Sometimes, you might find yourself asking a question that you already know the answer to. While this might seem like a pointless thing to do, there are a few reasons for it. This article will look at synonyms for describing this type of question.
Which Terms Can Describe When You Ask A Question You Already Know The Answer To?
There are a few words that we’ll use to describe a question you already know the answer to. They include:
- Rhetorical question
- Testing the water
- Vapid question
The preferred version is “rhetorical question” because most native speakers understand the meaning that comes with it. We might ask a rhetorical question when we already know the answer to something, and it uses a rhetorical device to draw attention to the answer.
Rhetorical Question
We’ll start by going over what rhetorical questions are and how we might be able to use them.
A rhetorical question is something you might ask someone when you already know the answer. We might do this to try and get them to understand what the answer is without having to outright say anything about it.
Whether we’re trying not to insult their intelligence or we’re trying to show them that the answer is obvious, we can use rhetorical questions when we know the answer. We might also use rhetorical questions when we didn’t expect somebody to answer something.
If we come up with a relatively challenging question, we might simply be leaving it out in the open for people to ponder. However, if someone already has a good answer, they might surprise you with whatever they say, thus answering your rhetorical question.
Generally, a rhetorical question is a common idea to come across in English. Most native speakers know what the word means and will also use rhetorical questions when asking other people things that they already know the answer to.
While it’s not always the best practice, and some people might be offended and think you’re insulting their intelligence, rhetorical questions are a great way to get a response from somebody (depending on the situation where you already know the answer to something).
You might see “rhetorical questions” written as follows:
- I’m going to ask you a rhetorical question, and I want you to try and figure out why I’m asking it, okay? I don’t need an answer.
- Who did this? I already know which one of you it was, which is why I asked a rhetorical question; I just need you to own up to it.
- Can you stop asking me rhetorical questions and say what you really mean? I’m tired of having to dance around you.
Testing The Water
Next, we’ll look at “testing the water,” which is a type of idiom we can use to talk about asking a question we already know the answer to.
When we test the water, we’re trying to gather information about something (by testing the group of people we’re in). We’ll usually have the answer to the question, and we’ll want to see whether other people can answer it as well.
Testing the water works especially well when somebody has done something wrong. If we know who did it but they haven’t owned up yet, testing the water with a simple “who did it” question is a great way to see whether they’ll own up to their mistakes.
We might also test the waters when we’re trying to gauge other people’s reactions to a question. We might have a good idea of the answer, but if we’re not 100% certain, then we might test the waters by asking our friends to see how they respond to it instead.
You can see “testing the water” written in the following ways:
- I’m just testing the water, so if I step out of line with one of my questions, feel free to let me know.
- I’m going to test the water to see which one of them might have done it. I’ll let you know what I find out from them.
- He was testing the water and caught me off guard! I answered his question, leaving me exposed as the one who messed up.
It can also use different verb forms for “testing” (i.e., “test” or “tests”), which change based on the pronoun or tense that you use.
Vapid Question
Finally, we’ll cover vapid questions, which are specific types of questions that we already know the answer to.
Vapid questions are uninteresting or unimportant questions that add no value to the overall discussion. Usually, we already know the answer to the question; we just didn’t think about the answer before we asked it.
The definition of “vapid,” according to The Cambridge Dictionary, is “showing no intelligence or imagination.”
Typically, if you speak before you think, you’re prone to asking vapid questions. You do this by asking a question that adds nothing special to a discussion and can be answered quickly with a bit of thought or focus.
You may also ask a vapid question when the answer is staring you in the face, but you haven’t figured it out yet. In these cases, you’ll often realize the answer as soon as you finish asking and apologize to everyone for asking such a useless and vapid question.
You might see it written in the following ways:
- He keeps asking me vapid questions, and I don’t understand why he thinks they’re going to be useful for him.
- Sorry, I don’t mean to ask you vapid questions! I’m really not on my A-game today.
- That was a vapid question, and it won’t add anything of note to this discussion.
Why Do You Ask Questions To Which You Already Know The Answer?
While there aren’t many great synonyms to use, it would still help to know why we might ask a question like this in the first place. There are a few reasons that we might come across, which we’ll list.
- You want to draw attention to the answer.
- You realized what the answer was after asking the question.
- You want someone to admit to their mistake.
Draw Attention To Answer
First, let’s look at drawing attention to the answer. Why might we want to do this?
The most obvious reason is that we want everyone to be on the same page as us. While we might already have the answer in mind, everyone around us might not be entirely caught up on what’s going on.
To help catch people up, you might ask the question in such a way that people realize what the answer is with you. That way, you don’t have to outright say that you already knew the answer, and you can let other people work it out too.
Drawing attention to the answer is a way of bringing everyone else into the mix without telling them that you already knew the answer to the question.
Realizing The Answer After
The next way (and perhaps one of the more common ones) is when we figure out the answer after asking the question. Usually, we don’t even give the responder enough time to answer it as we figure out that the question was stupid and correct ourselves.
In this way, the question can be known as a “who’s buried in Grant’s tomb question.” This refers to the tomb where Ulysses S. Grant is buried, and people once asked this question to find out who was buried there without realizing that his name was already part of the tomb.
You might realize once you finish asking a question that the answer was part of the question already. In this way, you might correct yourself and apologize for asking the question because you realize that it was foolish to do.
Admitting A Mistake
If somebody has done something wrong, you usually have to get them to own up. It’s best to ask these kinds of questions in informal situations because they’re best done within friend groups or families.
Sometimes, even if you don’t see the person who did something, you might have a good idea of who it was based on their method or previous discussions. If this is the case, you might want to ask a leading question that you already know the answer to because you want them to own up.
We might try to force somebody to admit a mistake or own up to wrongdoing by asking, “who did this?” even when we know the answer.
Generally, it’s okay to ask a question you already know the answer to. We showed you all the ways of doing so above, and all of them are fine as long as you use them correctly it.
If you already know the answer to a question, you might have made a mistake and not realized the answer until it was too late, or you might be trying to get everyone to figure out what the answer is.
While some people don’t agree with the practice of asking a question you already know the answer to, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with doing so.
You may also like: 11 Words For Someone Who Asks A Lot Of Questions
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
Consider this hypothetical scenario:
- You make plans with a significant other
- They bail on you because they are too tired
- You find out they went out with someone else
- You ask, despite knowing the answer, «did you end up going to sleep early last night?»
- They respond, «Ya»
- You respond, «That was a(n) _________ question»
I don’t think it’s rhetorical because you’re expecting an answer. However, the question is asked for a different purpose than a traditional question since it’s a test to see if the friend (or whomever) will lie or tell the truth. Is there a name for this type of question? Like… «unveiling question» or «truth-seeking question»?
EDIT:
The goal of this question is to determine whether the other party will speak the known truth. With that said, it is not a:
- trick question. There is a correct and obvious answer
- loaded question. There is no assumption — it is factual
- trap question. The question can’t expose ignorance since both parties know the answer.
- interrogation. This is too generalized for what I’m looking for. «To question thoroughly»
- prompt. This isn’t a means to encourage a hesitant speaker
I’m unsure of whether «leading» is correct. To me, a leading question is one where the questioner doesn’t actually have an answer to the question, and also needs to make the question specific for legal reasons. Whereas the questioner in my scenario above knows the answer, and doesn’t necessarily have to ask a specific question, but rather uses it to expedite the unveiling process since the question in itself is a guise for an ulterior goal.
Also, I’m not looking for a general saying, nor an idiom — I’m looking to fill the blank in my scenario. Similar to how one would ask a rhetorical question where the questioned party answers, you would respond stating, «That was a rhetorical question.»
EDIT #2:
I’m not looking for a word to describe the question (appending a word to «question»), but rather a word that is the type of question, but also flows well with the sentence and atmosphere. I’m essentially hoping/looking for something like «rhetorical question,» but for this context.
If someone asks a rhetorical question and someone answers it, you can state that it’s a rhetorical question, which is both the type of question, as well as a standalone explanation where the other party immediately understands that the question was unneeded. However, in this context, I want this type of question to make the other party immediately understand that they made a mistake and are in trouble, without having to add additional explanation.
The subject is the main member of the sentence that answers the question «Who?» or «What?»
English interrogative pronouns What and Who
! In letter combination wh Only one letter is «read»: a sound is pronounced [w] or [H] !
Dictionary:
Who [hu:] — who?
What [wOt] — what?, what?, who is by profession / occupation? (if the question is about a person)
*** I wonder what native English speakers can pronounce wh at the beginning of words is not easy [w], and [hw], Sounds [w] и [H] both sound, but change places (you can listen, for example, on the website lingvo-online.ru). In dictionaries in the transcription of such words, you will see [(h) w] — this means that the sound [H] may or may not be pronounced, for example what [(h) wɔt].
One of the exercises used in teaching English is to ask a question to a specific member of a sentence. The easiest way is to ask a question about the subject, because for this you only need replace subject with a question wordwithout forgetting about coordination of the verb with the subject (!).
In these examples, pay attention to the verbs is и (S):
this boy is happy. He s to sing. — This boy is happy. He likes to sing. These girls are happy. They to sing. — These girls are happy. They like to sing. — Who is happy? — Who is happy? — The boy is. / The girls are. — Boy. / Girls. — Who s to sing? — Who likes to sing? (or Who likes to sing?) — The boy does. / The girls do. — Boy. / Girls.
The question is asked the same for the subject in singular (boy) and plural (girls). Everything is the same as in Russian. It doesn’t matter if one or more people can play the guitar:
Who plays the guitar? — Who plays the guitar? (He plays guitar. — He plays the guitar. )
To ask a question to the subject, replace the subject with an interrogative word (i.e., an interrogative pronoun), and the following verb should be the same as in the affirmative sentence with He (or She or It).
Rule:
Question to the subject Is a sentence that preserves the word order of a declarative (affirmative) sentence, in which the interrogative pronoun Who or What plays the role of the subject (replaces the subject), followed by a verb in the form third person singular.
Examples of subject questions for different forms of verbs
It remains to be seen when the “3rd person singular” complicates our life.
