English Composition/Interrogative Sentence
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English Composition ＞ Interrogative Sentence
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Interrogative Sentence
In this section, we focus on the 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 ordinary 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 a 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, [___________________________] ?
