•The presentation is divided into two levels:
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• = Lower-intermediate/Intermediate
• = Upper-intermediate
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 Questions

word order
•Look at the sample sentences:
•I have checked all the invoices.
•He is going to London by train next week.
•They accepted the conditions quickly.
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•A typical word order for an English sentence is:
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•The manager will explain the vision in detail at the meeting tomorrow.
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•Note that will = auxiliary verb (AV) and explain = main verb
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Subject-Verb-Object-Manner-Place-Time
  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
SVOMPT

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
yes-no questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•Do you speak French?
•Are you working on this?
•Did you check all the invoices?
•Have you seen him recently?
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•Questions with answers yes or no (CLOSED QUESTIONS) are formed by changing the typical word order:
•we put first the auxiliary verb (AV), then the subject (S) and then the main verb:
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•Note that the short answers repeat the auxiliary.
•“Do you speak French?” → “Yes, I do.”/ “No, I don’t.”
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 S + (AV)
               →
AV + S
I know him well.
                →
Do you know him well?
They have done it.
                →
Have they done it?
We can start now.
                →
Can we start now?

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
wh-questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•When do you usually leave work?
•Which projects are you working on?
•Who did you speak to?
•Why have you decided to increase prices?
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•Questions with question words – when, which, how, etc., are called wh-questions or OPEN QUESTIONS.
After the question word we use the same structure as in yes-no questions:
•we put first the auxiliary verb (AV), then the subject (S) and then the main verb:
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 S + (AV)
               →
question word + AV + S
I will be back soon.
                →
When will you be back?
He went home.
                →
Where did he go?
I have spoken to him.
                →
Who have you spoken to?

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
question words and phrases

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
what or which?
•Look at the sample sentences:
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•1. Which colour do you like, pink or blue?
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•2. What colour do you like?
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•We use which when we are thinking about a small number of possibilities (perhaps 2, 3 or 4):
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•What is more general:
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? or ? or ? or ? or ?
? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or ? or? or ? or ?
= we choose from two colours
= it can be any colour, the choice is unlimited

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
the verb to be
•Look at the sample sentences:
•Is David from England?
•Are you ready?
•Was it a useful trip?
•Were his answers correct?
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•In questions with the verb to be, no auxiliary verb (AV) is used. The verb to be goes before the
subject (S).
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S + to be
to be + S
It is time for a meeting.
→
Is it time for a meeting?
I am here on business.
→
Are you here on business?

  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
subject questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•Who takes care of orders? →   Sandra takes care of them.
•What happened next? →  Nothing happened next.
•Which customer called you? → Mr. Smith called.
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•If the question word (who/what/which) is the subject of the question, do not use auxiliaries
(do/does/did) and do not change the word order.
•These questions are called subject questions.
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  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
object questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•Who did you meet yesterday? → I met my colleague.
•What does your work involve? → My work involves placing orders.
•Which offer will they accept? → They will accept their offer.
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•If the question word (who/what/which) is the object of the question, use auxiliaries (do/does/did)
- and change the word order.
•These questions are called object questions.
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  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
subject/object questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•Diane loves Jack.
•Who loves Jack? → Diane. (subject question)
•Who did Diane love? → Jack. (object question)
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who subject
who object
Somebody telephoned Sally.
Who telephoned Sally?
Sally telephoned somebody.
Who did Sally telephone?

prepositions in questions
  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level

practice
•Make questions and ask about the underlined information.
•1. David has gone to London.
•    ____________________
•2. Lucy visited Peter yesterday.
•     _______________________
•3. Lucy visited Peter yesterday.
•     __________________________
•4. John was afraid of the meeting.
•     _________________________
•5. This book belongs to Paul.
•     ________________________
•6. David will get to office twice a week.
•    ______________________________
•7. They are here on business.
•     ________________
•8. He sent the report to his boss.
•     ___________________________
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  Questions
Lower-intermediate/Intermediate level
Where has David gone?
Who visited Peter yesterday?
Who did Lucy visit yesterday?
What was John afraid of?
Who does this book belong to?
How often will David get to office?
Why are they here?
What did he do with the report?

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
direct/ indirect questions
•Look at the sample questions:
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•1. Where do you work?
•2. Could you tell me where you work?
•3. Has she got the job in Spain?
•4. Do you know if she has got the job in Spain?
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•When the DIRECT QUESTION (1, 3) comes after an introductory phrase (Could you tell me…?/Do you
know…?, etc.), it  loses the typical question word order and becomes the INDIRECT QUESTION (2, 4).
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•When the direct question is closed, i.e. there is no question word, use if /whether. (4)
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What time is it?
→
→
→
→
Do you know what time it is?
How much will it cost?
I wonder how much it will cost.
Could you call me a taxi?
I wonder if/whether you could call me a taxi.
Did anybody see you?
Do you know if/whether anybody saw you?
Direct question
Indirect question

  Questions
some introductory phrases of indirect questions
I don’t know…
Would you mind telling me…?
I was wondering…
Do you know…?
Do you have any idea…?
I wonder …
Can you tell me…?
Tell me…
Have you got any idea…?
I’ d like to know…
Can I ask you…?
I need to know…
Do you mind me asking…?
I’d be interested to know…
I don’t remember…
I’ve no idea…
Upper-intermediate level
We use indirect questions when we hesitate, when we want to be more polite, to sound more formal,
to talk to strangers, teachers, etc.

