in full, but short responses are also possible. Special questions (information questions) are pronounced with falling intonation.
How did you get there? – I got there by bus. / By bus.
How much did it cost? – It cost ten dollars. / Ten dollars.
How many people did he see? – He saw five people. / Five.
How long have you been here? – I’ve been here for a week. / For a week. / A week.
Who(m) will you ask? – I’ll ask Tom. / Tom.
What is he doing? – He’s sleeping. / Sleeping.
What did she say? – Nothing.
What book is he reading? – The Talisman.
Which coat did she choose? – The red one.
When is he leaving? – He’s leaving at six. / At six.
Where does she live? – She lives on Tenth Street. / On Tenth Street.
Where are you from? – I am from Russia. / From Russia.
Where did he go? – He went home. / Home.
Why are you late? – I missed my bus.
Why didn’t you call me? – I’m sorry. I forgot.
Questions to the subject
When the interrogative word «who» or «what» is the subject in the question (i.e., the question is put to the subject), the question is asked without an auxiliary verb, and the word order is that of a statement: interrogative word (i.e., the subject) + predicate (+ object + adverbial modifier). The same word order is used when the subject of the question is in the form of which / whose / how many + noun.
Who told you about it? – Tom told me. / Tom did. / Tom.
Who called her yesterday? – I called her. / I did.
Who will tell him about it? – I will.
Who hasn’t read this book yet? – I haven’t.
What happened? – I lost my bag.
What made you do it? – I don’t know.
Which coat is yours? – This coat is mine. / This one.
Whose book is this? – It’s mine.
How many people came to work? – Ten people came to work. / Ten.
Note: «who» and «whom»
Nominative case – who; objective case – whom. The interrogative word «whom» is often replaced by «who» in everyday speech and writing, but «who» is an object in this case, not the subject, i.e., it is not a question to the subject. Consequently, an auxiliary verb is required for the formation of special questions in which «who» is used instead of «whom», and the word order in them is that of a question, not of a statement. Compare:
Who saw you? – Tom saw me.
Who / whom did you see? – I saw Anna.
Who asked her to do it? – Ben asked her.
Who / whom did she ask for help? – She asked Mike to help her.
Prepositions at the end of questions
When the interrogatives «what, whom/who» ask a question to the object with a preposition, the preposition is often placed at the end of the question after the predicate (or after the direct object, if any), especially in everyday speech.
What are you talking about? – I’m talking about our plans.
What are you interested in? – I’m interested in psychology.
Who are you looking at? – I’m looking at Sandra.
Who does it depend on? – It depends on my brother.
Who are you playing tennis with on Friday? – I’m playing tennis with Maria.
Who did she make a pie for? – She made a pie for her co-workers.
Note that not all prepositions can be placed at the end of such special questions, and the preposition at the end should not be too far from the interrogative word. In formal speech and writing, placing the preposition before the interrogative word in long constructions is often considered more appropriate. For example: With whom are you playing tennis on Friday? For whom did she make a pie?
Alternative questions
Word order in alternative questions (questions with a choice) is the same as in general questions. The answer is usually given in full because you need to make a choice, but short responses are also possible. Use the rising tone on the first element of the choice (before «or») and the falling tone on the second element of the choice.
Is your house large or small? – My house is small. / It’s small.
Are you a first-year or a third-year student? – I’m a third-year student.
Would you like tea or coffee? – I’d like coffee, please.
Would you like to go to a restaurant or would you rather eat at home? – I’d rather eat at home.
Alternative questions are sometimes asked in the form of special questions:
Where does he live: in Paris or Rome? – He lives in Rome. / In Rome.
Which do you like more: hazelnuts or walnuts? – I like hazelnuts more than walnuts. / Hazelnuts.
Tag questions
A tag question (a disjunctive question) consists of two parts. The first part is a declarative sentence (a statement). The second part is a short general question (the tag). If the statement is affirmative, the tag is negative. If the statement is negative, the tag is affirmative. Use falling intonation in the first part and rising or falling intonation in the second part of the tag question.
With the verb BE:
It’s a nice day, isn’t it?
He is here now, isn’t he?
It was true, wasn’t it?
He wasn’t invited, was he?
With main verbs:
You know him, don’t you?
He went there, didn’t he?
She will agree, won’t she?
He hasn’t seen her, has he?
He’s sleeping, isn’t he?
He didn’t study French, did he?
With modal verbs:
You can swim, can’t you?
He should go, shouldn’t he?
I shouldn’t do it, should I?
Responses to tag questions
Responses to tag questions can be in the form of short «Yes» or «No» answers or in the form of full statements. Despite the fact that tag questions are asked to get confirmation, the answer may be negative.
You live here, don’t you?
Yes, I do. / Yes, I live here. (agreement)
No, I don’t. / No, I don’t live here. (disagreement)
You don’t live here, do you?
No, I don’t. / No, I don’t live here. (agreement)
Yes, I do. / Yes, I live here. (disagreement)
It was difficult, wasn’t it?
Yes, it was. / Yes, it was difficult. (agreement)
No, it wasn’t. / No, it wasn’t difficult. (disagreement)
It wasn’t difficult, was it?
No, it wasn’t. / No, it wasn’t difficult. (agreement)
Yes, it was. / Yes, it was difficult. (disagreement)
(Intonation in different types of questions is described in Falling Intonation and Rising Intonation in the section Phonetics.)
Порядок слов в вопросах
Общие вопросы
В общих вопросах, вспомогательный глагол (do, be, have, will) ставится перед подлежащим, а основной глагол следует за подлежащим, т.е. порядок слов такой: вспомогательный глагол + подлежащее + основной глагол (+ дополнение + обстоятельство). Ответы на общие вопросы могут быть в виде кратких ответов Yes или No или в виде полных повествовательных предложений. (Общие вопросы также называются Yes / No questions или yes-no questions.) Общие вопросы произносятся с интонацией повышения.
Вы живете здесь? – Да, живу. / Да, я живу здесь. – Нет, не живу. / Нет, я не живу здесь.
Белл работает? – Да, она работает. – Нет, она не работает.
Вам понравился фильм? – Да, понравился. – Нет, мне не понравился фильм.
Вы читаете сейчас? – Да. / Да, читаю. / Да, я читаю сейчас. – Нет. / Нет, не читаю. / Нет, я не читаю.
Гости уже ушли? – Да, они ушли. – Нет, они не ушли.
Вы увидите его завтра? – Да, увижу. / Да, я увижу его. – Нет, не увижу.
Общие вопросы с модальными глаголами имеют такое же строение и порядок слов.
Вы можете мне помочь? – Да, могу. / Да, я могу помочь вам. – Нет, не могу. / Нет, я не могу помочь вам.
Следует ли нам позвонить Марии? – Да. / Да, следует. – Нет. / Нет, не следует.
Можно мне войти? – Да, можно. – Нет, нельзя.
В общих вопросах с глаголом BE как основным глаголом или глаголом-связкой, глагол BE ставится перед подлежащим.
Он сейчас в Риме? – Да. / Да, он сейчас в Риме. – Нет.
Анна учитель? – Да. / Да, Анна учитель. – Нет. / Нет, Анна не учитель.
Они были счастливы? – Да, были. – Нет, не были.
Порядок слов в отрицательных вопросах
Разве ей не понравился фильм? – Да, понравился. / Да, ей понравился фильм. – Нет, не понравился. / Нет, ей он не понравился.
Разве они не читают сейчас? – Да, читают. / Да, они читают сейчас. – Нет, не читают. / Нет, они не читают сейчас.
Разве он не студент?
Разве он уже не ушел?
Разве вы не увидите его завтра?
Разве вы не можете говорить помедленнее?
Примечание: Отрицательные вопросы обычно содержат какую-то эмоцию, например, ожидание ответа yes, удивление, раздражение, насмешку. Отрицательные вопросы могут звучать невежливо в некоторых ситуациях, например, в просьбах. Прочитайте еще об отрицательных вопросах в статьях Word Order in Requests и Requests and Permission в разделе Grammar.
Специальные вопросы
Когда вопрос ставится к любому члену предложения, кроме подлежащего, порядок слов после вопросительного слова (например, как, кого, что, когда, где, почему) такой же, как в общих вопросах: вопросительное слово + вспомогательный глагол + подлежащее + основной глагол (+ дополнение + обстоятельство). Ответ обычно дается полностью, но краткие ответы тоже возможны. Специальные вопросы (информационные вопросы) произносятся с интонацией понижения.
