Part 2: Verbs
Interrogative mood
Examples
Are you listening to me?
Where are you going?
What movie did you see?
Definition
A sentence or clause in the interrogative mood is a question. There are two types of question in English grammar: yes/no questions (which are typically answered yes or no, such as are you ready? did you understand?) and wh- questions, or referential questions, which start with an interrogative pronoun (a question word): who, what, where, when, which, why, how (many/much).
Form
A characteristic feature of interrogatives is that they use verb-subject word order, unlike the typical subject-verb word order of declarative statements (i.e. regular clauses, or non-questions). Technically it is only the first auxiliary verb in the clause that inverts. If there is no auxiliary verb (or no linking verb be), we add do/does/did to from the interrogative. The basic grammar of questions is presented in the table:
|
Wh- word |
Verb |
Subject |
Rest of the sentence |
|
|
Is |
Luis |
absent today? |
|
|
Are |
you |
listening to me? |
|
|
Have |
I |
told you about my new car. |
|
|
Do |
the animals |
have enough to eat? |
|
|
Does |
your sister |
like music? |
|
|
Did |
they |
go to the theater? |
|
Where |
did |
you |
park the car? |
|
What |
has |
the wind |
done to your roof? |
|
How much |
does |
the book |
cost? |
|
Why |
did |
she |
leave early? |
Some wh- words can also be the subject of the verb, in which case the verb follow it:
|
Wh- word/Subject |
Verb |
Rest of the sentence |
|
Who |
called? |
|
|
Which cake |
has |
the most calories? |
|
What |
is |
happening? |
Function
Questions solicit information. We can categorize the type of information by the wording of the question:
Yes/no questions solicit a binary response (yes or no).
Who questions ask about people (usually the subject or object of the verb).
Where questions ask about place.
Why questions ask for reasons.
How questions ask about process.
How much/many questions ask about quantity.
Which (and sometimes what) questions ask for the identify or reference of a noun (e.g. Which one? which person? what ideas?).