A detailed consideration of the agreement of the subject and predicate in person and number is a topic for a separate article, and here I will finally give different cases in which, in order to form a question to the subject, you need to change the form of the verb of the original sentence:
Affirmative sentence Subject question
verb to be — to be, to appear, to be, or an auxiliary verb, a linking verb; present tense forms — am, are, is, elapsed time — was и Were3 person unit number: is | was | |
I am hot. — I feel hot. | Who is hot? — Who’s hot? |
My friends Were in the park. — My friends were in the park. | Who was in the park? — Who was in the park? |
We shall be free. — We’ll be free. | Who will be free? — Who will be free? |
verb to have — have or an auxiliary verb; present tense forms — have, has, one form of the past tense — HAD3 person unit number: has | HAD | |
They Have a lot of interesting books. — They have a lot of interesting books. | Who has a lot of interesting books? — Who has a lot of interesting books? |
My friends have been in the park. — My friends visited the park. | Who Has Been in the park? — Who visited the park? |
By the 1st of September, 2012, I shall have been working at school for ten years. — By September 1, 2012, I will be working at the school for 10 years. | Who will have been working at school for ten years by the 1st of September, 2012? — Who will be working at the school for 1 years by September 2012, 10? |
verb to do — do or auxiliary verb; present tense forms — do, does [dAz], one form of the past tense — did3 person unit number: does| did | |
I usually do the dishes in the evening. — I usually wash the dishes in the evening. | Who usually does the dishes in the evening? — Who usually washes the dishes in the evening? |
Source: http://studyenglishnow.ru/vopros-k-podlezhashhemu/
How to ask questions in English?
There are the following types of sentences in English: affirmative, negative and interrogative. Today we will focus on the last of them. It is an integral part of oral and written speech, without studying this issue, subsequent immersion in the world of a foreign language is impossible.
Some students encounter problems in this topic, but we can safely assure you: it is enough just to carefully study the theoretical material and consolidate it by solving practical problems.
The first thing worth noting is the change in the structure of affirmative sentences to transform them into interrogative ones. This is a fairly common procedure, but it is not always required. So, the auxiliary verb in this case is placed before the subject, and the main one after it.
5 types of questions in English
Now it is necessary to consider in more detail each of the existing interrogative types. They have their own characteristics and structure.
General question
As a rule, it assumes a monosyllabic «yes» or «no» answer.
For example:
— Do you love flowers? — Do you flowers?
— Yes — Yes, I do.
As you can see from the example, in order to form it, you need to do the above procedure: place the subject between the auxiliary and main verbs. If you need to use a modal verb (for example, could or may), you need to put it in the place of an auxiliary.
For example:
— May I come in?
It should be noted that in questions with the verb «to be» the use of the auxiliary question is not required.
For example:
— Is she a doctor?
To form a negative interrogative sentence, it is enough to add the particle «not» after the subject. It is worth remembering that in the case of the abbreviated form n’t, it is in front of this member of the sentence. Compare two examples:
— Does he not go to school on Monday?
— Doesn’t he go to school on Monday?
Special question
This construction allows you to ask a question to any member of the proposal. It requires a detailed answer, which significantly differs it from the previous type. Special question “markers” include the words: what ?, when ?, where ?, why ?, which ?, whose ?, whom ?.
Thus, to one of the above question words, we add an auxiliary or modal verb, then the subject follows, if there is an addition, as well as all the other previously unused members of the sentence.
It will be easier to understand with a specific example: What (interrogative sentence) are (auxiliary verb) you (subject) doing (main verb) now (circumstance)?
A special question helps to find out almost any information of interest.
Alternative question
This construction is easily recognizable by the presence of the «or» particle. From this we can conclude that by asking a question, we give the interlocutor the right to choose one of several options. It’s easier to understand with an example: Will you go to the theater or cinema? — Will you go to the theater or cinema?
The construction of education is the same as in the general question, but it is supplemented with a particle by the aforementioned word «or». Take a look at an example: Were you in London in 2004 or 2006?
Separation issues
This is an interesting kind of question because it is divided into two parts. The first is affirmative or negative, and the second is a short clarification. Most often, the separating construction is used if the speaker is not sure of something and wants to confirm or deny the information.
The parts are separated by a comma. In English, it is called «tag», which translates as «tail». In view of this, such questions are sometimes referred to as “tail” ones.
This type is quite common in spoken and written English. This is due to several factors. First, it can express a fairly wide range of feelings and emotions: from distrust to admiration. Secondly, he quite gently prompts the interlocutor to answer without the need to ask the question directly. Thirdly, the grammatical construction of such a question is simple: here the direct word order is used, which is only supplemented by this «tail».
By the way, these «tails» can take different interpretations. The most common of them are: «Isn’t it?», «Isn’t it?» etc.
Check out examples:
— He is your brother, is not he? — He’s your brother, isn’t he?
— You are kidding me, are not you? — You’re kidding me, right?
As you can see, the ponytails are formed with the addition of the «not» particle. The rule works in the opposite direction if the main sentence is not affirmative, but negative.
— You are not a doctor, are you? “You’re not a doctor, are you?
It is worth remembering that if the first part of the construction contains words with a negative meaning (for example, never), then the tail will necessarily be affirmative.
— They never be in Paris, do they? “They’ve never been to Paris, have they?
Question to the subject
In this case, there are no auxiliary verbs in the construction. Formation scheme: interrogative word + predicate + secondary syntactic members. It is only required to put a question word (who or what) instead of the subject and pronounce the sentence with competent intonation.
examples:
— Who wrote this book? — Who wrote this book?
Very often this type is confused with a special question for an addendum. That is why it is important to clearly know that the question is being asked specifically to the subject. Most often, it is addressed to the person who commits or has performed this or that action, as in the example above.
So, we got acquainted with 5 questions in English, it can be seen from the material that the topic is quite simple to understand and further memorize. To hone your skills better, try to practice questions more often in dialogues with friends, acquaintances and teachers. A great solution is to make a penpal from another country.
The dating stage involves asking a lot of questions in order to get to know each other better. Thus, you will kill two birds with one stone: practice the application of the knowledge gained and make an interesting acquaintance with a person of a different culture.
By the way, not so long ago we prepared an interesting article for you that will help you tell a new friend about your family in a competent and interesting way. Hurry up to get to know her.
Source: https://englishbooster.ru/grammatika/kak-zadat-voprosy-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
Subject question in English — rules, examples
Having good spoken English is not only about asserting, but also about asking. Often we need to answer a question or ask it ourselves. Question to the subject in English (Question to the subject) can be structured according to a certain scheme. When asking a question, you must also take into account the time at which it was asked.
Question to the subject in English — what is it and how to ask it?
First, let’s clarify what is a subject question? The subject is the main protagonist of the proposal, who possesses some feature or performs a specific function. Accordingly, he is asked the question.
- She is clever and beautiful.
Question: Is she clever and beautiful (Is she smart and beautiful?).
- Smoking is not allowed here.
Question: Is smoking allowed here? (Can I smoke here?)
The subject in English can be expressed:
- Noun: My book is written => My book is written.
- Pronoun: She is a good student => She is a good student.
- Gerundum: Smoking is not allowed here => Smoking is prohibited.
- Infinitive: To sleep all day long is bad for your health => Sleeping all day is bad for your health.
- Numerals: Seven people were asked to help us => Seven people were asked to help us.
You can ask a question to a subject at different times. Today we will look at the easiest times. By doing some simple exercises (answering What? And Who ?, you will quickly learn to ask the right questions).
Subject questions in English examples
The question to the subject can be asked using the words:
The first option is used when it comes to living things, the second is applied to non-living things, for example, to things, plants, nature, etc. Who or What is put in the first place in the sentence, replacing the main character.
Maya lives in London | Who lives in London? |
I play football every Sunday | Who plays football every Sunday? |
These were the Who examples. Now let’s look at the options with What:
Cooking is ready | What is ready? |
Green plants are essential for Earth health | What is essential for Earth health? |
In English, a question to a subject can be posed very easily. There is no need to change the order of words in a sentence. This feature distinguishes the subject question from other questions where you need to change the word order. This means that you do not need to add auxiliary verbs — do / does, did, etc.
Help: To correctly build a question, you just need to take an affirmative sentence and put who or what in the first place instead of the main character.
Subject question scheme => Who + place / sign / action?
Let’s look at a few examples:
Ann plays volleyball => Anna plays volleyball
Who plays volleyball? => Who plays volleyball?
When asking a question for such a sentence, you do not need to use an auxiliary verb (in this case, does) and put it in the first place. All you have to do is change the main character from (Mary) to who. The rest of the members of the proposal remain in their places.
On a note! When we use who / what, it automatically means that the subject must be in the singular — she (she), he (he), it (it).
Here is an example:
Children play the piano. Then the question is: Who plays the piano? This means that an English sentence should be constructed as if he / she was in place of who / what.
Information: To ask a question to a subject in simple present tense, you need to use the following scheme:
Who / what + verb ending -s / -es
To correctly formulate such a question, you need to: replace the character in the affirmative sentence with the word who add the ending -s / es to the verb (action).
Affirmative sentence | Question to the subject |
She s rabbits => She loves rabbits. | Who s rabbits? Who Loves Rabbits? |
People go to work => People go to work. | Who goes to work? Who goes to work? |
To ask a question to a subject, you need to use the following scheme:
Who / what + is + -ing verb
To correctly formulate such a question, you need to: replace the character in the affirmative sentence with the word who + the ending -ing.
Affirmative sentence | Question to the subject |
She is playing the guitar => She plays the guitar. | Who is playing the guitar? Who plays the guitar? |
Selena is writing the book => Selena is writing a book. | Who is writing the book? => Who is writing the book? |
Several interrogative sentences:
Who is trying to stole my cake? => Who’s trying to steal my cake?
My little son. He is trying to get your attention or
My children. They are bored sitting every day home nothing to do.
My little son. He’s trying to get your attention /
My kids. They are tired of sitting at home all day and doing nothing.
As you can see, who + is + -ing => the same scheme for all sentences — single and plural.
Сonclusion
These were the basic rules for asking questions about a specific subject. Explore other lessons and you will learn how to ask questions in other times, and there are a lot of them in English. Good luck and patience!
And remember: the language barrier can be easily overcome online!