Как вы туда добрались? – Я добрался туда автобусом. / Автобусом.
Сколько это стоило? – Это стоило десять долларов. / Десять долларов.
Сколько человек он увидел? – Он увидел пять человек. / Пять.
Сколько вы здесь пробыли? – Я пробыл здесь неделю. / Неделю. / Неделю.
Кого вы спросите? – Я спрошу Тома. / Тома.
Что он делает? – Он спит. / Спит.
Что она сказала? – Ничего.
Какую книгу он читает? – «Талисман».
Которое пальто она выбрала? – Красное.
Когда он уезжает? – Он уезжает в шесть. / В шесть.
Где она живет? – Она живет на Десятой улице. / На Десятой улице.
Откуда вы? – Я из России. / Из России.
Куда он пошел? – Он пошел домой. / Домой.
Почему вы опоздали? – Я пропустил свой автобус.
Почему вы мне не позвонили? – Извините. Я забыл.
Вопросы к подлежащему
Когда вопросительное слово who или what является подлежащим в вопросе (т.е. вопрос ставится к подлежащему), вопрос задается без вспомогательного глагола и порядок слов как в повествовательном предложении: вопросительное слово (т.е. подлежащее) + сказуемое (+ дополнение + обстоятельство). Такой же порядок слов, когда подлежащее в вопросе в виде which / whose / how many + существительное.
Кто вам сказал об этом? – Том сказал мне. / Том.
Кто ей звонил вчера? – Я звонил ей. / Я звонил.
Кто ему скажет об этом? – Я скажу.
Кто еще не прочитал эту книгу? – Я не прочитал.
Что случилось? – Я потерял свою сумку.
Что заставило вас сделать это? – Не знаю.
Которое пальто ваше? – Это пальто мое. / Вот это.
Чья это книга? – Моя.
Сколько человек пришли на работу? – Десять человек пришли на работу. / Десять.
Примечание: who и whom
Именительный падеж – who; косвенный падеж – whom. Вопросительное слово whom часто заменяется словом who в разговорной устной и письменной речи, но who в этом случае дополнение, а не подлежащее, т.е. это не вопрос к подлежащему. Следовательно, требуется вспомогательный глагол для образования специальных вопросов, в которых вопросительное слово who употреблено вместо whom, и порядок слов в них как в вопросе, а не как в повествовательном предложении. Сравните:
Кто видел вас? – Том видел меня.
Кого вы видели? – Я видел Анну.
Кто попросил ее сделать это? – Бен попросил ее.
Кого она попросила о помощи? – Она попросила Майка помочь ей.
Предлоги в конце вопросов
Когда вопросительные слова what, whom/who задают вопрос к дополнению с предлогом, предлог часто ставится в конец вопроса после сказуемого (или после прямого дополнения, если оно есть), особенно в разговорной речи.
О чем вы говорите? – Я говорю о наших планах.
Чем вы интересуетесь? – Я интересуюсь психологией.
На кого вы смотрите? – Я смотрю на Сандру.
От кого это зависит? – Это зависит от моего брата.
С кем вы играете в теннис в пятницу? – Я играю в теннис с Марией.
Для кого она сделала пирог? – Она сделала пирог для своих сотрудников.
Отметьте, что не все предлоги можно поместить в конец таких специальных вопросов, и предлог в конце предложения не должен быть слишком далеко от вопросительного слова. В официальной устной и письменной речи, помещение предлога перед вопросительным словом в длинных конструкциях часто считается более подходящим. Например: With whom are you playing tennis on Friday? For whom did she make a pie?
Альтернативные вопросы
Порядок слов в альтернативных вопросах (вопросах с выбором) такой же, как в общих вопросах. Ответ обычно дается полностью, потому что нужно сделать выбор, но краткие ответы тоже возможны. Употребите тон повышения на первом элементе выбора (перед or) и тон понижения на втором элементе выбора.
Ваш дом большой или маленький? – Мой дом маленький. / Маленький.
Вы студент первого или третьего курса? – Я студент третьего курса.
Вы хотели бы чай или кофе? – Я хотел бы кофе, пожалуйста.
Вы хотели бы пойти в ресторан или предпочли бы поесть дома? – Я предпочел бы поесть дома.
Альтернативные вопросы иногда задаются в форме специальных вопросов:
Где он живет: в Париже или Риме? – Он живет в Риме. / В Риме.
Что вы больше любите: фундук или грецкие орехи? – Я люблю фундук больше, чем грецкие орехи. / Фундук.
Разъединенные вопросы
Разъединенный вопрос (разделительный вопрос, расчлененный вопрос) состоит из двух частей. Первая часть – повествовательное предложение (утверждение). Вторая часть – краткий общий вопрос. Если повествовательное предложение утвердительное, краткий вопрос отрицательный. Если предложение отрицательное, краткий вопрос утвердительный. Употребите интонацию понижения в первой части и интонацию повышения или понижения во второй части разъединенного вопроса.
С глаголом BE:
Приятный день, не так ли?
Он здесь сейчас, не так ли?
Это была правда, не так ли?
Его не пригласили, не так ли?
С основными глаголами:
Вы знаете его, не так ли?
Он пошел туда, не так ли?
Она согласится, не так ли?
Он не видел ее, не так ли?
Он спит, не так ли?
Он не изучал французский язык, не так ли?
С модальными глаголами:
Вы можете плавать, не так ли?
Ему следует идти, не так ли?
Мне не следует этого делать, не так ли?
Ответы на разделительные вопросы
Ответы на разделительные вопросы могут быть в виде кратких ответов Yes или No или в виде полных повествовательных предложений. Несмотря на то, что разъединенные вопросы задаются для получения подтверждения, ответ может быть отрицательным.
Вы живете здесь, не так ли?
Да, живу. / Да, я живу здесь. (согласие)
Нет, не живу. / Нет, я не живу здесь. (несогласие)
Вы не живете здесь, не так ли?
Нет, не живу. / Нет, я не живу здесь. (согласие)
Нет, живу. / Нет, я живу здесь. (несогласие)
Это было трудно, не так ли?
Да, трудно. / Да, это было трудно. (согласие)
Нет, не трудно. / Нет, это было не трудно. (несогласие)
Это было не трудно, не так ли?
Нет, не трудно. / Нет, это было не трудно. (согласие)
Нет, трудно. / Нет, это было трудно. (несогласие)
(Интонация в различных типах вопросов описывается в статьях Falling Intonation и Rising Intonation в разделе Phonetics.)
1. Questions without question words and be
Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.
- Sentence: You are from Germany.
- Question: Are you from Germany?
We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No. That’s why questions without question words are also called YES/NO-questions.
2. Questions with question words and be
| Question word | Verb | Subject | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | are | you | from? | I am from Stuttgart. I‘m from Stuttgart. |
| What | is | your name? | My name is Peter. | |
| How | are | Pat and Sue? | They are fine. They‘re fine. |
Questions with question words are also called WH-questions.
3. Questions without question words and have
| Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Have | you | got | a cat? | Yes, | I | have. |
| Have | you | got | a new car? | No, | we | haven’t. |
| Has | your brother | got | a bike? | Yes, | he | has. |
| Do | you | have | a cat? | Yes, | I | do. |
| Do | you | have | a new car? | No, | we | don’t. |
| Does | your brother | have | a bike? | Yes, | he | does. |
4. Questions with question words and have
| Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | have | you | got | your ruler? | I‘ve got it in my pencil case. |
| Where | do | you | have | your ruler? | I have it in my pencil case. |
5. Questions without question words in the Simple Present
| Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do | you | read | books? | Yes, No, |
I I |
do. don’t. |
| Does | Peter | play | football? | Yes, | he | does. |
6. Questions with question words in the Simple Present
| Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What | do | you | play | on your computer? | I play games on my computer. |
| When | does | your mother | go | to work? | She goes to work at 6 o’clock. |
7. Questions without question words in the Simple Past
| Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did | Max | play | football? | Yes, No, |
he he |
did. didn’t. |
BUT:
| to be | Subject | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Were | you | in Leipzig last week? | Yes, No, |
I I |
was. wasn’t. |
8. Questions with question words in the Simple Past
| Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What | did | you | play | yesterday evening? | I played computer games. |
BUT:
| Question word | to be | Subject | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | were | you | yesterday? | I was at the cinema. |
9. Subject question
| Question word | Verb | Rest | Subject | Verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who | runs | to the shop? | Peter | runs | to the shop. |
10. Object question
| Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who | did | Mandy | phone | last Monday? | Mandy phoned her uncle. |
NOTE!
| Subject question | Object question |
|---|---|
| Who phoned John? | Who did John phone? |
Порядок слов в английском вопросе запомнить очень легко. Почти все вопросы имеют одну и ту же структуру. Все, что надо, это всегда помнить один простой вопрос, который можно использовать, как формулу:
How do you do?
