English Composition/Interrogative Sentence
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English Composition ＞ Interrogative Sentence
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Interrogative Sentence
In this section, we focus on Indirect questions and Tag questions.
Indirect Questions
When an indirect question is inserted in a plain text
When an indirect question is inserted in a plain text, the word order is different from that of a normal question, as follows.
Subject + Verb(Phrase) + Question word + Subject + Verb
It does not expect (answer) questions from the other party, so the end of the sentence is a period, not a question mark.
e.g :
Is she in the office ? → I(S) don't know(V) where(QW) she(S) is(V) .
When will they leave for London ? → I(S) 'm not(V) sure when(QW) they(S) will leave(V) for London.
How much is this camera ? → I(S) don't know(V) how much(QW) this camera(S) is(V) .
When an indirect question constitutes part of a question
When an indirect question forms part of a question, the main clause follows the word order of common questions, and the subordinate clause follows the word order of indirect questions.
Auxiliary（auxiliary verb）+ Subject + Verb + Question word + Subject + Verb
This is what you are asking the other person and put a question mark at the end of the sentence.
e.g :
How tall is he ? → Do(Aux) you(S) know(V) how tall(QW) he(S) is(V) ?
Where is the bus station ? → Can(Aux) you(S) tell(V) me where(QW) the bus station(S) is(V) ?
Why were they late ? → Do(Aux) you(S) know(V) why(QW) they(S) were late(V) ?
In indirect questions, there is no Auxiliary verb between QW (question) and S (subject). When the auxiliary verb is omitted, the main verb indicates the subject's tense.
e.g.:
Who painted the wall? → We don't know who painted the wall.
Which color suits you best? → I'm not sure which color suits me best.
In the case of questions that answer yes/no, such as Is ...? / Do ...? / Can ...?, you can use if or when (meaning "-").
e.g.:
Is James at home? → Do you know if/whether James is at home?
Have they gone away? → I don't know if/whether they've gone away.
Tag Questions
It is an expression to push the other person's mind and confirm it, and it becomes the following sequence.
Normal affirmative sentence / negative sentence +, (comma) + Tag question (additional question sentence)
The meaning is, "Is it ...?" "It is not ...?"
When the base sentence is a positive sentence, the comma is followed by a negative form (~), and when the base is a negative sentence, the comma is followed by a normal question form (not ~?).
e.g.:
Mary won the prize, didn't she?
Gloria speaks English very well, doesn't she?
The door is open, isn't it?
There will be his presentation at the next meeting, won't there?
We are not going out this evening, are we?
You won't work late, will you?
Tom and Matt didn't go to school yesterday, did they?
If "have" is used as the main verb, use "do, does, did" as an adjunct verb for the question that follows.
e.g.:
We have enough food for a week, don't we?
Mr, Millar has three children, doesn't he?
Your mother had terrible back pain last week, didn't she?
If "have" is used as an auxiliary verb, it will be used as it is in the question after it.
e.g.:
The Morgans have visited your house before, haven't they?
Anna has already seen that movie, hasn't she?
Exercise
Exercise1 (Indirect Questions)
Complete the following sentences, using the indirect question forms.
- Whose books are these ?
→ Example：Do you know [whose books these are] ? - What time is it ?
→ Tell me [___________________] . - Where does Sarah come from ?
→ Let's ask Sarah [___________________________________] . - How far is it from his house to the station ?
→ Do you know [_________________] ? - How long does it take to the station from here ?
→ How long do you think [______________________] ? - Who wrote this essay ?
→ I wonder [_______________] . - Why did you miss English class yesterday ?
→ Please explain [______________________________] . - Did anybody see him ?
→ We don't know [_____________] .
Exercise2 (Tag Questions)
Finish the following sentences by using the correct tag question.
- Example：You can play the piano very well, [can't you] ?
- Sue will be home tomorrow, [_____________________] ?
- It snows a lot in the North, [_________________________] ?
- You haven't met my sister, [_____________________] ?
- You don't know the Asian food market, [___________________] ?
- We shouldn't be here, [____________________________] ?
- Kei is going to Hong Kong next week, [____________________] ?
- There were many collage students in the antiwar demonstration, [___________________________] ?