Source: https://speakenglishwell.ru/vopros-k-podlezhashhemu-v-anglijskom-yazyke-osnovnye-pravila-s-primerami/
How to ask questions in English. Types of questions
One of the key topics that will be useful even for the greenest beginner is questions in English.
Why is it useful to be able to ask questions at the very beginning of the training?
Let’s imagine a situation: you are abroad and want to know the way. You run up to the first person you meet and, intently, looking into his eyes with hope, name your destination. Will you get the answer you want? Who knows. It is not a fact that the passer-by has information or speaks English. However, your chances of finding a hotel, attraction, or acquaintances will increase with your ability to ask and answer questions.
Inversion
Almost all questions in English are formed by inversion (reverse word order in a sentence). An auxiliary verb is placed before the subject:
Assertion / Response | Question |
I will run. | Will I run? |
She is driving. | Is she driving? |
They were smiling. | Why were they smiling? |
The horse has slept. | Has the horse slept? |
My sisters had been sitting. | Had my sisters been sitting or standing? |
Will the next news program be at 10 pm or at 11 pm? — Will the next news program be at 10 pm or 11 pm?
Answer: The next news program will be at 10 pm — The next news program will be at 10 pm.
Were the runners running the last lap? — Did the runners run the last lap?
Answer: Yes. The runners were running the last lap. — Yes. The runners ran the last lap.
When have we seen a Japanese cherry tree blooming? — When did we see the cherry blossoms?
Answer: We have seen a Japanese cherry tree blooming in April. — We saw the cherry blossoms in April.
Auxiliary verb «to do»
In cases where the formation of a verb is carried out without an «innate» auxiliary (to be, to have), a special auxiliary verb is introduced — «todo«. It is needed at times:
- Present Simple: with all plural subjects (we, you, they) and with the first singular subject (I), use — do; with subjects in the third person singular (he, she, it) is used — does;
Source: https://englishboost.ru/voprosy-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
How to ask a question in English where are you. Common questions in English: rules, schemes, examples
Our topic today is English language issues. Namely: how to ask them correctly, about the difference between general and special questions, questions to the subject, and also talk about the use of various interrogative words.
This topic is relevant for students of any level of language proficiency, because making mistakes is possible even at a higher level when it comes to constructing questions in English. They confuse word order, skip auxiliary verbs, use incorrect intonation.
Our mission is to prevent such errors from occurring. Can we start?
The first thing to know about questions in English is that they differ from the structure of affirmative sentences. We usually (but not always!) Ask questions in English, changing the word order: we put an auxiliary verb in the first place before the subject. Another (main) verb is placed after the subject.
Continuing to delve into this topic, it should be mentioned what are the types of questions in the English language. The differences in the construction of those very questions in English depend on this.
5 types of questions in English
Common question in English
We ask this question when we want to know general information. Are you learning English? We can answer it with one word «yes» or «no».
Special question
We need such questions in order to find out certain, specific information that interests us. When did you start learning English?
Question to the subject
We set it when we want to know who is performing the action. Who teaches your English courses?
Alternative question
This is a question that gives a choice of 2 options. Do you study English with a teacher or on your own?
Separated question
This question assumes confirmation of some information. You continue to learn English in the summer, don’t you?
Now let’s take a look at how each of these questions are structured in English.
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 (subject) (main verb) swimming in the sea? She goes to work everyday. — Does (auxiliary) she (subject) go (main verb) to work everyday?
Common questions in English 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.
Could you close the door, please? «Could you close the door please? May I come in?» — Can 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? «Is he 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 form not — n’t, she will stand in front of him. Let’s see an example:
Does she not go to work on Sunday? = Doesn’t she go to work on Sunday? — Does she not go to work on Sunday? = Haven’t you watched this movie? — Have you seen this movie?
Special Issues
This type of question requires a detailed and detailed explanation. A special question can be asked to any member of an interrogative sentence in English. The word order in such questions is the same as in general, only at the beginning you need to put one of the interrogative words:
- What? — What?
- When? — when?
- Where? «Where?»
- Why? — Почему?
- Which? — Which the?
- who? — Whose?
- Whom? — Whom?
In a descriptive format, we will build a special question according to the following scheme:
Question word + auxiliary (or modal) verb + subject + predicate + object + rest of the sentence.
Easier — for example:
What (question word) are (auxiliary) you (subordinate) cooking (predicate)? — What are you cooking?What (question word) do (auxiliary glagol) you (subordinate) want to eat (predicate)? — What do you want to eat?When (question word) did (auxiliary) you (subordinate) leave (predicate) the house (addition)? — When did you leave home?
Due to the fact that a special question in English is posed to almost any member of the proposal (addition, circumstance, definition, subject), with its help you can find out any information.
Questions to the subject
This type of question differs from the previous topics discussed, since it does not use auxiliary verbs. You just need to replace the subject with who or what, add interrogative intonation and a veil — the question is ready.
The scheme for constructing a question to a subject in English is as follows:
Question word + predicate + minor clauses
Who went to the supermarket? — Who went to the supermarket? «What happened to your friend? Who did that?» — Who did this?
At first glance, it is very simple. But you should not confuse questions to the subject and special questions in English to the supplement.
An addendum is a member of a sentence that provides some additional information and answers questions in English: “who?”, “What?”, “Who?”, “Why?”, “What?”. And more often than not, a question to an object begins with the interrogative pronoun who or whom and what.
This is the similarity with the questions to the subject. Only the context will help to understand. Examples for comparison:
The girl saw me yesterday. — The girl saw me yesterday.
Whom (Who) did the girl see yesterday? — Who did the girl see yesterday? — We’re waiting for the train.
What are you waiting for? — What are you waiting for?
Alternative questions
As the name suggests, these questions involve an alternative or a right to choose. By asking them, we give the interlocutor two options.
Will you fly to England or Ireland? — Will you fly to England or Ireland?
In such a question, there is always the conjunction «or» — or. The question itself is built as a general one, only at the end with the help of the above or we add selection.
Scheme for constructing the question:
Auxiliary verb + character + action to be performed + or
Source: https://www.sobakafan.ru/arbitrazhnoe-processualnoe-pravo/kak-zadat-vopros-po-angliiski-gde-ty-obshchie-voprosy-v-angliiskom-yazyke.html
Features of composing questions to the subject in English
Greetings, my dear reader.
Do you know how to correctly formulate a question for a subject in English? Probably, many of you now do not even understand what this is about. Therefore, today I will tell you what it is — a question to the subject, how it is formed and even what forms it has in different times. After studying, you can proceed to exercise и online test on this topic.
:
Ready?
So what is it?
Subject question is one of the types of questions in English. And, as you might guess from the name, it will refer exactly to the one who performs the action. The main words used here are «Who — who «or «What — what». Let’s take a look at some examples:
Who is having a birthday party today? — Who’s having a birthday party today?
As you can see, the action is performed by a person, so we use the pronoun who — who.
What is lying on the floor? — What’s on the floor?
Here we are already referring to an inanimate object, therefore we use the word what — what.
The structural diagram of the proposal is as follows:
Who What + auxiliary verb + predicate main verb + object.
Who has (auxiliary) broken (main verb) the window (object)? — Who broke the window?
How to use at different times?
In general, the sentence structure does not change over time. But to make it easier for you to remember the basic principle of constructing a sentence — I have a wonderful table for you.
In the present tense, we only change the verbs at the appropriate tense. But be careful:
В Present simple we add an ending -S to the verb — and no auxiliary verbs!!!
Present simple | Who drives more safely: Jean of Bill? | Who drives more carefully: Jin or Bill? |
Present continuous | Who is making all the noise? | Who is making all this noise? |
Present Perfect | Who has moved the sofa? | Who moved the sofa? |
In the past tense, we also change only the forms of the verbs, and by analogy with the present tense
Source: https://lizasenglish.ru/grammatika/vopros-k-podlezhashhemu.html
5 types of questions in English. Examples!
Details Karina Galchenko Category: BEGINNER — ELEMENTARY
: 01 March 2016
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: 4/5
Today we will consider 5 types of questions in English And, of course, Examples with them. In order not to be mistaken, the main thing is to understand three things: 1) what question you will have, 2) at what time you need to ask it, and 3) what should be the order of words in the interrogative sentence. In this article we will deal with the first point.
5 types of questions in English and examples with them
Usually allocate 5 types of questions in English… We will briefly dwell on each of them and consider Examples.
1. General question. You don’t even need question words here, as the type of question itself does not imply their use. When asking a general question, the interviewee expects to hear a short positive or negative answer from you.
examples:
Are you doing your homework now? — Are you doing your homework now?
Do they go to the cinema every Friday? — Do they go to the movies every Friday?
Was he reading a newspaper when I phoned? — He read the newspaper when I called?
Will you give me a couple of recommendations? — Will you give me a couple of recommendations?
Is your brother at work? — Is your brother at work?
2. Special question. Here you will already need a question word or even a phrase. From this point on, a special question should begin. Next, you should adhere to the standard structure of the question.
examples:
How much do these books cost? — How much do these books cost?
What is he doing here? — What is he doing here?
Where were you yesterday? — Where were you yesterday?
What city did he visit last week? — Which city did he visit last week?
Whose beg was stolen? — Whose bag was stolen?
3. Alternative question. This type of question implies the presence OR… Before or, everything looks the same as in the general question, and then a complement that is appropriate in meaning follows.
examples:
Would you a cup of tea or coffee? — Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?
Is he doing his homework or playing computer games? — Does he do his homework or play computer games?
Will they go on a business trip on Tuesday or Wednesday?
Does Bob speak Spanish or Italian? — Does Bob speak Spanish or Italian?
Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer? — Were they in Egypt or Turkey last summer?
4. The dividing question.
5. Question to the subject.
The last two types of questions require special attention, so we will consider them separately.
How to ask a separation question in English? Examples of
If you do not know how to ask dividing question in english, then it is worth brushing up on the knowledge of auxiliary verbs, as you will definitely need them. Pay attention to the structure of the question and Examples.
Declarative sentence +, + auxiliary verb + not + face
Negative sentence +, + auxiliary verb + face
He is doing his homework now, isn’t he? — He does his homework, right?