Из него видно, что на первом месте стоит вопросительное слово (если оно есть), на втором — вспомогательный или модальный глагол, далее идет подлежащее, главный глагол и оставшаяся часть предложения (если она есть). Однако, есть еще несколько нюансов, которые мы рассмотрим в этой статье.
Question word — вопросительное слово
Вопросительные слова могут и не присутствовать в предложении, например в Yes/No questions («да/нет» вопросы). Однако, если они нужны по смыслу, то они стоят на первом месте.
Примеры:
Where do you live? (Где ты живешь?)
How old are you? (Сколько тебе лет?)
When are you going to arrive to London? (Когда ты прибудешь в Лондон?)
What will you do on Monday? (Что ты будешь делать в понедельник?)
Why am I so stupid? (Почему я такой глупый?)
Which job does Lena look for? (Какую работу ищет Лена?)
Вспомогательный или модальный глагол в вопросах
В вопросительных (interrogative) предложениях, как и в отрицательных, английское сказуемое всегда состоит по меньшей мере из двух элементов: вспомогательного и основного глагола. В вопросах есть только одно исключение из этого правила, оно касается глагола to be (быть). Он не требует дополнительного вспомогательного глагола
Примеры:
Am I hungry? (Я голоден?)
Were they interested? (Были они заинтересованы?)
Where am I live? (Где я живу?)
В остальных случаях, если даже в утвердительном предложении сказуемое выражено одним глаголом (как например, в презент симпл и паст симпл), то в вопрос добавляется вспомогательный глагол do, does или did. Примеры вопросительных предложений для разных времен глагола:
| Время глагола | Утвердительное предложение | Вопрос |
| Present simple | Julie comes from Sweden. | Where does Julie come from? |
| Present simple | The shop opens at 9 every morning. | What time does the shop open? |
| Present simle (have got) | I have got two children. | Have you got any children? Do you have any children? |
| Present Perfect | I have met Tania before. | Have I met Tania before? |
| Present Continuous | They are playing tennis every Tuesday. | Are they playing tennis every Tuesday? |
| Past simple | I saw him yesterday. | Did you see him yesterday? |
| Past Perfect Continuous | I had been waiting for him all day. | Had I been waiting for him all day? |
| Future simple | I will invite my friends to the party | Who will you invite to the party? |
| Modal verb | I can improve my English | Can I improve my English? |
Порядок слов в английском вопросе к подлежащему (subject question)
Это особый случай, когда мы не добавляем вспомогательные глаголы do, does, did. Разберем для примера следующее предложение:
Somebody paid the bill. (Кто-то оплатил счет)
Можно задать вопрос к дополнению the bill — What did somebody pay? (Что оплатил кто-то?), тут необходимо добавить вспомогательный глагол.
Если же мы хотим узнать, кто оплатил счет, то это будет вопрос к подлежащему, и он будет формироваться следующим образом: Who paid the bill? (Кто оплатил счет?) — без вспомогательного глагола.
Примеры вопросов к подлежащему:
What happened? (Что случилось?)
Who lives in the flat? (Кто живет в квартире?)
What fell on the floor?(Что упало на пол?)
Who cooked that cake? (Кто приготовил тот торт?)
Порядок слов в английском вопросе с предлогом
Очень часто в вопросах, начинающихся с Who, What, Which, Where, присутствует предлог, он также имеет особое место в вопросе, а именно — он ставится в конце предложения:
What are you thinking about? (О чем ты думаешь?)
Where are your parents from? (Откуда твои родители?)
Who do you want to speak to? (С кем ты хочешь поговорить?)
Which hotel did she stay at? (В каком отеле она остановилась?)
What speed are you going at? (С какой скоростью ты идешь?)
В английском языке есть еще вопросы с «хвостиком» — разделительные вопросы, как например: It’s nice weather today, isn’t it? (Хорошая погода сегодня, не так ли?).
Подробнее о разделительных вопросах читайте в статье question tags.
How to ask questions in English — all the subtleties
When we start building dialogues, we inevitably meet with questions addressed to ourselves or ask them to the interlocutor. Therefore, it is imperative to know how to ask questions in English in order to be able to support any conversation. And in this topic, several surprises await us, since there is a classification of English questions and each type has its own characteristics and structure of constructing a sentence. Everything in order.
Classification of questions
Interrogative sentences in English differ a lot from Russian ones, especially in the order of words in the sentence. Most English questions are formed using inversion (word rearrangement) and the use of auxiliary verbs.
The sentences have their own characteristics and are used in everyday communication by native speakers. There are 5 types of interrogative sentences in total:
- general questions (general)
- special questions (special)
- Disjunctive questions (separating)
- alternative questions (alternative)
- Questions to the subject (question to the subject)
How to ask questions in English
Scheme for constructing an interrogative sentence
General questions
Reverse word order is used to form such questions. This means that we put the auxiliary verb first, the subject second, and the main verb third.
- Tom s swimming in the sea… — Does (auxiliary) Tom (subjects) (main verb) swimming in the sea?
- She goes to work everyday… — Does (auxiliary verb) she (subjects) go (main verb) to work everyday?
Common questions are also built with modal verbs. In this case, the modal verb will replace the auxiliary, that is, it will be placed in the first place.
- Mold you close the door, please? — Could you close the door, please?
- May I come in? — May I come in?
- Should I put on sweater? — Should I wear this sweater?
We draw your attention to the verb to be. We can safely consider it special — in general questions, you do not need to add an auxiliary verb to it.
- Is he a teacher? — He is a teacher?
- Was the weather good yesterday? — Was the weather good yesterday?
We form a negative general question.
To do this, you need to add a particle Note… It will stand right after the subject. However, if we use the shorthand not — n’t, it will come before it. Let’s see an example:
- Does she not go to work on Sunday? = Doesn’t she go to work on Sunday? — She doesn’t go to work on Sunday?
- Have you not watched this movie? = Haven’t you watched this movie? — Have you seen this movie?
Special Issues
The word «special» means intended solely for something. Accordingly, this question is needed to find out the specific information you are interested in. Therefore, it is called special, that is, you want to clarify special information.
For example:
- Where are you going to rest? (We will find out specific information — the place where the person will go.)
How to build a custom question?
It is asked using the following interrogative words:
- what — that
- Where — where
- When — when
- who — who
- why — why
- how (much / often / long) — how (much / often / long)
These words are put in the first place, and then the sentence is built, as in a general question.
Word construction scheme: Question word + auxiliary verb + character + action being taken?
Examples:
- When did he get up? — When did he wake up?
- Where will you go? — Where will you go?
- Why do they travel? — Why do they like to travel?
Separation issues
A dividing question is a type of question that expresses doubt, surprise, or confirmation of what has been said.
The dividing question is formed by adding a short phrase with an auxiliary verb to the usual affirmative sentence, giving the entire sentence a doubt. The Russian equivalent of the dividing question is “is not it?»
In English, in order to correctly compose this short dividing part, you need to carefully study the sentence itself. If the sentence is affirmative, then the dividing part will be negative, and vice versa, if the sentence is negative, then the dividing part will be affirmative.
The dividing question is formed with the help of an auxiliary verb used in a sentence and a pronoun that could replace the subject of this sentence. Let’s take a look at examples:
- John is a good student, isn’t he? — John is a good student, isn’t he? (the sentence is affirmative, so the dividing part is negative)
- Linda is the most beautiful girl in the class, isn’t she? “Linda is the prettiest girl in the class, isn’t she?
- Jamie’s parents aren’t from Spain, are they? “Jamie’s parents are not from Spain, are they?
- We aren’t going to London tomorrow, are we? “We’re not going to go to London tomorrow, are we?
- It will be the best summer in their life, won’t (will not) it? “This will be the best summer of their lives, won’t it?
- He can climb any tree, can’t he? “He can climb any tree, can’t he?
We already know that all English verbs, with the exception of to be and modals, build questions using the auxiliary verbs do, does, or did (if we are talking about the past).
