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Questions?
What are questions?
Questions are different from statements, because statements give information, questions ask for it. We signal that we are asking a question by changing the way we speak (our inflection) and we change the grammar of the sentence as well. (Usually by inversion). Questions are not just used for getting information. They can also be used for sarcasm, making statements, challenging statements, and keeping conversations going.
Here we will study:
Inflection is the changing of the way we say something, for a particular reason. We might say it more quickly, slower, or, in the case of a question, by raising the pitch of the voice at the end of the sentence. Sometimes this on its own is enough to indicate a question.
Look at this example:
Question: What time shall we meet?
Answer : At 7.30
If the answer is given with no change in pitch, this means that the meeting is definitely at 7.30. However, if the speaker's voice is slightly higher at the end of the sentence the answer becomes a question meaning 'Is 7.30 a good time for you?'.
Inflection can also change the meaning of a question.
Look at this example:
Question: I'm looking forward to the party.
Answer : Are you going as well?
Said with the voice rising at the end of the sentence, this is a genuine question, expecting a yes/no answer. Said with a raised pitch for the whole sentence, this means 'I am glad you are going too.' Said with no rise in pitch at all, or with a drop in pitch at the end, the same question means 'I am not glad you are going too.'
The inflection of a question is indicated in written punctuation by a question mark, which is why you sometimes see it in sentences that do not look like normal questions – for example when someone answers a phone by saying 'Hello?'
Inversion is used in English for two purposes - giving a sentence emphasis (Never had he seen so big a tree) and to ask questions. The most basic inversion in questions is of subject with auxiliary. In a present simple statement, the auxiliary is sometimes left out - in a question it is not.
For example:
They meet at 7.30.
Do they meet at 7.30?
If the sentence contains more than one auxiliary, we only invert the first one.
For example:
They have been meeting at 7.30.
Have they been meeting at 7.30?
If the sentence contains a modal, we invert that.
For example:
I should exercise more.
Should I exercise more?
If the sentence has a modal and an auxiliary, we invert the modal only
For example:
Fred might have done that.
Might Fred have done that?
We use the verb 'to be' as we would an auxiliary.
For example:
That is easy.
Is that easy?
Using inversion to make a question gives a question that can be answered wiht 'yes' or 'no'. To get further information, we need to use question words. These are : Who, When, Why, What, Which, and How.
For example here are some questions about a famous highwayman:
Who asks about a person e.g. Who was Dick Turpin?
(A highwayman)
When asks about a time e.g. When did he live?
(In 1700)
What asks about a thing e.g. What was his job?
(He was a thief)
Why asks for a reason e.g. Why did he rob people?
(For money)
Which asks about a particular thing or things e.g. Which people did he rob?
(Rich people)
How asks for a method e.g. How did he die?
(He was hanged)