Miranda was in Germany last week, wasn’t she? “Miranda was in Germany last week, wasn’t she?
They speak Russian, don’t they? — They speak Russian, don’t they?
You haven’t forgotten to phone her, have you? “You didn’t forget to call her, did you?
They won’t leave for Prague, will they? — They won’t go to Prague, will they?
As you can see, the second part of the question (tail) depends on where you started. One of the parts (not two at the same time) must be negative.
How to ask a question about a subject in English? Examples of
Now see how to ask a question to the subject in english. Examples and explanations will help you avoid mistakes.
The good news for this type of question is that you don’t need an auxiliary verb. But you need to be 100% sure that you will have a question specifically for the subject.
Most often, these questions begin with who and are addressed to the person who is performing the action. That is, we will answer with the very person we are asking about.
examples:
Who is singing over there? — Mark.
Who sings over there? — Mark.
How many people (= who) came to the meeting? — Seven people came.
How many people came to the meeting? — Seven people came.
Who speaks in the living room? — Your aunt.
Who is speaking in the living room? — Your aunt.
We really hope that our article on the topic “5 types of questions in English«and Examples helped you figure it out. And if you need practice, sign up for our courses!
Source: https://fluenglish.com/stati/studentam-na-zametku/29-beginner-elementary/412-5-tipov-voprosov-v-anglijskom-yazyke-primery.html
Using the interrogative words who and whom
The question words who and whom are very similar, so there are often doubts about their use. What is the difference between these words and is there any?
Questions with who
Consider how the question word who is used.
First of all — who is used in questions about a person, that is, we use who only in relation to people.
Translated into Russian, who is “who?”, But at the same time who we can also translate as “who? to whom? by whom?». What is the reason for such a translation? The fact that with who we can ask two different types of questions.
If we ask a question to the subjectthen who we have it «who?«, a if — to supplementthen who will already mean «whom?to whom? by whom?».
Subject and Object
To make it easier to understand, let’s remember what the subject is and what the complement is using the example of the following sentence:
Nick called Kate.
Who? — Nick. What was Nick doing? — Nick called.
Nick is the subject (in English subject — the subject), the main character in the sentence. Who in our offer performed the action, who called? Nick. This is the subject.
So, we parse the proposal further:
Nick called Kate.
whom did Nick call? — He called Kate.
Kate is an addition (in English, an object), that is, it is the one at whom the action is directed. Who is the action in the sentence directed at? Who did Nick call? Kate. This is the addition.
Accordingly, if we need to ask a question to the subject, we will ask “Who called Katya?”. If we are interested in “Who did Nick call?”, Then this is already a question for the supplement.
So, to ask these questions, we’ll use who. At the same time, the most interesting thing here is that the structure of the questions will be different.
Who in question to the subject
To ask a question to the subject and ask “Who called Katya?”, Instead of the subject (in our case it is Nick), put the question word who.
Get:
Who called Kate? — Nick… Nick called.
Whocalled Katya? — Nick… Nick called.
The peculiarity of questions to the subject is that in such questions the auxiliary verb is not placed at the beginning of the sentence: instead of the unknown subject, we simply put who and we get a question. Moreover, who in such a question becomes the subject (instead of Nick), hence the direct word order, as in the affirmative sentence.
Question to the subject — direct word order (as in an affirmative sentence, who takes the place of the subject), translated — who?
He invited her to go to Paris. — He invited her to go to Paris.
Who initiated her to go to Paris? — Who invited her to go to Paris?
Who in question for the supplement
To ask a question for an add-on and ask “Who did Nick call?
Source: https://myefe.ru/reference/who-whom
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/
English grammar for kids
— write plural nouns
— write plural nouns in English.
— plural nouns — exceptions
Possessive nouns.
Personal pronouns.
— replace nouns with pronouns (grade 2) — 1, 2, 3, 4
— answer questions using personal pronouns
— I or me? She or her?
— Replace phrases with the correct pronoun.
— Read phrases and replace them with pronouns, write pronouns in the blanks
— Read the sentences and choose the appropriate pronoun form
Possessive pronouns.
Demonstratives This, That, These, Those
— listening — listen to the recording and choose the appropriate picture
— choose the correct demonstrative pronouns for the pictures
— repetition — this / that / these / those and Present Simple
— Vereshchagin 3. Lesson 3. translate into English
— choose the correct demonstrative pronoun
— choose the correct pronoun form
Pronouns SOME / ANY.
Pronouns something / anything / nothing / somebody / anybody / nobody
Pronouns MUCH / MANY
,,,,
ADJECTIVE
Comparison of adjectives.
— pick up pairs (Russian meaning and translation into English)
— Read the sentences and choose the desired adjective form
— Vereshchagin grade 3. Lesson 53. Comparative degrees of adjectives.
Read and choose the correct English translation of the adjective
— in each sentence, choose the correct option for the degree of comparison of adjectives in English
—
Links to exercises on the degree of comparison from other sites:
— 10+, fill in the sentences with superlative adjectives;
— 6+, compare people and cartoon characters;
— 8+, in this exercise you will repeat the comparative degree of adjectives and animal names in English;
— 7+, compare people and objects;
— 9+, we train to form a comparative degree of adjectives in English;
— 9+, fill in the blanks;
— 9+, choose the required form of the adjective — comparative or superlative;
NUMERICAL
— Numbers 1-10 — spelling numbers from 1 to 10
— Numbers 1-30 — spelling numbers from 1 to 30
— Numbers 1-100 — spelling numbers from 1 to 100
— write how many objects are drawn in the picture
— Combine digital and written ordinal notations to help the animals get ready for the concert
— Listen to the audio recording, look at the picture and determine which number each child is under
— Connect alphabetic and numeric designations of ordinal numbers from 11 to 20 in English
— Body, colors, numbers — Body parts, colors, numbers
— Vereshchagin 3. Lesson 4. Repetition — colors, animals, numbers
— write how many animals are drawn in the picture
— English songs for children — I candy — English score
— We repeat the numbers from 1 to 10 — write down the numbers in words
— Numbers from 1 to 10.
Listen to the recording and try to identify the address of the speaker by ear
— Listen to the recording and enter the missing numbers in the dialogues
— Dictation. Numerals (tens, hundreds, thousands)
— Dictation. Numerals — years
— Dictation. Ordinal numbers and dates
— Dictation of the date
— Listening. Numerals in oral speech (intermediate)
— Listening.
Numbers in oral speech 2
OFFERS
Source: http://uchudoma.ru/vereshhagina/angliyskaya-grammatika-dlya-detey/
Types of questions in English
There are 4 types of interrogative sentences in English: general (general or yes / no questions), special (special or wh-questions), alternative (alternative) and separating (disjunctive or tail / tag-questions).
I propose to consider each of these types in more detail.
General or Yes / no questions
Common questions are those that can be answered «yes» or «no», hence the name «yes / no questions».
As a rule, this kind of question refers to the whole proposal, and not to a separate element of it.
For example:
- Do you this country? — Do you like this country?
- Does Jane know about your new job? «Does Jane know about your new job?»
- Can I call my sister? — Can I call my sister?
- Is it cold outside? — It’s cold outside?
- Are they ready for the trip? — Are they ready for the trip?
- Are you hungry? — Are you hungry?
General questions should be pronounced with a corresponding increasing intonation.
You can answer as briefly “Yes./No. «, And more fully -«Yes, I do./No, I donation‘t this country.»These answers depend on which verb is in the question.
Try to remember the following diagram: as they ask, so we answer.
If the question starts with a verb form to be = am, is, are; then answer: Yes, I am / he is / they are; or No, I am not / he isn’t / they aren’t.
Likewise with auxiliary verbs (of/does, did, will, Have/has):
- Did she clean the room? — Yes, she did / No, she didn’t.
- Have you done your homework? — Yes, I have / No, I haven’t.
- Will you buy that dress? — Yes, I will / No, I won’t.
Special or Wh-questions
Special questions, as you might guess, are posed to a specific word, a member of the sentence. For this, question words are used: who (Who), what (what), Where (where, where), When (when), why (why, why) how (as), how many (how much), etc., which are placed at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
- Where is he from? — Where is he from?
- When did you come here? — When did you come here?
- How did you meet her? — How did you meet her?
- How many eggs do we need for this cake? — How many eggs do we need for this cake?
- Whose children are playing in the yard? — Whose children are playing in the yard?
Please note that questions for the subject (who? What?) Have their own special structure: they do not require an auxiliary verb, we simply replace the subject with a question word.
For example:
- We go to the cinema. — Who goes to the cinema?
- The glass is on the table. — What is on the table?
- most girls here wear skirts. — Who wears skirts here?
That is, after the question words who / what verbs are used as for the 3rd person singular.
We use special questions to get specific information. This implies a detailed answer.
alternative questions
Alternative interrogative sentences are suggestions for choosing one of the options. They consist of two parts connected by a union or (or).
Alternative questions can be of both general and special (specific) nature. If the question does not concern the subject, a complete answer is required.
For example:
- Does she ice-cream or sweets? — She s ice-cream.
- Where would you go: to the cinema or to the theater? — I would go to the cinema.
- Is he a teacher or a student? — He is a student.
But when the question is about the subject, then the auxiliary verb is used before the second option, and the answer will be short:
- Does she make it or do you? — She does.
- Did they buy that house or did she? — They did.
Disjunctive or Tag-questions
Separating or «questions with a tail» in English have their equivalent in Russian: The tea is too sweet, isn’t it? Very sweet tea, isn’t it / isn’t it?
This type of interrogative sentences also consists of two parts, where the first goes in the affirmative, and the second (short) in the negative, and vice versa.
Basically, the first part of the sentence defines the expected response: affirmation is a positive answer, denial is a negative answer.
For example:
- She sent him an invitation didn’t she? — Yes, she did.
- You aren’t getting married, are you? — No, I am not.
- Jane isn’t in France, is she? — No, she isn’t.
- Our dad will come soon won’t he? — Yes, he will.
And also as an exception:
I am going with you aren’t I? — Yes, you are.
You cannot say: I am a great person, am not I? It won’t be right. Just remember that for the pronoun I (i) the ponytail uses the shape are / aren’t.