For example:
- You don’t your neighbors, do you? — You don’t love your neighbors, do you?
- He s his friend’s sister, doesn’t he? — He loves his friend’s sister, doesn’t he?
- They found a new babysitter, didn’t they? “They found a new nanny, didn’t they?
As you can see from the examples, all dividing questions are asked with the aim of expressing doubt, surprise, or to find confirmation of what was said.
Alternative questions
True to its name, this question suggests an alternative, that is, the right to choose. By asking it, we give the interlocutor two options to choose from.
Example:
- Are you flying to England or Germany?
There is always a union in such a matter or (or). The question itself is built as a general one, only at the end with the help of our or we add a choice clause.
Scheme for constructing an alternative question: Auxiliary verb + character + action to be performed + ___ or ___
Examples:
- Will they go to the park or to the cinema? — Will they go to the park or to the cinema?
- Did you buy an apples or pears? — Have you bought apples or pears?
- Does he work or study? — Is he working or studying?
Questions to the subject
Question to the subject — this is a special category of questions in which it is not necessary to change the direct order of words, i.e. it remains the same as in a regular declarative sentence. Thus, this is the only kind of question where there is no need for auxiliary verbs and there is no inversion (permutation of the members of the sentence).
For example:
- Who came to the party? — Who came to the party?
- What happened at the end? — What happened in the end?
- How many students arrived to the lesson? — How many students came to the lesson?
Order of words in a sentence: Subject — Predicate — Object
Often questions to the subject begin with interrogative words. who ?, what ?, how many / how much? The meaning of the question to the subject lies in the fact that interrogative pronouns in it play the role of a subject.
For example:
Who is taliking to you? — Who speaks to you?
There is nothing difficult to ask a question and find out the information of interest. Now you know how to ask questions in English and take into account all the subtleties and nuances. Learn English, be curious, and ask the right questions to your interlocutors.
Source: https://englandlearn.com/grammatika/kak-zadavat-voprosy-v-anglijskom-yazyke
Types of questions in English
After watching the video, you can check the correctness of your answers here
Questions in English can be divided into 5 types
| — General questions | Questions that do not contain interrogative words (ie without the words “what”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why”, etc.) |
| — Special Issues | Questions containing interrogative words. |
| — Questions to the subject | Questions with the word «who-who». |
| — Inverted questions | Questions asked by word rearrangement. |
| — Separation issues | Questions that clarify: «right?» or «so?» |
Of all five types of questions, only one type of it (questions to the subject) is constructed in the same way as in Russian. In other cases, the question is asked using verbs. A Russian-speaking person does not intuitively feel the need to use them, so you need to remember thatin English, the question always starts with a verb: — do (does), did or will; — if the declarative sentence contains the verb be, have or a modal verb), then the question is asked using the inversion (i.e. the auxiliary verb moves to the beginning of the sentence). See the structure of the interrogative sentence in English language will help the following table.
Questions in English
type of questions — general questions… These are questions asked without interrogative words (ie without the words “what”, “where”, “when”, etc.).
| You live in Moscow. | Do you live in Moscow. | |
| Do | you live in Moscow? | Do you live in Moscow? |
| He lives in London. | He lives in London. | |
| he live London? | He lives in London? | |
| They visited the USA. | They visited the United States. | |
| Did | did they visit the USA? | Have they visited the USA? |
Other examples on the page — general questions in English
type of questions — special. These are questions that use interrogative words. Examples of question words: where — where why — why when — when how — how what — what, which which — which of Special questions are constructed from general questions, adding any question word.
| Where | do | you work? | Where do you work? |
| Where | did | you work? | Where did you worked? |
| Why | does | she prefer them? | Why does she prefer them? |
| Why | did | she prefer them? | Why did she prefer them? |
| When | did | they go there? | When did they go there? |
| How | does | he make it? | How does he do it? |
| How | did | he make it? | How did he do it? |
| What | do | you? | What do you like? |
type — questions to «who — who» (or questions to the subject).Questions with all interrogative words are structured in the same way. An exception is the question with «who — who», in English it sounds the same as in Russian.
| Who | moves in New – York? | Who is moving to New York? | |
| BUT NOT!!! | |||
| Who | does | move in New – York? | |
| Who | moved in New – York? | Who Moved to New York? | |
| BUT NOT!!! | |||
| Who | did | move in New – York? |
More examples of who-who questions on the English Question Words page.
type — inverted questions (questions formed by rearranging words in places). If a declarative sentence has an auxiliary verb, then the question will be asked using an inversion. There are only 3 types of such proposals: — questions in the future tense (questions with will); — questions with modal verbs; — with the verb «be».
| You will stay there. | You will be there. |
| Will you stay there? | Will you be there? |
| He can do it. | He can do it. |
| Can he do it? | Can he do it? |
| She is tall. | She (is) tall. |
| Is she tall? | Is she (is) tall? |
Other examples of questions with «be» and modal verbs are on the Inversion in English page.
Future tense english
Modal verbs in English table
The verb to be in the present simple
type of questions — dividing (questions-re-asking) This type of questions is quite rare in practice. It is not necessary for the ability to speak, but it is necessary for understanding English speech. The construction of dividing questions is carried out using the words «whether» and «not so».
| He drinks coffee, doesn’t he? | He drinks coffee, doesn’t he? |
| She is beautiful, isn’t she? | She’s beautiful, isn’t she? |
| She is not beautiful, is she? | She’s not pretty, is she? |
Other examples of how to ask dividing or alternative questions in English
English questions are included in the list of the most important sections of English grammar. Without the ability to ask questions, it is impossible to learn to speak. Therefore, it is necessary to bring the ability to use all types of questions in English to automatism. The audio simulator on the Learn English Online page will help you do this. The simulator gives examples of the most common phrases.
Questions raised in the video
| 1. | You live in Russia? | Do you live in Russia? |
| 2. | Are you a Russian woman? | Are you Russian? |
| 3. | Have you made a reservation? | Did you make a resevation? |
| 4. | Are they going to Mexico? | Will they go to Mexico? |
| 5. | He is sick? | Is he sick? |
| 6. | Have you ever skied? (Have you ever skied downhill? | Have you ever skied down hill? |
| 7. | Are they back from vacation yet? | Did they come back from vacation? |
| 8. | Would you like to sit by the window? | Would you to sit by a window? |
| 9. | Do you have a visa? | Do you have a visa? |
| 10. | Would you like fish or meat? | Would you meat or fish? |
Source: https://audio-english.ru/tipy_voprosov_v_anglii_skom_yazyke.html
»Blog» How to ask questions in English table
Being able to compose questions in English is an important aspect in learning a language. This topic seems simple and easy, but some nuances stand out. How to cope with them and learn how to correctly formulate questions in English, you will learn in this article.
Stages of writing questions in English
For grammatically correct compilation of questions in this foreign language, a clear, and most importantly, simple scheme was created:
- Find a verb in a sentence and understand what it is (basic, modal or to be).
- Correctly determine the tense of this verb (knowledge of the tense is required).
- We apply the rule of composing questions (the same for almost all types) — either rearrange the verb in the first place, or use an auxiliary verb.
General formula: interrogative word + auxiliary verb + subject + predicate + other members of the sentence?
Example:
- A cat s milk. — The cat loves milk. (affirmative sentence).
- Does a cat milk? — Does the cat like milk? (interrogative sentence).
Writing questions requires knowledge of verb tenses, modal verbs, and equivalents.
5 types of questions in English
There are five types of questions in English:
- General;
- Alternative;
- Separating;
- Special;
- Question to the subject.
Past tense
General questions of the past tense are compiled according to the standard formula, but with some modifications.
Source: https://englishunlimited.ru/blog/kak-zadavat-voprosy-v-anglijskom-yazyke-tablica.html
Types of questions in English in pictures and with examples
Can you imagine your life without question. Every day we ask and answer dozens of questions: «How to get to the pharmacy?», «What time is it?», «How much is this magazine worth?»
Our overview article will focus on the five main types of questions in English and how to write questions in English. After all, each of them has its own grammatical features, structure and word order in the sentence. In addition, we will provide useful examples of questions in English with translation, which will help you to understand this topic in more detail.
We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the selection of English courses for beginners if you want to start speaking and understanding the language faster.
Types of questions in English
In English, there are 5 ways to ask a question. Their type will depend on the situation: you want to confirm the information you have, collect details, ask out of courtesy, etc.
