Question Types in English

Date: 22/11/2007

Today let me discuss something on "Types of Questions" in English. There are two different question types in English. They are: "Wh Questions" and "Yes (or) No Questions".

As said in one of my previous posts, while posing questions in English, the verb should precede the subject(noun/pronoun). One shouldn't commit any mistake in it, even unwittingly, if one wants one's English to be close to perfection.

To make one's life easier, "Yes (or) No Questions" begin only with verbs. For example:

* Do you like to wear saree? (The answer would either be Yes or No)

* Are you the only child for your parents? (The answer would either be Yes or No)

* Is she a doctor? (The answer would either be Yes or No)

* Does she know Tamil? (The answer would either be Yes or No)

So, non-native speakers of English are prone to commit mistakes only with "Wh Questions". Also, such questions begin with question words like How? What? Which? Where? When? Why? How many? How much? For What? and so on and so forth.

The general structure of "Wh Questions" is,

Question word + verb + subject?

Let us see some examples:

* What is the time now? (Here, verb - is; subject/noun - time)

* How many mangoes are in the basket? (Here, verb - are; subject/noun - basket)

* How many children does she have? (Here, verb - does have; subject/pronoun - she)

* How much do you charge your customers for dozen biscuits? (Here, verb - do; subject/pronoun - you)

Now let us see a special case. Here, a question would contain both "Yes or No Part" and "Wh Part" and the "Yes or No Part" would be normally followed by the "Wh Part".

Let us see some examples:

* Do you know where my bag is?

(Here, "Do you know" is the "Yes or No part" and "Where my bag is" is the "Wh Part". In this case, the "Yes or No Part" alone is considered as the question part and the "Wh Part" is considered as the statement part. So, only in the "Yes or No Part" the verb should precede the subject and not in the "Wh Part". In the "Wh Part", the verb should succeed(come after) the noun. Hence,

* Do you know where my bag is? (Correct)
* Do you know where is my bag? (Wrong)

* Does she know when the meeting commences? (Correct)
* Does she know when commences the meeting? (Wrong)

* Do you know how cement is manufactured in factories? (Correct)
* Do you know how is cement manufactured in factories? (Wrong)


Our sweetest are those that tell of a saddest thought
- P. B. Shelley