Ponytail questions are used exclusively in colloquial speech to clarify information, confirm or deny this information, if in doubt.
Good luck in learning English!
Source: https://preply.com/blog/2020/05/26/tipy-voprosov-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
Types of questions in English —
How to build and when to use
There are 5 types of questions in English. Today we will look at which one to use when, as well as their construction. We recommend this article first of all to those who have only recently started to learn English, because the ability to correctly formulate questions is the basis for full-fledged communication.
First, let’s see what types of questions exist in English:
- General
- Special
- Question to the subject
- Alternative
- Separation (question «with a ponytail»)
Now we will consider each of them in turn.
If you just need to brush up on your knowledge, you can download handy signs here: questions
General questions in English
Common questions are those that can be answered in the affirmative or negative (either «yes» or «no»).
Such questions are formed with the help of auxiliary verbs or the verb to be (in the necessary form), which are placed in the first place before the subject.
An auxiliary verb is a verb that we do not translate in any way. He only indicates to us that this is a question, and also, at the time in which our question is built. More details for what tense, what auxiliary verb is used can be found here.
The outline of the general question looks like this:
Auxiliary verb (or to be verb in the desired form) + subject + main verb + other parts of speech.
Also, such a question can be built using a modal verb, which is placed in the first place (instead of to be or an auxiliary verb)
Examples of common questions:
— Do you swimming? — Yes, I do.
Do you like to swim? — Yes.
— Did you live in London? — No, I didn’t live there.
Have you lived in London? — No, I didn’t live there.
— Are you a doctor? — Yes, I am.
Are you a doctor? — Yes.
Are you attending college?
Also, such a question can be built using a modal verb, which is placed in the first place (instead of to be or an auxiliary verb)
Example:
Dog you help me? — Can you help me?
In Russian, we sometimes start a question with a negation, in English we can do that too, just put an auxiliary verb or to be in a negative form. Often such questions in English correspond to our questions with the word «is not». That is, they convey some surprise.
For example:
— Didn’t you visit your mom? — Didn’t you visit your mother?
— Aren’t you a doctor? — Aren’t you a doctor?
No. “Isn’t he a suspect?
Special questions in English
Special questions are questions that use the words “where”, “how”, “when”, etc. They already need to be answered in full. To form such a question, we put the question word (why / where / when) first, then put the words in the same order as in the general question, that is, the auxiliary verb, then the subject and the rest of the speech.
The scheme looks like this:
Question word + auxiliary verb / to be in the required form + subject + main verb + other parts of speech
examples:
— When did you visit London? — When were you in London?
— Why should I go there? — Why should I go there?
— Where is your brother? — Where is your brother?
Why are you smiling?
By the way, sometimes in colloquial speech in English, as in Russian, such questions are conveyed by one question word and intonation:
— I have to go. — Where?
I have to go. — Where?
— You should go with me. — Why?
You must come with me. — Why.
— I bought that T-shirt. — Which one?
I bought that T-shirt. — Which one?
It is also worth noting that special questions can be conditionally divided into simple (which we discussed above) and complex. By complex we mean questions in which the question word comes with a clarification. To make it clearer what is meant, here are examples in Russian: how long, how far, at what time, etc.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
— How long are you going to stay here? — How long do you plan to stay here?
— What dress do you want? — What dress do you want?
— What time is it? — What time is it now?
How far is Elmira?
Subject questions in English
We think there is no point in explaining the essence of such questions :).
There is no auxiliary verb in this type of question. The question word comes first: who (for animate objects) and what (for inanimate objects). Basically, who / what replaces the subject in the clause.
Here is the scheme:
Who / what + to be (if it’s a long time) + main verb + other parts of speech.
It is worth noting that we put the verb in the form in which it would stand in our affirmative sentence: for the past tense ed, for Present Simple — the ending -s for the third person.
examples:
— What is your favorite movie? — What’s your favorite movie?
Source: https://tryeng.ru/5830
Subject question in English: basic rules with examples
Sometimes you need to find out who is doing or taking an action. For example, someone gave your friend a gift. To clarify exactly who gave you a gift, you will ask the question: «Who gave you a gift?»
Every day we ask similar questions: “Who called you? Who is messaging you? Who will go to the store? «
In English, this type of question is called questions to the subject… It is very easy to construct such questions.
Below I have written detailed instructions on how to ask these questions.
In the article you will learn:
What is a subject question?
Subject matter — this is the main character in the proposal who performs the action or has some feature. That is, the one about whom (what) is said in the sentence.
Ребенок riding a bike.
(The child is the actor taking the action.)
His sister clever.
(A sister is a character with a trait.)
Therefore, we ask the question to the subject when we do not know who performed the action or has a sign.
Who riding a bike?
Who clever?
Let’s take a look at how to ask such questions in English.
Attention! Confused about English rules and making mistakes? Learn how easy it is to learn English grammar with this free lesson.
In English, we ask a question to a subject using the words:
- who — who (for living beings: people, animals, birds, etc.)
- what — what (for inanimate objects: plants, things, nature, etc.)
We put these words in the first place in the sentence, replacing them with the character.
Tom late for work.
Who late for work?
In English, the subject question is considered very simple. Its peculiarity and difference from other questions is that we do not need to change the order of words in a sentence.
That is, we do not add auxiliary verbs (do / does, did, etc.). To construct such a question, we simply take an affirmative sentence and put who / what in the first place instead of the character.
The outline of such a question will be as follows.
Who + action / attribute / place?
For example, we have an affirmative sentence.
mary played tennis.
Mary played tennis.
When we ask a question to a subject, we don’t need to remember an auxiliary verb and put it first. We just replace the actor (Mary) with who. Everything else in the proposal remains the same.
Who playing tennis?
Who played tennis?
IMPORTANT: when we put who / what, then we imagine that it is someone singular: she (she), he (he), it (it). There is nothing difficult in this, because in the Russian language we do the same.
Affirmative sentence: «Children smashedи vase «.
Question: «Who broke the vase?» (We say smashed, not smashed.)
Therefore, an English sentence should be constructed as if he / she was in place of who / what.
For example, take an affirmative sentence.
They Were at school.
They were at school.
Despite the fact that they are in the affirmative, when we ask a question to the subject, we represent he / she in place of who. Therefore, we replace with was.
Who was at school?
Who was at school?
Let’s look at the subject matter formation for basic grammatical constructions.
Question to the subject in Present Simple time
The question to the subject over time Present Simple is asked according to the following scheme:
Who / what + a verb ending with -s / -es?
To ask this question, you must:
- replace the character in the affirmative sentence with the word who;
- add the ending -s / es to the verb (action).
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Affirmative sentence | Question to the subject |
She |
Source: https://crownenglishclub.ru/baza-znanij/vopros-k-podlezhashhemu-v-anglijskom-yazyke-osnovnye-pravila-s-primerami.html
What it is?
So-called subject question in English — this is a clarification with the word Who (denotes people) or What (denotes inanimate things and animals). «Who told you?», «What are you doing?»
Subject — the main subject or the acting living person. We are talking about it, or it is performing active actions. In Russian speech, it may be absent (implicitly implied).
But in affirmative and exclamatory English-language sentences, it is necessarily present in an explicit form. Moreover, it takes a clearly assigned place among other words. Usually expressed by a pronoun or noun, less often — a complex phrase.
And only when asking questions about the subject in English, the subject is replaced with a question word.
How to ask a question?
The word order is preserved, and this is the simplicity of such phrases. Instead of a noun or pronoun denoting a subject, what or who is substituted. Question words accompanied by verbs usually in the singular, although the answer can be received in the plural.
Accordingly, the verbs, modal and semantic, remain the same or change. If they were in the plural in the affirmative (exclamatory) sentence, they should be replaced with analogues in the singular. The exception is to be in the individual cases discussed below. Various times will be given for better understanding.
Will help you put it right subject question in English exampleswhich are given in the text.
Present simple
Here are the narrative sentences:
- Child plays football — a child plays football;
- The sun shines every day — the sun shines every day;
- Children play tennis — children play tennis;
- Clouds close the sun — clouds cover the sun;
- I stand here — I stand here;
- He stands there — he stands there;
- They walk anywhere — they walk everywhere.
Note that the subject of the sun is made up of two separate words. In a simple present actions occur «generally» or regularly, not necessarily at the moment… If asked, the relevant questions for the subject in English would be:
- Who plays football?
- What shines every day?
- Who plays tennis?
- What closes the sun?
- Who stands here?
- Who stands there?
- Who walks anywhere?
The plural has been replaced by a single everywhere. Inanimate persons are designated by the word Who, inanimate objects — by What.
Past Simple
Any question to a subject in English in the past tense is composed according to the same scheme as in the present, only instead of the first dictionary form of the verb, the second is used. For correct ones — with the standard -ed ending. For the wrong ones, look at the table if the memory fails.
- Who played today? — Who played today?
- Who ran yesterday? — Who ran yesterday?
- What prevented you to come? — What prevented you from coming?
Future simple
In the future tense, the scheme of the question to the subject in English is the simplest, since the modal verb will is not inflected in numbers and persons.
For example:
- Who will play today? — Who will play today?
- What will remain here? — What will stay here?
A small nuance should be noted: the main verb is used here without the ending -s (-es), characteristic of the third person singular. the numbers… This is not surprising, even in Russian “lies” and “will lie” are different word forms.
Present with to be
To be is used in the same way as any other verb when posing a question to a subject in English. But it has many different forms, not similar to each other in spelling and pronunciation. They should be properly selected and substituted.
For example:
- Who is here?
- Who is rich?
- What is bread?
- Who are you?
Typically, to be is used as is. The characteristic phrase «What is» is translated as «What is» and is often used in search engines. An exception is a direct question to the subject in English, addressed to one or many interlocutors — Who are You? Also, are is substituted if there are obviously many persons or things in the subject.
Elapsed tense with to be
When asking about a state or action in the past, use Who (What) + was +?
In the second person, this way they ask questions with who in english: Who were you? — Who were you? It is also necessary to substitute were if it is known in advance that the subject is numerous or, in principle, is never single.
Future tense with to be
Without options, will be used:
- Who will be?
- What will be?