1. General questions.
If the question implies a monosyllabic answer — «yes» / «no», then it belongs to this category.
The formula for such a question will look like this:
auxiliary or modal verb + subject + predicate + rest of the sentence
The verb «to be» does not need auxiliary verbs, provided that it is used in the present or past tense.
examples:
- Do you live in Ekaterinburg? — Yes, I do. — Do you live in Yekaterinburg? — Yes.
- Will you be at university day after tomorrow? — Yes, I will. — Will you be at the university the day after tomorrow? — Yes.
- Are you a volleyball player? — Yes, I am. — Are you a volleyball player? — Yes.
- Can you read this book? — Yes, I can. — Can you read this book? — Yes I can.
2. Separation questions (questions containing ponytails).
Such interrogative constructions consist of two parts: an affirmative and an interrogative, which acts as a «tail». If the first part is affirmative, then the second is negative. And vice versa.
Similar questions are asked when they want to clarify details, check information; express approval or vice versa — distrust, induce the interlocutor to respond. They also help to express your own emotions: — distrust, ridicule, politeness, sarcasm, doubts, etc.
examples:
- You speak Japanese language, don’t you? — You speak Japanese, don’t you?
- You didn’t go to the hospital day before yesterday, did you? “You didn’t go to the hospital the day before, did you?
- His girlfriend worked in medicine, didn’t she? “His girlfriend worked in the medical field, didn’t she?
Source: https://enguide.ru/magazine/tipy-voprosov-v-angliyskom-yazyke-tablica-s-primerami
Subject question in English
In order to ask a question to a subject in English, you must first understand 3 things: what is the subject (the main member of the sentence, answers the question who? What?), What types of questions are there in English and how to compose these questions in English.
A special question for a subject in English. Structure
1. My colleague is writing a report in the office.
Subject Predictable Complement Circumstance
| Who | is writing | a report | at the office? |
| Who writes the report in the office? |
2 students came to school.
Subject Predictable Complement Circumstance
| How many pupils | came | to school? |
| How many students came to school? |
3. Porridge is burning in the kitchen.
Subject Predictable Complement Circumstance
| What | is burning | in the kitchen? |
| What’s burning in the kitchen? |
Negative form of subject questions in English
The negative form of questions to the subject in English is built on the principle of negative sentences, that is, the auxiliary verbs do, does, did are used. We put the NOT particle after the modal or auxiliary verb.
4. This student hasn’t answered my question yet.
Subject Predictable Complement Circumstance
| Who | hasn’t answered | my question yet? |
| Who hasn’t answered my question yet? |
5. Kate doesn’t speak English.
Subject Predictable Complement Circumstance
| Who | doesn’t speak | English? |
| Who doesn’t speak English? |
How to formulate a subject question in English?
- Find a subject in a sentence.
- Replace it with a suitable interrogative pronoun
— Who? (who?) or What? (what?). - Maintain direct word order, while leaving all members of the sentence in their places.
- When composing a question for a subject in English, remember to reconcile the verb with the subject — in Present Simple we use the verb in the third person singular. — add the ending -s (es) to
verb (eg Who wants tea?).
Questions to determine the subject in English:
- What film is the best? What’s the best movie?
- How many students attend lectures? How many students
attends lectures?
Example 1
John is going to England next week.
1. Subject — John
2. Replace John with who
3. Maintain direct word order (that is,
subject + predicate)
Question to the subject: Who is going to england
next week? Who’s going to England next
week?
Example 2.
Viktuk’s play was staged.
Questions to the subject:
Whose play was staged?
Whose play was performed on stage?
What was staged? What did you do on stage?
Example 3.
The girls are happy.
Question to the subject: Who is happy? Who
happy?
Example 4.
We were in the circle.
Question to the subject: Who was in the circle?
Who was in the circus?
Example 5.
We were in the circle.
Question to the subject: Who was in the circle?
Who was in the circus?
Exercise 2. Compare pairs of sentences, find the subject in each sentence, determine which of the questions is a question to the subject — a) or b), translate the sentences into English. In one of the pairs, both sentences are questions to the subject.
- a) Who will you go with? versus b) who will go
with you? - a) What does he do? versus b) Who does it?
- a) Who thought about his health? versus b) What did he think about?
- a) Whose car did you scratch? versus b) Who
scratched your car? - a) Which girl has served dinner? versus
b) Who has to serve dinner?
- a) Who will you go with? Who are you going with? versus b) Who will go with you? Who will go with you? b) — question to
subject to
- What does he do? What does he do? versus Who does it?
Who is doing this? b) — a question to the subject - Who thought about his health? Who thought about their health? versus What did he think about? What is he talking about
thought? a) — a question to the subject
- a) Whose car did you scratch? Whose car did you scratch? versus b) Who scratched your car? Who scratched your car? b) — question to
subject to
- Which girl has served dinner? Which of the girls served dinner? versus Who has to serve dinner? Who Should Serve Dinner? a) and b) — questions to
subject to
Exercise 3: Correct the mistakes
- Who to sing?
- Who did was in the park?
- What does make you think so?
- Who did see the accident?
- What does washing need?
- Who did make you feel disappointed?
- Who’s to sing (singing)?
- Who was in the park?
- What makes you think so?
- Who saw the accident?
- What washing needs?
- Who made you feel disappointed?
Exercise 4. Translate into English
- Who writes articles about animals?
- Who upset you?
- What’s next to the language school?
- What scared your little son?
- Who prompted her to do this?
- Who didn’t go to the party?
- Who is cold (hot)?
- Who usually does the dishes in your family?
- What influenced his decision?
- How many letters did you receive in the afternoon?
- Who writes articles about animals?
- Who disappointed you? (Who made you feel
disappointed?) - What is near the language school?
- What scared your little son?
- Who influenced her to do that?
- Who didn’t go to the party?
- Who is cold (hot)?
- Who washes up in your family?
- What influenced his decision?
- How many letters arrived in the afternoon?
Subject question in English
Source: http://blog.englishvoyage.com/vopros-k-podlezhashhemu-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
How many types of questions are there really in English? Understanding
Hello my dear readers.
Russian-speaking people rarely ask themselves a question of terminology. Here we do not like these complex words and that’s it. But those who have to learn English are faced with this much more often. An example of how we can know a rule, but not know its name, are the types of questions in English.
There is hardly a student who can easily name all the variations with examples. Well, let’s fix it. Today we are waiting for an interesting theory with explanations, tables and examples, followed by an equally interesting practice.
:
Let’s start in order.
General
The general question is the most common. That’s why it is common, as they say. The answer will always be «yes» or «no.» Of course, then the answer can be expanded and supplemented, but confirmation or denial is the basis.
I have already written about this topic in as much detail as possible in a separate article on general issues. But still, let’s remember with examples.
—Are you going to the cinema tonight? — Are you going to the cinema today?
—Yes, I am. — Yes.
And one more example.
—Are they our new neighbors? — Are these our new neighbors?
—Yes, they are.
Special
A special question always starts with a specific question word. Its main purpose is to obtain more detailed information. The most common interrogative words in speech include:
- Whom — Whom
- When — When
- Whose — Whose
- Which — Which the
- Where — Where
- Why — Why
- How — How
- And others (more about them in the article)
The ad-hoc question follows a simple structure:
Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + predicate main verb + object.
When did the bell ring? — When did the bell ring?
Where did they go? — Where did they go?
Interestingly, this type is divided into two groups:
- Questions to the whole offer
- Questions to the subject.
You can learn more about the latter in another article. But we will talk about the first group in great detail here. Their main difference is the word order. Let’s find out by examples.
Who goes to the theater tomorrow? — Who goes to the theater tomorrow? This is a subject matter.
When did you break the plate? — When did you break the plate? This is already a question for the whole proposal.
The difference lies directly in the word order. If in the first sentence the order remains direct, then in the second an inversion occurs: an auxiliary verb is immediately written, and then a pronoun.
To make it clearer, let’s rephrase the second sentence.
Who broke the plate? — Who broke the plate?
Separating
The dividing question is most often known by schoolchildren as the «tail». It is usually taught somewhere in the 6th grade and this is perhaps the favorite topic of any student. His main task is to check any assumption, express doubt, or simply confirm his thought.
It consists of two parts: an affirmative part and a question, that is, a tail. We can see its structure right away with an example.