practice
•Change the direct questions below into indirect ones.
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•1. Who are those people?
•    Do you know ____________________
•2. Where does he work?
•    Can you tell me _________________
•3. Did they arrive?
•    I wonder ______________________
•4. Can they pay us now?
•     I don’t know _____________________________
•5.  When are you going away?
•     Could you tell me _________________________
•6.  Have they offered us advantageous terms of payment?
•     Could I ask you ____________________________
•     _____________________________
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  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
who those people are?
where he works?
if/whether they arrived.
if/whether they can pay us now.
when you are going away?
advantageous terms of payment?
if/ whether they have offered us

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
other types of questions
•Look at the dialogue:
•A: George is coming to London.
•B: When?
•C: Tomorrow night.
•D: For how long?
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•Questions in the dialogue are called ONE-WORD QUESTIONS.
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•Look at the dialogue:
•A: I’ve just come back from London.
•B: You’ve just come back from London? / You’ve just come back from where?
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•Statements used as questions by giving them a rising intonation are called ECHO QUESTIONS. They
are used when the speaker believes he/she knows the information but wants to check or to show
surprise. A question word can also be used in the place of the information that surprises.
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  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
negative questions
•Look at the sample sentences:
•1. Don’t you think that it is too much?
•2. Do you not think that it is too much? (rather formal)
•3. Don’t you accept credit cards?
•4. Haven’t we met before?
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•The sample sentences are called NEGATIVE QUESTIONS.
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•We use them:
Ø  to disagree politely (1, 2)
Ø  to show surprise (3)
Ø  when we expect the answer to be yes (4)
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  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
question tags
•Look at the sample questions:
•You speak French, don‘t you?
•You don’t speak French, do you?
•Mary won’t be late, will she?
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•Don’t you, do you, will she are QUESTION TAGS. They are mini questions at the end of a statement
that turn the statement into a question. They invite the other person to reply.
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•The meaning of a question tag depends on how you say it. If your voice goes down, you aren’t
really asking a question; you are only inviting the listener to agree with you.
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•But if the voice goes up, it is a real question.
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  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
question tags
•Question tags are formed using an auxiliary or a modal.
•A positive statement usually has a negative tag, and vice-versa.
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•Note that in order to express surprise or interest, you can use a positive statement with a
positive question tag (with rising intonation).
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•The Johnsons are leaving for Australia, are they?
You went to the conference,
+     →    -
You can meet him tomorrow,
He’s here,
You didn’t go to the conference,
-     →    +
You can’t meet him tomorrow,
He’s not here,
didn’t you?
can’t you?
isn’t he?
did you?
can you?
is he?

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
question tags
•Look at the sample questions:
•1. Let’s break for coffee now, shall we?
•2. Have a seat, will you?
•3. Give me a call later, won‘t you?
•4. Pass me the file, could you?
•5. I’m late, aren’t I?
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Question tags
Let’ s …,
shall we?
It is suggestion. (1)
imperatives
will you?/won’t you?
(2, 3)
impeartives (requests)
can you?/could you?
(4)
I’m/ I am…,
aren’t I?
(5)

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
practice
•Add a question tag to each sentence.
1.We’re nearly there, __________
2.You know the Brazilian market, __________
3.You went to Brazil in March, __________
4.He’s never been to Brazil, ________
5.You won’t be late, _________
6.Harry isn’t going to retire, ______
7.We had a good meal last night, __________
8.I’m late, ________
9.Let’s meet again soon, _________
10.Don’t underestimate it, _________
aren’t we?
don’t you?
didn’t you?
has he?
will you?
is he?
aren’t I?
shall we?
will you?
didn’t we?

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
practice
•Make a question with a question tag.
1.Ask a colleague if he sent a fax. You expect the answer to be “no”.
•      You ______________________
•2.   Ask a colleague if he sent a fax. You expect the answer to be “yes”.
•      You ___________________
3.Ask a stranger at the airport if his name is Mr Peters. You are not sure his name is Mr Peters.
•      Your name __________________
4.You recognize someone. You are sure his name is Mr Peters.
•      Your name __________________
5.You guess that Biotec have cancelled their order.
•      Biotec ___________________________________
6.You are very surprised that Biotec have cancelled their order.
•      Biotec ___________________________________
didn’t send a fax, did you?
sent a fax, didn‘t you?
isn’t Mr Peters, is it?
haven’t cancelled their order, have they?
have cancelled their order, haven’t they?
is Mr Peters, isn’t it?

  Questions
Upper-intermediate level
reply questions
•Look at the dialogues:
•1. A: I went to Head Office last week.
•    B: Did you?
•2. A: I can’t install the new software.
•    B: Can’t you?
•3. A: I think they are arriving at ten.
•     B: Are they?
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•The questions in the dialogues are called REPLY QUESTIONS. They are used when we want to show:
Øinterest (1)
Øsurprise (2)
Øuncertainty (3).
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•The reply questions use an auxiliary verb like in a question tag, but there is no change of
positive to negative.
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prepositions in questions
  Questions
Upper-intermediate level

  Questions

sources
•Sources of theory and examples:
•Raymond Murphy – Essential Grammar In Use, CUP, 1990
•Raymond Murphy – English Grammar In Use, CUP, 1985
•Paul Emmerson - Business Grammar Builder, Macmillan, 2007
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•Sources for further study:
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2006090703-otazky-v-anglictine
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2006091101-tvoreni-otazek-cviceni
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2006070401-otazky-na-podmet
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2011051901-otazky-na-podmet-predmet-cviceni-1
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2011052102-otazky-na-podmet-predmet-cviceni-2
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2011060701-neprime-otazky-embedded-questions
•http://www.helpforenglish.cz/article/2012052101-zaporne-otazky-v-anglictine
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