Use with to be
Although most often questions to a subject in English are asked in the singular of a third person, the answer is different. On «Who’s Here?» (Who is here?) You can answer: I am, She is, We are. In the past tense — I was, He was, They were.
With modal verbs
All modal verbs are the same when using different persons and numbers, so they are very easy to use.
For example: Who can come for a breakfast? — Who can come for breakfast?
With there is or there are
In this case, the word order changes, first comes is (or are, was, were), then there. Who is there? or What is there?
Negative question form
The position of the negating particle not remains the same, as usual, only the subject is replaced by the question word:
- What does not bring good luck? — What doesn’t bring good luck?
- Who will not come home? — Who won’t come home?
How to answer?
Reply to subject question in English can be short and complete. Even a short, competent answer should have a verb, not just a subject.
For example:
- Who came yesterday? — Who came yesterday?
- Your brother John did.
- Who plays today? — Who is playing today?
- Manchester United does.
- Who may enter? — Who can come in?
- All the people may.
Complete (long) answers to similar questions in English with who build by substituting the subject in place of the question word:
- Your brother John came yesterday.
- Manchester United plays today.
- All the people may enter.
By
Last updated:
April 9, 2023
Asking Questions in English: 3 Types of Questions You Should Know
If you want to learn English, be as curious as possible.
Asking questions is a useful skill for almost any situation, and questioning everything will help you learn a lot more.
In this guide, we’ll cover three main types of questions in English that you can use again and again in real life.
Contents
- What Is a Question?
- English Grammar Words to Know for Asking Questions
-
- Verbs
- Nouns
- Tenses
- 3 Types of Questions You Should Know How to Ask in English
-
- 1. “Yes/No” Questions
-
- How to form yes/no questions
- Examples of yes/no questions
- Famous songs and books with yes/no questions
- 2. “Wh-” Questions
-
- Question words for “wh-” questions
- How to form “wh-” questions
- Examples of “wh-” questions
- A Note About Negative Questions
- Famous songs and books with “wh-” questions
- 3. Tag Questions
-
- When should I use tag questions?
- How do I form tag questions?
Download:
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can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What Is a Question?
This question may seem obvious (clear), but it’s good to review. There are generally three types of sentences: statements, commands and questions.
Statements are sentences that state (tell) information:
- I like dogs.
- My aunt lives in Bulgaria.
- Cows have four legs.
Commands are sentences that give orders (tell people to do actions). This is also sometimes called the “imperative.”
- Be quiet!
- Please open the window.
- First, put a spoonful of butter into a hot pan.
Questions are sentences that ask for information. Today we’ll look at three types of questions: (1) “yes/no” questions, (2) “wh-” questions and (3) “tag” questions. For each type, we’ll see many example questions in different tenses.
English Grammar Words to Know for Asking Questions
I’ll try to keep this post as simple as possible for anyone just starting to learn English for beginners, but there are a few words you should know to help you better understand this post. If you already know these words, you can skip ahead to the next section!
Verbs
A verb is an action word. It’s usually the most important part of any sentence because it tells you what is happening. For this post, you should know two types of verbs: main verbs and auxiliary verbs.
- Main verb: The main verb is the “action” word in a sentence. For example, in the sentence “Bobby eats a salad,” the word “eats” is the main verb. If a sentence only has one verb, you can simply call it the “verb.”
- Auxiliary verb: Auxiliary verbs are verbs that are used together with a main verb. Auxiliary verbs are usually some form of words like “be,” “have” or “do,” but also modal verbs like “can” or “will.” An auxiliary verb is also sometimes called a “helping verb” or just “auxiliary.” For example, in the sentence “Bobby doesn’t eat fish,” the word “doesn’t” is the auxiliary and the word “eat” is the main verb.
Nouns
A noun is a person, place, thing or idea. Depending on how you use nouns, they can also have different names:
- Subject: The subject is a noun that “does” an action. For example, in “Bobby eats a salad,” the subject is “Bobby” because Bobby is the person doing the action.
- Object: The object is a noun that “receives” an action. In the example above, the object is “a salad,” because it’s receiving the action.
Tenses
When talking about grammar, “tense” indicates when actions happen. There are three basic tenses: past, present and future. Each of those tenses can be simple, perfect or continuous (also called “progressive”).
- Simple tenses: Simple tenses use the most basic forms of verbs: “Doctor Smith treats patients.”
- Perfect tenses: Perfect tenses use some form of the auxiliary verb “to have” plus the past participle form of the verb: “Doctor Smith has treated 200 patients this year.”
- Continuous tenses: Continuous tenses use some form of the verb “to be” plus a verb that ends with “-ing”: “Doctor Smith is treating a patient.”
That should be enough basic vocabulary to help you understand this article, so let’s start by looking at our first type of question.
3 Types of Questions You Should Know How to Ask in English
1. “Yes/No” Questions
This type of question is usually the easiest to ask and answer in English. They’re called “yes/no questions” because the answer to these questions is generally “yes” or “no.”
How to form yes/no questions
The basic structure for yes/no questions looks like this:
[Auxiliary Verb] + [Subject] + [Main Verb] + [Object or Other Information] + ?
Examples of yes/no questions
Present simple examples
The present simple tense is used to talk about things that are always true, or things that generally or frequently happen. Here are some question examples:
- Do you like English?
- Does your sister live in Boston?
- Can his parents speak English?
Careful: Exception! If the main verb of the sentence is some form of “to be,” it goes in the auxiliary position. Here are a few examples:
- Are you ready?
- Am I okay?
- Is your mom German?
There is no second verb in the four examples above, so you go directly to the “other information.”
Present continuous examples
This is also called “present progressive.” When you use this tense, you want to indicate that something is happening right now, so use some form of the verb “to be” and a verb that ends with “-ing.”
- Are you watching the news right now?
- Is your teacher wearing a tie?
- Are your parents planning a vacation?
Present perfect examples
The present perfect tense is used to talk about things that started in the past, but are still true or relevant now. For example:
- Have you seen my car keys?
- Has your dad watched the new “Star Wars” movie yet?
- Have we reached our sales goals for this year?
Present perfect continuous examples
Perfect tenses can also be made continuous. You can do that if you want to talk about something that started in the past, but you want to emphasize that it’s still actively happening now. For example:
- Have you been studying at this university for a long time?
- Has your dog been feeling sick the whole day?
- Have your parents been living here since they were children?
Past simple examples
Use the past simple tense when you want to talk about actions that were completed in the past. To do that, put the auxiliary in the past form (usually “did”).
- Did you say my name?
- Did the boss leave the meeting?
- Did your parents drink all the wine?
Careful: Exception! This is similar to the exception for the simple present. If the main verb of the sentence is some form of “to be,” then put the simple past form of “to be” in the auxiliary position. Again, a second verb isn’t necessary. For example:
- Were you ready?
- Was Jeremy at the group dinner last Thursday?
- Were your brothers all sports fans when they were young?
Past continuous examples
Use the past continuous when you want to talk about completed past actions that continued for a period of time. To do this, use a past form of the verb “to be” for the auxiliary and the “-ing” form for the main verb.
- Were you talking to me?
- Was Theresa working yesterday at 4:00 p.m.?
- Was I wearing this shirt the last time you saw me?
Past perfect examples
This tense is less common, but it’s still useful. It uses the auxiliary “had” plus the past participle of the verb. You can use the past perfect to show one event happened before another in the past. The earlier events use the past perfect and the more recent events use the past simple. For example:
- Had you been to Canada before you moved there?
- Had your mother played any other sports before she joined the softball team?
- Had Harry Potter used any magic before he went to Hogwarts?
Past perfect continuous examples
This is similar to the past perfect tense, but it indicates that the first action continued for a period of time. It uses the auxiliary “had,” and the main verb = “been” + the “-ing” verb.
This is even less common than the regular past perfect tense, but you can still see how it uses the same structure for yes/no questions:
- Had you been studying English before you moved to Seattle?
- Had the dog been acting strange before you took him to the vet?
- Had they been waiting for long before you arrived?
Future simple examples
The most common type of future yes/no questions are ones that use the future simple tense.
You can use the future simple tense to ask about short actions in the future. These questions are actually very easy to make. Start the sentence with “will” as the auxiliary and use a simple (infinitive) verb for the main verb.
- Will you call me tomorrow?
- Will the city government build a new parking lot next year?
- Will that dog try to bite me?
Future continuous examples
You can use this to talk about things that will happen for a period of time in the future. Start with “will” as the auxiliary verb and use “be” plus the “-ing” form of a verb.
- Will you be waiting inside or at the ticket booth?
- Will they be arriving soon?
- Will she be singing when we get there?
Future perfect examples
These final two tenses are much less common. They’re also more complicated because you generally have to include more context information when you use them.
- Will you have lived here long enough to vote in the next election?
- Will you have finished the marathon by this time tomorrow?
Future perfect continuous examples
- When the school year ends, will you have been teaching there for 15 years?
- Will you have been running in the marathon for six hours by this time tomorrow?
Famous songs and books with yes/no questions
There are several songs and books that use yes/no questions in their titles. Here are a few of my favorites.
Songs
- “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” – Elvis Presley
(Present simple — And this song has many more questions, too!)
- “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest
(Present simple)
- “Do You Realize??” by The Flaming Lips
(Present simple)
- “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
(Present perfect)
- “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” by Joe Jackson
(Present continuous)
- “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by The Clash
(Present/future simple)
Books
- “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” by Mindy Kaling
(Present continuous)
- “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick
(Present simple)
2. “Wh-” Questions
These are called “wh-” questions because they usually start with a question word that begins with the letters “wh.” Sometimes they’re also called “open questions.” That’s because there are many more possible answers than just yes/no.
Question words for “wh-” questions
Most question words actually do start with “wh-,” with the exception of “how.” Here’s a quick review of the question words you should know and when to use them.
- What: Use “what” if you want information about an object or thing.
- Which: This is very similar to “what,” but generally use “which” if there are specific or limited options to choose from.
- When: Use “when” if you want information about a time or date.
- Where: Use “where” if you want information about a place or location.
- Who: Use “who” if you want information about a person.
- Why: Use “why” if you want information about a reason or explanation for something.
Some “wh-” question words start with “how”:
- How: Use “how” if you want information about the way or technique to do something.