Source: https://lizasenglish.ru/grammatika/tipy-voprosov-v-anglijskom.html
The use of prepositions in English
What I love about English prepositions is the ability to completely change the meaning of the main word with the help of one such small word. It was «look at», but now:
• «look for»
• «to have an opinion» (look upon)
• «look after»
• «forgive» (look over)
• «look to».
Juggling with English pretexts is aerobatics. If you learn this art, you will enrich your vocabulary and generate a buzz of approval with your speech.
Many English learners take pretexts with some arrogance, believing that it is like a student repeating the English alphabet at night. Underestimated. But in vain.
Yes, prepositions are considered official, they do not answer any questions, but they allow you to get different meanings from the same verb, form cases (yes, the same ones that are in Russian) and do other interesting things. There is only one problem: there are a LOT of prepositions in English.
But this does not mean that you need to learn all of them right here and now. It is enough only to know the main ones, as well as to understand the division into groups.
Let’s not waste time on the fact that prepositions are simple monosyllabic, polysyllabic, consisting of several words, blah blah blah. Let’s get down to business and provide not only tables of prepositions in English, but also illustrative examples in pictures. We will also consider the use of prepositions with examples.
1. Prepositions of place and direction (spatial)
It is better to see once than to read the synopsis 100 times:
2. Temporary prepositions
Let’s consider the most basic ones: about, after, at, during, for, in, on, till, within.
| about | about (about, about) | It’s about 6 pm |
| after | after | Summer comes after spring. (Summer comes after spring) |
| at | в | Let’s meet at 10 am |
| During | for | She was sleeping during the whole lesson. (She slept throughout the lesson) |
| for | for | He laughed for 5 minutes. (He laughed for 5 minutes) |
| in | via | I’ll be home in 10 minutes. (I’ll be home in 10 minutes) |
| on | by | I usually go shopping on Fridays. (I usually go shopping on Fridays) |
| to | to | I won’t go shopping till Sunday. (I won’t go shopping until Sunday) |
| Within | within, for | You must do it within a month. (You have to do it in a month) |
because of — because;
on account of — due to, due to;
thanks to — thanks;
in accordance with — according to, in accordance with.
As you can see, the same preposition can be in different groups (for example, in or on are both temporal and spatial). Moreover, if you open any dictionary (well, at least the same Yandex) and select any preposition, you will be surprised at the number of meanings. Let’s say the most commonly used English preposition to can have 13 values (do not be lazy, take a look).
Let’s talk a little about the nuances before inviting you to go into battle the «tests» section, where the first linguistic tests for knowing prepositions await you.
SINGING OFFERS!
Yes, yes, to sing along or even read out. When you get acquainted with the basic excuses, try yourself in the role of Eminem, Timati, or any rapper you like. Not enough ideas for the text yet? Mix up prepositions! Knowing small and remote prepositions is very cool. Check it out by watching the video and feel like a rising rap star.
ENGLISH PROSPECTS AND RUSSIAN PADES. We remember the second class.
• Genitive case (who? What?) — preposition of
Show me the plan of the house.
• Dative case (to whom? What?) — preposition to
Give it to me.
• Accusative case (who? What?) — no preposition
Give me a pen.
• Instrumental case (by whom? What?) — preposition With
She was cutting the letter with scissors.
• Prepositional case (about whom? About what?) — preposition about
Don’t speak about me.
PLACE OFFER IN OFFER
Any excuse, know your place!
• In general, the preposition is supposed to be put BEFORE a noun or pronoun (if the noun has an article or a definition, then you cannot break it)
Put the book on the table.
Give it to me.
The shop is behind the green house.
You must do it with in two months.
• In interrogative sentences (which start with what, where, etc.), the preposition is placed at the end:
What city do you live in?
Who are you waiting for?
• The rest of the cases are associated with the use of prepositions in subordinate clauses, passive constructions. All this will be more relevant to study in the «Syntax» section.
• It is very useful to learn the signs, where the preposition has already merged with a certain noun. Useful in everyday communication.
| by | By mistake By accident By chance By the way By bus / train / car day by day Step by step |
by mistake by accident by accident by the way by bus / train / car day after day
step by step |
| for | For a walk / dance / drink / swim For breakfast / dinner |
go for a walk / dance / drink / swim for breakfast / lunch |
| in | in fact In case In the future In love In time In the morning / evening / afternoon |
in fact in case in the future in love at the right time
morning / evening / afternoon |
| on | On-television On holiday / a trip on foot |
on TV on vacation / on a trip
on foot |
| at | At home / work At night At present |
at home / at work at night
now |
By the way, about the last three pretexts. They won a special place under the sun and formed their own caste — prepositions of place. Why it is necessary to collect a dossier on them no less than on a counterintelligence agent, an article specially devoted to them will tell and prove.
Simple valuable advice: since it is impossible to learn ALL prepositions at the first time of learning (and it is not necessary), when you write out the next new verb from the dictionary, mark yourself at least 2 options with different prepositions.
For example:
Put — put
Put on — to place a bet on (smb., Sm.)
Put across — to deceive
When it becomes a habit, you will one day be happy to find that the use of the verb is masterful: in different meanings for the situation. This will brighten your speech and save you from any pauses and «mmm», «eee», «aaa». In the meantime, the problem exists, then you need to solve it, starting with passing a thematic test on prepositions.
Have you sorted the prepositions on the shelves in your head? There are spots even on the Sun, so we suggest once again (which is not at all superfluous) to go through the pretexts by watching a video tutorial on the topic. After watching and several years of practice, you can safely assign yourself the honorary title of «guru».
Source: https://iloveenglish.ru/theory/anglijskaya_grammatika/predlog
Вы, наверное, замечали, что от перестановки слов в русском предложении смысл самого предложения не меняется. Какая разница, скажем ли мы «В лесу много волков» или «Много волков в лесу». И так, и так говорится о наличии большого количества волков в лесу.
Утвердительные предложения
В английском языке порядок слов строго фиксированный
Это значит, каждому слову свое место. Ну, на самом деле не каждому, а только двум – подлежащему и сказуемому. Давайте вспомним школьные годы. Подлежащее – это то, кто или что производит действие; то, о чем или о ком говорится в предложении. Сказуемое – это то, что этот человек/предмет делает. Из последнего следует вывод, что сказуемое – это глагол. Итак, в отношении английского предложения действует центральная догма, состоящая из двух пунктов:
ПЕРВЫЙ. На первом месте стоит подлежащее, на втором – сказуемое, а далее идет все остальное. Схематически это можно изобразить так:
Таблица.
|
1 МЕСТО |
2 МЕСТО |
3 МЕСТО |
|
ПОДЛЕЖАЩЕЕ |
СКАЗУЕМОЕ |
ОСТАЛЬНЫЕ ЧЛЕНЫ ПРЕДЛОЖЕНИЯ |
|
Daniel |
likes |
apples. |
|
She |
goes |
to work every day. |
|
These flowers |
are |
so beautiful! |
|
Cats |
don’t eat |
dogs. |
К этой таблице следует сделать следующее замечание: ПЕРЕД подлежащим можно поставить определение. И второе: эта схема используется для утвердительных предложений, т.е. тех, в конце которых стоит точка.
ВТОРОЙ. В английском предложении ВСЕГДА есть сказуемое, т.е. глагол! Даже если в русском переводе этого предложения вы этот глагол не слышите. Например: В лесу много волков. (здесь нет ни одного глагола, хотя можно переделать это предложение для удобного перевода: «В лесу есть много волков». В этом варианте уже имеется глагол — есть). – There are many wolves in the forest.
Вопросительные предложения
Такой порядок слов касается только предложений, в конце которых стоит точка, то есть утвердительных предложений. А есть еще вопросительные предложения, в конце которых стоит вопросительный знак. И вот тут-то и начинаются трудности с порядком слов и всевозможные путаницы.
Итак, существуют 2 базовых типа вопросов: общие и специальные. На первые мы отвечаем «да» или «нет», а на вторые отвечаем что-то определенное, специальное (в зависимости от того, что спрашивается в самом вопросе). Помните, что порядок слов в любом английском предложении ФИКСИРОВАННЫЙ, и это также касается вопросов.
0 МЕСТО — ВОПРОСИТЕЛЬНОЕ СЛОВО
- What – что? какой?
- Who – кто?
- Who(m) – кому? кем?
- Where – где? куда?
- When – когда?
- Why – почему?
- How – как?
- How much (many) – сколько?
- Which – который?
- What – какой?
- Whose – чей?
1 МЕСТО — ВСПОМОГАТЕЛЬНЫЙ ГЛАГОЛ
- is / are / am
- do/ does / did
- will / would / shall
- have / has
- can / could
- must
- may / might
- ought
- need
- should
2 МЕСТО — ПОДЛЕЖАЩЕЕ
3 МЕСТО — ОСНОВНОЙ (СМЫСЛОВОЙ) ГЛАГОЛ
3 МЕСТО — ОСТАЛЬНЫЕ СЛОВА
К этой структуре также имеется несколько замечаний.
ЗАМЕЧАНИЕ 1. Как выбрать вспомогательный глагол? Очень просто: вспомогательный глагол тот, который первый присутствует в исходном предложении. Например:
- Danny is a worker —> is
- Anna will drive —> will
- They have finished the report —> have
Поэтому, чтобы задать вопрос, нужно просто переставить подлежащее и сказуемое местами.
Что делать, если вспомогательного глагола нет? Например: We visited the museum. Здесь у нас только основной глагол – visited. Поэтому, когда нет видимого вспомогательного глагола, то он – do/ does / did, в зависимости от времени. В нашем случае это did, так как глагол стоит в прошедшем времени.
ЗАМЕЧАНИЕ 2. Основной (смысловой) глагол, когда вы задаете вопрос, идет чистым, то есть без всяких окончаний, в начальной форме.
ЗАМЕЧАНИЕ 3. Как понять 0 место? Эта позиция в вопросе называется так, потому что вопросительные слова есть только в специальных вопросах, а в общих их нет. Именно по вопросительному слову вы и определяете, что ответить. Например:
Mother gave her son a tasty medicine yesterday because he was ill.
- Who? – Mother
- Whom? – son
- Whose son? – her
- What? – medicine
- What medicine? – tasty
- When? – yesterday
- Why? – because he was ill
В общих вопросах (тех, на которые вы отвечаете «да» или «нет») вопросительного слова нет, то есть сразу идет вспомогательный глагол.
В завершение, предлагаем Вам небольшой тест:
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
In some languages, you can ask a question by changing only the intonation in the voice. This is not enough in English. In English, there is special word order in interrogative sentences.
Therefore, in English, when we see the interrogative word order, we already understand that this is a question and not a statement!
What is the interrogative word order? This is the order in which we put the auxiliary verb first in the sentence.
Take a look at these two examples:
Statement: I know you.
Question: Do I know you?
As you can see, this interrogative order still contains the main verb after the subject. That is, the subject and predicate remain in their usual order. But in the question, the predicate has an additional part: an auxiliary verb. And this auxiliary comes first.
The auxiliary verb in an interrogative sentence plays a huge role. The auxiliary verb depends on who we ask the question, who is the subject in our question.
Does she like you?
Did you throw your ring?
Have they been there before?
Will he work here someday?
Another important function of the auxiliary verb in the question is that the auxiliary verb indicates the tense. By changing the auxiliary verb, we change the meaning of the question.
Thus, if we want to know what a person is currently doing, we ask:
Do you live here?
If we are interested in the past of this person, we ask:
Did you live here?
Or we can ask about future plans:
Will you live here?
Word Order in Interrogative Sentence With the Verb To Be
We ask a question with the verb to be using the same scheme where we put an auxiliary verb at the beginning of the question.
But the main difference between to be and other verbs is that to be has no auxiliary verbs. The verb to be acts as an auxiliary verb for itself.
So to ask a question with to be we just put to be first before the subject. Compare:
I am going to spoil the plan!
Am I going to spoil the plan?
The only exception to this rule is when we form a question with the to be verb in the future.
The verb to be in the future has the form: Will be.
To ask a question with Will be, we put only Will in the first place, and be remains in its place.
Correct: Will you be there next time?
Incorrect: Will be you there next time?
Remember that we do not use auxiliary verbs with to be. Many English learners make the mistake of using auxiliary verbs to form a question with to be.
Correct: Is she here?
Incorrect: Does she here?
Incorrect: Does she is here?Correct: Were they in your school?
Incorrect: Did they in your school?
Incorrect: Did they were in your school?Correct: Are we friends?
Incorrect: Do we friends?
Incorrect: Do we are friends?
The verb to be in questions plays the same role as auxiliary verbs with ordinary verbs. The verb to be also changes depending on who is the subject in the sentence:
Is she your girlfriend?
Were they in your old team?
Will you be working as always?
Are we the people you are looking for?
Also, the verb to be indicates the tense we are asking about:
Past: Was she your friend?
Present: Is she your friend?
Future: Will she be your friend?
Look at all forms of the verb to be not to be mistaken when you use it:
Present:
- I am
- He is
- She is
- It is
- We are
- They are
- You are
Past:
- I was
- He was
- She was
- It was
- We were
- They were
- You were
Future:
- I will be
- He will be
- She will be
- It will be
- We will be
- They will be
- You will be
Word Order in Subject Question
A subject question has exactly the same word order as an affirmative sentence. But at the beginning, we use the question word who or what.
Who broke the vase?
Who told you the truth?
What fell to the roof?
Thus, it is the word who or what that plays the role of the subject in the sentence. But we do not know who exactly is the subject, who is this person, thing, or being. Therefore, we ask a question.
Compare the usual question in which we know who the subject is and the question to the subject.
Who did she ask about it? (The subject is she)
Who asked you about it? (The subject is who)What did he throw from the roof? (The subject is he)
Who threw something from the roof? (The subject is who)Who will you take with you to the dance? (The subject is you)
Who will take you to the dance? ((The subject is who)This is your car? (The subject is you)
Whose car is this? (Subject is Whose)
Most often, we use a singular verb after the word who or what. Because by asking a question to the subject, we mean that who or what is one person or thing.
Who works here?
We can use the main verb as we do it for the plural if we and our interlocutor understand exactly that who or what in the question means several people or objects:
Who were the people you are talking about?
Word Order in Short Answer and Full Answer
A short answer to a question in English also has its own specific order.
In English, it is not customary to answer questions shortly: Yes or No.
Question: Do you like the movie?
Answer: Yes.
This answer may be considered rude.
So, in English, it is customary to form an answer in this order:
- Affirmative or negative word.
- Subject.
- Auxiliary verb.
Question: Do you like the movie?
Answer: Yes, I do.
The word order in the answer above is considered correct and polite.
A full answer is even simpler. In a full answer, we keep the order of an affirmative or negative sentence. At the beginning of the sentence, we add the affirmative or negative words Yes or No.
- Affirmative or negative word.
- Subject
- Predicate.
- Object.
Question: Do you like the movie?
Answer: Yes, I like the movie. (Yes, I like / Yes, I like it)
If the answer is no, then we add an auxiliary verb with a negative particle not. In a full negative answer, the order looks like this:
- Affirmative or negative word.
- Subject
- Auxiliary verb + not.
- Predicate.
- Object.
Question: Do you like the movie?
Answer: No, I don’t like the movie. (No, I don’t like / No, I don’t like it)
In some cases, we can add an auxiliary verb even in an affirmative full answer if we want to emphasize the main verb.
Question: Do you like the movie?
Answer: Yes, I do like the movie.
In this example, the verb do underlines the main verb like. Such an answer seems to mean:
Yes, I really like the movie.
Порядок слов в английском предложении — это тема с одной стороны нетрудная, потому что основные правила просты, с другой — неисчерпаемая, потому что нюансы бесконечны. В этой статье мы не будем пытаться объять необъятное, а рассмотрим основные правила, принципы построения предложения в английском языке.
Предложение в английском языке может быть простым и сложным. Простое включает в себя одну грамматическую основу (подлежащее и сказуемое), сложное — две и более. Сложные предложения делятся на сложносочиненные, предложения в составе которого равноценны, и сложноподчиненные, состоящие из главного и придаточных предложений.
- Подлежащее — действующее лицо или предмет в предложении, отвечает на вопросы: кто? что?
Mountains are beautiful. — Горы красивы.
- Сказуемое — то, что говорится о подлежащем. Что делает подлежащее? Какое оно?
Mountains are beautiful. — Горы красивы.
- Дополнение — лицо или предмет, на которое направлено действие. После некоторых глаголов возможны два дополнения: прямое, на которое действие направлено непосредственно, и косвенное, отвечающее на вопрос «кому?», — на него действие направлено косвенно.
He told me a joke. — Он рассказал мне анекдот.