- How much: Use “how much” if you want information about quantities of nouns that aren’t countable (like sugar, water, money, etc.).
- How many: Use “how many” if you want information about quantities of things are countable (like people, bottles of water, dollars, etc.).
- How often: Use “how often” if you want information about the frequency of an event.
- Other uses for “how”: You can also use “how” plus an adjective (a descriptive word) if you want information about the degree or amount of an adjective. Examples can include “how tall,” “how beautiful,” “how young,” “how old” and many others.
Important note about question phrases:
Some question “words” are actually phrases with multiple words. For example, I can start a question with “Where,” but I can also add a phrase, such as “Where in Germany.” There are many, many possibilities here, such as “How many times this month,” “When in March,” etc.
So you can have a question phrase with more than one word. But it will normally still go in the same position at the start of the sentence.
How to form “wh-” questions
If you understand how to form yes/no questions, then it’s very easy to form “wh-” questions. Generally, just add a question word/phrase to the beginning of a yes/no question.
The structure of a “wh- question” is usually like this:
[“Wh-” Question Word/Phrase] + [Auxiliary Verb] + [Subject] + [Main Verb] + [Object or Other Information] + ?
Examples of “wh-” questions
We’ll look at these examples in the same order as in the first section, with some similar topics. I won’t include explanations about when and how to use each of the tenses unless there are differences between yes/no questions and “wh-” questions.
Present simple examples
- Why do you like English?
- Which days do you have access to a car?
- Where does your sister live?
Careful: Exception! For some questions that start with “Who,” we don’t always know who the subject is. Because of that, we normally change the structure a bit. For example:
Object Question: Who does your mom love?
Here “your mom” is the subject. So after “who,” I include the auxiliary, then the subject, and then the verb. The question is asking about the object (the person your mom loves), so it’s called an object question.
Subject Question: Who loves your mom?
In this case, “who” is asking about the identity of the subject. “Your mom” is actually the object of this sentence. So I can eliminate the auxiliary and the subject. That may be a little confusing, since “your mom” is a person, but let’s see an example with a thing:
Who loves pizza?
Here it’s much clearer that there is no subject in the question, and that “pizza” is the object.
Present continuous examples
- Who is watching the news right now?
- Why isn’t your teacher wearing a tie?
- What are your parents planning to do on vacation?
Present perfect examples
This tense is more common with yes/no questions, but there are some times when you can make this tense into “wh-” questions.
- Why haven’t you seen my car keys? You were the last person to drive the car!
- How many times has your dad watched the new “Star Wars” movie?
- How has your dog learned to sit on command?
Present perfect continuous examples
- Why have you been studying for so long? You need a break!
- Where has your sister been working this year?
- Why has your dog been acting strange all day?
Past simple examples
- Why did you say my name?
- When did your parents go to the grocery store?
- How did your cat catch the mouse?
Careful: Exception! If the main verb of the sentence is some form of “to be,” then a second verb usually isn’t necessary. For example:
- When were you at work?
- Why was your mom in Germany last week?
- Who was in Brooklyn last night?
Past continuous examples
- Where were your children walking to yesterday?
- Why were you talking to him after the interview?
- What were the hippos eating when you saw them at the zoo?
Past perfect examples
- How many times had you been to Canada before you moved there?
- Why hadn’t your mother played any other sports before she started softball?
- When had Harry Potter used magic before he went to Hogwarts?
Past perfect continuous examples
- How often had your mother been practicing softball before she joined the team?
- Why hadn’t she been working for the government before she ran for president?
- What had the dog been eating before he got sick?
Future simple examples
- When will you call me tomorrow, in the morning or after work?
- Where will the city government build a new parking lot?
- How much will you pay your daughter to cut the grass?
Future continuous examples
- Where will you be staying when you go to the beach for vacation?
- Where will you be living two years from now?
- Why will you be sleeping tomorrow afternoon?
Future perfect examples
Remember that these final two tenses are much less common. If you use them, include more context information.
- Why won’t you have lived here long enough to vote in the next election?
- When will you have finished the marathon?
Future perfect continuous examples
- How long will you have been living here by the time you’re able to vote?
- How will you have been running in the marathon for six hours by this time tomorrow?
A Note About Negative Questions
Normally, we don’t make yes/no questions into negative questions because it makes them too confusing. But it’s no problem to make “wh-” questions negative.
To make a negative question, you just have to add “not” to the sentence. There are two basic possibilities:
1. As a contraction with the auxiliary.
This is much more common, especially in spoken English. It’s also used often with the question word “why.” For example:
- Why don’t you speak Japanese?
- Why hasn’t your cousin called me yet?
- Why won’t you come to my birthday party?
2. As “not,” after the subject.
This sounds a little more formal, but you can definitely use it if you’re not comfortable with contractions. For example:
- Why do you not speak Japanese?
- Why has your cousin not called me yet?
- When are you not busy?
Famous songs and books with “wh-” questions
There are also many songs and books that have “wh-” questions in their titles. Here are some good ones.
Songs
- “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Al Green
(Present simple)
- “Where Did All the Love Go?” by Kasabian
(Past simple)
- “How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?“ by Morrissey
(Present simple)
- “When Will I See You Again?“ by The Three Degrees
(Future simple — This song also has many other questions in the lyrics.)
Books
- “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin Jr.
(Present simple)
- “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson
(Past simple)
Want to learn with more videos like these? You can watch native English videos like the ones above with interactive subtitles on FluentU.
Search for the wh- word you want to practice on FluentU (or any other word) and you’ll see all the videos where the word appears. Then, you just have to pick the one that interests you the most, among movie trailers, music videos, funny commercials, news clips and more.
FluentU’s videos have interactive subtitles, so you can look up translations while you watch. This way, you can better remember any questions and phrases you heard in the videos because you saw them used in context.
You can also save words as flashcards, so you can make question word flashcard decks then practice them with personalized quizzes. FluentU can be used in your browser or you can take it with you wherever you go on the iOS or Android apps.
3. Tag Questions
This is the final type of question we’ll look at today. Normally you use tag questions to confirm information that you think is correct. They come at the end of a statement.
These can be a bit difficult for many English learners, but native English speakers use them all the time.
When should I use tag questions?
If I want to know basic information, I can ask a yes/no question:
Do you speak Chinese?
I can also ask “wh-” questions for more information:
How often do you speak Chinese?
But if I think something is true, but I’m not 100% certain, I can ask a tag question:
You speak Chinese, don’t you?
Notice that the structure is very different from the other two types of questions.
How do I form tag questions?
This can get complicated, but basically there are two parts: (1) the statement and (2) the tag.
If the statement is positive, the tag is negative:
You’ve seen the new “Star Wars” movie, haven’t you?
And if the statement is negative, the tag is positive.
You haven’t seen the new “Star Wars” movie yet, have you?
The statements and tags should be in the same tense. Both of these examples are in the present perfect.
You also need to decide what tag to use. If you have a statement that uses an auxiliary (usually forms of “do,” “have,” “be” and modal verbs like “can,” “might,” “will,” etc.), then use the opposite auxiliary in the tag.
Here are a few examples:
That building was built last year, wasn’t it?
The car wasn’t in the garage, was it?
You will go to the party, won’t you?
It has taken a long time to plan the party, hasn’t it?
It’s hot today, isn’t it?
If there is no auxiliary in the statement, you should use the form of the verb “to do” that matches the tense in the statement in the tag. For example:
You like pizza, don’t you?
His uncle works in the airport, doesn’t he?
You went to Bermuda last year, didn’t you?
We haven’t studied tag questions yet, have we?
Again, remember that tag questions use question marks (“?”), but they’re not actually asking questions. They’re just trying to get confirmation or make conversation.
So, did you understand all of that? Are you going to practice asking some questions right now? You can do it, can’t you?
Thanks for reading, and happy questioning!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
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1)If … (you / do) your homework last night, you‟d know the answer to this question! 2)We …… (not / stand) by the side of the road at the moment trying to get a lift if … (we / bring) a spare tyre with us. 3)If I … (not / stay up) so late last night, I …(not / feel) so tired this morning! 4)……… (I / be) in terrible trouble right now if you … (not / help) me. 5)If I had a video recorder, … (I/record) the match last night. 6)…… (I / ask) for Andy‟s phone number when I met him if I … (not / already / have) a boyfriend! 7)If Cody…(not / live) so far away, he… (not / be) so late to the barbecue yesterday. 8)Trace … (not / need) extra lessons last month if she … (be) as good at maths as you are. 9)…… (you / got) a job when you left school if the university … (not / offer) you a place? 10)If you … (have) as much money as she does, … (you / retire) by now?
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ОТВЕТЫ
1. you had done
2. would not stand, if we had brought
3. hadnt stayed up, wouldnt feel
4. I would be, hadnt helped
5. would have recorded
6. would have asked, hadnt already have
7. hadnt lived; he wouldnt have been
8. wouldnt have needed, had been
9. would have got, hadnt offered
10. had, would you retire
294
Отв. дан
2019-05-04 11:29:40
Tholanim
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Другие вопросы в разделе — Английский язык
Dalar
Thorgatus
Schaesehs
Кристина
Posted by baileyerw 2017-03-21T14:48:30Z
I have a very important interview today, its number 3 of 9. I know there will be questions that I just don’t have the answer too. So I was curious how people answer when asked questions that you don’t know the answer too. Or if there are supervisors out there, how would you want a potential candidate to answer a question he didn’t know the answer too?
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Be honest and say you don’t know the answer, but follow up with what you would do to find out.
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You just say that you don’t know. That’s about it.
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«I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer to that. Here is how I would approach finding the answer …. «
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We’re in a field where nobody really knows everything. Its better to say you dont know the answer than making up something. The interviewer will appreciate that.
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Say you don’t know but will find the answer. I did an interview where they purposely gave a question that you would more than likely not know the answer to just to see if you would admit to it or try and BS your way through it.
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pgeric
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Honesty is the best way to go.
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Jimmy T. has the right idea but it also depends on the question. If the question is about a scenario where you don’t have direct experience you can still respond saying something like, «I haven’t come across that exact scenario but», …then you give an answer on what you would do given the circumstances or in similar circumstances.