В этом примере joke — прямое дополнение, me — косвенное.
- Определение — признак предмета или лица, отвечает на вопросы: какой? какая? чей? и т. п.
This is my spot. — Это мое место.
- Обстоятельство — показывает, когда, как, при каких обстоятельствах происходит действие.
I drive carefully. — Я вожу машину осторожно.
Особенность порядка слов в английском языке
В английском языке более строгий порядок слов, чем в русском. В русском языке мы с небольшими изменениями смысла можем переставлять слова в предложении:
- Кошка преследует мышку.
- Мышку преследует кошка.
Мы понимает, кто кого догоняет, поскольку в русском языке за подобные смысловые связи отвечают не только порядок слов и предлоги, но и падежные окончания (мышкУ, кошкА).
В английском падежных окончаний нет, поэтому так вольно переставлять слова нельзя — изменится смысл предложения:
- A cat chases a mouse. — Кошка преследует мышку.
- A mouse chases a cat. — Мышка преследует кошку.
Порядок слов в утвердительном и отрицательном предложении
В утвердительном предложении используется прямой порядок слов. Схема следующая: подлежащее, сказуемое, дополнение (если есть).
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Дополнение |
|---|---|---|
| I | see | you |
| Я | вижу | тебя |
| We | found | a cat |
| Мы | нашли | кошку |
| Mark | will help | them |
| Марк | поможет | им |
В отрицательном предложении порядок слов такой же. Разница в том, что в отрицательном предложении используется отрицательная частица not и вспомогательный глагол (will, do, be, have).
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Дополнение |
|---|---|---|
| I | will not tell | the truth |
| Я | не расскажу | правду |
| We | do not help | rich people |
| Мы | не помогаем | богатым людям |
Место определения
У определения нет четко зафиксированного места в предложении, оно может стоять при любом определяемом им существительном, например:
- I see a white dog — Я вижу белую собаку (white — определение),
- My friend will help me. — Мой друг мне поможет (my — определение).
Примечание: в схемах ниже определения не будут выделены как отдельный член предложения, чтобы не делать схемы слишком громоздкими.
Место косвенного дополнения
Косвенное дополнение может находиться до или после прямого дополнения.
Как правило, косвенное дополнение находится ДО прямого — в этом случае предлог перед косвенным дополнением не нужен.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Косвенное дополнение | Прямое дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | sent | my sister | a postcard |
| Я | отправил | моей сестре | открытку |
| Anna | gave | a dog | some food |
| Анна | дала | собаке | немного еды |
Косвенное дополнение может находиться после прямого — в этом случае используется предлог to.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Прямое дополнение | Косвенное дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | sent | a postcard | to my sister |
| Я | отправил | открытку | моей сестре |
| Anna | gave | some food | to a dog |
| Анна | дала | немного еды | собаке |
Место обстоятельства, выраженного наречием
Трудности часто вызывают обстоятельства, выраженные наречием. Рассмотрим основные правила.
1. Обстоятельство образа действия
Обстоятельство образа действия располагается после глагола, если он непереходный, то есть не требующий после себя дополнения.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Обстоятельство |
|---|---|---|
| He | walked | carefully |
| Он | шел | осторожно |
| Tina | ran | slowly |
| Тина | бежала | медленно |
Если глагол переходный, то есть требующий после себя дополнения, наречие стоит перед глаголом или после дополнения.
| Подлежащее | Обстоятельство | Сказуемое | Прямое дополнение | Обстоятельство |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| He | calmly | answered | the question | |
| Он | спокойно | ответил | на вопрос | |
| He | answered | the question | calmly | |
| Он | ответил | на вопрос | спокойно |
Совет: если вы путаетесь в переходных и непереходных глаголах, просто ставьте обстоятельства образа действия после глагола или дополнения (если оно есть) — не ошибетесь.
2. Обстоятельство места
Находятся после прямого дополнения или сказуемого.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Прямое дополнение | Обстоятельство |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | need | that machine | here |
| Мне | нужен | этот станок | здесь |
| We | stayed | behind | |
| Мы | остались | позади |
3. Обстоятельство времени
Обстоятельство времени обычно располагается в конце предложения.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Косв. дополнение | Прямое дополнение | Обст. времени |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | will tell | you | the story | tomorrow |
| Я | расскажу | тебе | историю | завтра |
| Maria | didn’t see | you | yesterday | |
| Мария | не видела | тебя | вчера |
Оно может находиться и в начале.
| Обст. времени | Подлежащее | Сказуемое | Косв. дополнение | Прямое дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomorrow | I | will tell | you | the story |
| Завтра | я | расскажу | тебе | историю |
| Yesterday | Maria | didn’t see | you | |
| Вчера | Мария | не видела | тебя |
4. Обстоятельства времени, обозначающие частоту действия
Особый случай — обстоятельства, обозначающие частоту действия, например: always (всегда), seldom (редко), usually (обычно), never (никогда).
1. В предложениях без глагола to be в составе сказуемого «частотные» обстоятельства располагаются перед сказуемым.
| Подлежащее | Обстоятельство | Сказуемое | Дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen | rarely | needs | help |
| Хелен | редко | нужна | помощь |
| I | often | read | newspapers |
| Я | часто | читаю | газеты |
2. Если сказуемое включает глагол to be в одной из простых форм, то есть без вспомогательного глагола, обстоятельство ставится ПОСЛЕ to be.
| Подлежащее | Сказуемое to be | Обстоятельство | Обст. места |
|---|---|---|---|
| We | are | usually | here |
| Мы | обычно | здесь |
Даже если в предложении составное сказуемое (глагол to be + именная часть), обстоятельство все равно ставится после to be, отделяя его от именной части.
| Подлежащее | Глагольная часть сказуемого | Обстоятельство | Именная часть сказуемого |
|---|---|---|---|
| They | are | rarely | not together |
| Они | редко | не вместе |
3. Если сказуемое используется в сложной форме (вспомогательный глагол + глагол, в том числе to be), обстоятельство стоит между вспомогательным и основным глаголом.
| Подлежащее | Вспомогательный глагол | Обстоятельство | Основной глагол | Дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin | has | never | met | Lucy |
| Мартин | никогда | не встречал | Люси | |
| I | will | always | remember | you |
| Я | буду | всегда | помнить | тебя |
Это касается и предложений с глаголом to be в сложной форме (то есть «вспомогательный глагол + to be»).
| Подлежащее | Вспомогательный глагол | Обстоятельство | Основной глагол | Обстоятельство места |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| We | have | never | been | abroad |
| Мы | никогда | не были | за границей | |
| This house | will | always | be | here |
| Этот дом | всегда | будет | здесь |
Порядок слов в вопросительном предложении
В вопросительном предложении вспомогательный глагол выносится в начало предложения.
| Вспомогательный глагол | Подлежащее | Основной глагол | Дополнение |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do | you | need | my assistance? |
| Вам | нужна | моя помощь? | |
| Did | your brother | pass | the exam? |
| Твой брат | сдал | экзамен? |
Существует несколько видов вопросительных предложений, подробнее они разобраны в статье «Вопросы в английском языке: общие и специальные».
Порядок слов в придаточном предложении (в сложноподчиненном предложении)
В придаточных предложениях порядок слов простой — такой же как в утвердительном,
- I know where you live. — Я знаю, где ты живешь.
- I don’t know where you live. — Я не знаю, где ты живешь.
- Do you know where I live? — Ты знаешь, где я живу?
Для наглядности представлю предложения в виде таблицы:
| Основная часть | Союз | Придаточное предложение |
|---|---|---|
| I know | where | you live |
| I don’t know | where | you live |
| Do you know | where | I live? |
Частая ошибка заключается в том, что в части предложения, начинающейся на союзы (в данном случае это союзы) who, why, when, where слова переставляют, как в вопросительном предложении.
- Неправильно: I don’t know why did she call me.
- Правильно: I don’t know why she called me.
В данном случае «…why she called me» — это вовсе не то же самое, что вопросительное предложение «Why did she call me?», а придаточное предложение. Порядок слов в нем — прямой, как в простом утвердительном предложении.
Особенно часто так ошибаются в сложноподчиненных вопросительных предложениях. В таком случае обратный порядок слов должен быть только в основной части (Do you know), но не в придаточной (where I live).
- Неправильно: Do you know where do I live?
- Правильно: Do you know where I live?
- Неправильно: Do you know who was it?
- Правильно: Do you know who it was?