The primary thing to remember is not to lie and make up an answer…unless you are trying out for a game show where making up a believable answer is required :).
The second thing to remember is that you are being looked at on a number of levels either consciously our subconsciously. Professionalism, ability to think in an unfamiliar environment, reaction to a stressful situation (stress is relative…I tend not to stress during interview BUT do somewhat when reviewing before an interview), and whatever foibles your interviewees may have.
One last thing, don’t just say, «I don’t know, I’ll get back to you on that». Think about it a bit and give a thoughtful and more professional response.
Example:
Q: What is your experience AS400 printing management and user profiles?
A: I haven’t had any experience with AS400, but have worked with Unix and Microsoft AD environments, …
(That is only if you have actually had experience in Unix and AD).
I was on one interview where the IT department consisted of two people, and one tech savvy person in another department, and they switched people mid interview a few times. The reason was they had just been hit with a virus that was propagating in their lab network.
They apologized but I completely understood and told them to take as much time as they needed or we could reschedule. I did not have a job at the time, except to look for a job so was free for a while.
Ok, nuff said.
Best wishes with your job hunt or for whatever reason the question is being asked.
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Hey don’t sweat it! You can’t know everything and they won’t expect you to know everything. Just be honest and show them that even though you don’t know, you know how to find out or what resources that you would use to find out.
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Be honest, and explain how you would deal with the problem.
This is something important that a lot of job applications will have, and the answers reveal a lot about the candidate.
E.g. cautious, overconfident, bulsh#$!er.
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Brand Representative for Cyren
jalapeno
Honesty isn’t frowned down upon by a good recruiter. On the same token, a good recruiter can tell if you’re making stuff up, so just be as truthful as possible. Good luck to you!
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«Dude, half the job is just Googling anyway.»
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Say you do not know. Done. Most interviewer are more likely to write you off if you just start BSing them especially if it is a technical interview.
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Mealy58
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I have said «I’m not sure, here’s how I would go about finding that answer though . . . «
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With a question?
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A lot of times I already have an idea of the various technologies they are using in the organization; so I’d research that technology beforehand. When they ask the question I would be honest that I do not know but show them I am have researched the technology and would be comfortable with it. It’s a case by case scenario, but if I am completely unaware I will say so and ask them about it.
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Say you don’t have the answer, let me research aka… google it then get back to the person later
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«I would have to consult with Spiceworks SAM.» You’ll get the job. They’ll make you supreme leader.
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Matt Bartle wrote:
«Dude, half the job is just Googling anyway.»
+1 on that…
Nobody ‘ll know everything and if you try to b/s your way around the question it’ll be discovered soon and then it’ll be worse then when you were plain honest and told them you didn’t know the answer.
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Even if I ask routine questions, I’m bound to hit one that a candidate doesn’t know. I’m interested in how they handle it.
If you giggle and say, «Dude! I’d just google it. That’s what I do for everything!» I’m probably going to put a big red X on your resume.
One answer might be, «Well, if that’s a standard procedure for the company or a routine operation for IT, I’d expect to find the answer in the documentation for that process. That would be my first go-to. After that I’d rely on in-house documentation, then industry standards, and then finally a general search.»
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Honestly explain how you’d figure it out, don’t be shy to mention googling, because that is what we all do.
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Say «I don’t know, but I know how to find out.»
It couldn’t be any worse than this:https://youtu.be/cV0tCphFMr8?t=2m39s Opens a new window
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In an interview, I would tell them I didn’t know and then go on to explain how I would go about solving the problem anyway. They just want to hear your thought process anyway.
EDIT: though => thought
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*answer to. One «o.»
With that said, lying is a big bad no-no.
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Neally
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I am not sure, but I can find out by doing XZ (usually google lol)
Of course the answer depends on who is asking…
If it’s just anyone the answer is usually,» don’t know, don’t care.» lol
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Honesty, you would hope the person asking the question knows the answer and will smell the BS if you try that.
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As Many have stated if you don’t know the answer its better to explain the procedure you would follow to obtain an answer to said question. Be it researching the issue using Google or if that cant be used escalating the issue to someone who can remedy the situation and teach you how as well in the future.
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If i ask a staff member a question i want to hear : A) no problem I know exactly howto…. blah or B) I understand what you want but I do not know how to do that, but I do know I can research on the google thing, or I can ask for help from you or another co-worker.
The answer to your question is to reply with how you would go about finding the correct information for a question you do not know the direct answer to….
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When not knowing the answer to a question i feel its always best to say ‘ You know what i’m not sure, but i’m confident i’d be able to successfully research it’, (be ready to provide an example).
However they may throw you a curve ball and say ‘you don’t have time to research it, or the situation doesn’t allow for you to google it’, (even though there would probably be very few situations where you couldn’t), so in those cases i find they are looking more for your ability to think critically, show you can assess possibilities and come up with a solution quickly. That is what you need to show when you don’t know the answer to something. Never, ever lie!
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«Honestly, I’ve never seen that, but I’m sure someone has— either here or online. I’m not too proud to ask for help.»
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Usually by going, «Huh. I donno. Let’s find out.»
Cue me opening Google up on my phone.
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If you don’t know explain how you would find out. Not everyone knows knows everything, but everyone has the tools to find out. Someone in the team, independent research, etc.
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You say you are a member of the worlds greatest IT resource forum (Spiceworks) and as a SpiceHead you have the knowledge and experience of millions of IT professionals from around the globe at your fingertips
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I’ll tell you what NOT to do: Pretend you know the answer, and get caught in a lie!! (Because you will get caught!)
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I am not disagreeing with any opinions here but reading through all the comments I just found it funny.
Summarized
Spiceworks Community: Tell them you know how to find the answer. AKA Google.
Robert: If anyone tells me they use Google, I won’t hire them. (paraphrased and oversimplified version of what he actually said)
I do have to say though there are lots of places that do not keep a lot of the documentation that he suggests checking. It is certainly a nice thought and definitely would sound good in an interview. If I checked documentation before google for everything though it would decrease my productivity (im sure this varies on where you work).
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Rockn
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I don’t know, but I will find an answer for you!
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«I don’t know, but I can find out.»
*edit*
Never misrepresent your skill or knowledge. It’s just not ethical on top of being a pain in the ass just to maintain your sprawling web of lies.
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+1 for saying you don’t know. If it is a decent question, there’s no harm in asking for the answer.
Edit: I guess I should specify that there’s no harm in asking after you say you don’t know.
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Robert5205 wrote:
Even if I ask routine questions, I’m bound to hit one that a candidate doesn’t know. I’m interested in how they handle it.
If you giggle and say, «Dude! I’d just google it. That’s what I do for everything!» I’m probably going to put a big red X on your resume.
One answer might be, «Well, if that’s a standard procedure for the company or a routine operation for IT, I’d expect to find the answer in the documentation for that process. That would be my first go-to. After that I’d rely on in-house documentation, then industry standards, and then finally a general search.»
What if they said «Dude! I’d just Bing it.»
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Let me Google that for you.
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Give me one minute while I «Ask Jeeves»
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Answer honest, don’t pull stuff out of your ass. Then somehow show that you are capable of finding the answers on your own or give examples on how you have solved the issue in similar circumstances… etc…
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Who wants to play the game of «DuckDuckGo»
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Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter accusations.
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My approach has been:
1. be honest about not knowing
2. briefly state what steps I’d take to find out («I would google that»)
3. sometimes I follow up with a (short and true) personal anecdote illustrating my enthusiasm for learning and ability to quickly acquire new knowledge and skills to solve problems
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«I don’t
immediatelyknow the answer but I’m sure I can find out.»
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JFEB
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People don’t normally ask questions in interviews that they don’t already know the answer for, so trying to fudge your answer with technical terms and long-winded words isn’t going to help you much. Generally, if there’s something you don’t know the answer to, saying so and proceeding to get help with it will probably be a plus.
Edit: Sometimes questions are asked that you just aren’t going to know the answer for regardless (they might be specific to the organization that you’re applying to) and they are meant to be that way to try to determine how you would go about it. You shouldn’t be expected to know absolutely everything, and there are people who just will not ask for help, at all.
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Also, if I’m invited back to another round of interviews, I’ll be sure to learn the answers I didn’t know last time before the next round, and might mention something that I found interesting about those topics.
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RyanLC
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I have had multiple interviews and job candidacies like the one you describe. My answer was one of two:
- I don’t know. I could probably guess, but that’d be all it is. A Guess.
- I don’t know the answer off the top of my head, but I could find it in [Documentation X / Website Y / etc.]
The second is, I believe, vastly more preferential. It shows that you don’t necessarily «know everything», but are well-versed in using resources.
I have been told a couple of times that such answers got me the job over more-qualified applicants (well, more qualified on paper).
Case in point (also goes to show to not lie):
I was once up for a network and security administrator position. I had no formal enterprise network training in that specifically (Some Net+ training, but no cert). I was up against people that were noted as being CCNA, IPv6 experts, Knowledgeable in eBGP (I didn’t even know that was a thing at the time).
I had to answer AT LEAST a dozen times that I didn’t know the answer to a technical question. Only three of them was able to say «You can find the answer in this documentation.»
The CCNA lady — turns out she put that she had a CCNA, but only just started studying for it. Though I hadn’t even started that much, that discovered lie knocked her out of the candidacy.
The IPv6 «expert» put on his resume that he’s fully versed in it. So, they started asking him questions on it — he had to admit that he didn’t know anything about IPv6, and he ended his own interview prematurely.
(I found these out because I was an internal transfer; they were external applicants, and because I ultimately got the job. But they were NOT the only other two to apply)
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Someone who hire tech I look for honesty.
Stating «I can google that» is not enough I understand that part of the solution but what are you googling and what other steps do you take to learn.
You need to show me you can learn new skills and know how to problem solve.
As an example, I ask you about x you can answer I have very little or no experience with x but y is very similar to x and I can use that as starting point to learn x very quickly.
Another thing to say — not only that I do a deep google search but I post to Spiceworks or another forum I never stop trying to find the answer.
The last thing — very limited or no knowledge about x but I learn very quickly and once I learned as am as good or better than a person who done x for N(number) years
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