Asking Questions (Part 1)

 

ASKING QUESTIONS– HOW DO WE FORM THEM AND WHAT IS THE CORRECT WORD ORDER IN ENGLISH?

(PART 1)

Asking questions correctly can sometimes be confusing in English. You may wonder if you are putting the words in the correct order. There two types of questions, yes/no and wh. This blog explains of these types of questions with the verb “to be” and with all other verbs and discusses asking questions in the simple present, present progressive, simple past, and future tenses.

Questions with the verb “to be.”

When asking questions, the be verb works a little bit differently than all other verbs in English. It is possibly the most important verb in English.

Yes/no questions with be verb.

1. To form a question, you first need to know how to form a statement. Word order for statements using be is generally subject + verb

I am a student.

He is a student.

They are students.

Word order for asking yes/no questions is simply a reversal of a statement, verb + subject. This works for either simple present or simple past.

Are you a student? Yes, I am. No, I’m not.

Is he a student? Yes, he is. No he’s not.

Were they students? Yes, they were. No, they weren’t.

2. In the present progressive, you also need to know how to make a statement. The word order is a statement is subject + am/are/is + ing form of the verb.

He is cooking dinner right now.

The word order for asking questions in the present progressive is also the reverse of a statement:  am/are/is + subject + ing form of the verb.

Is he cooking dinner right now? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.

3. In the future tense we can make statements and ask questions with the word “will.” For a statement, the correct word order is subject + will + base form of the verb (be).

She will be in Mexico tomorrow.

For questions, the word order is the reverse of a statement, will + subject + base form of the verb (be).

Will she be in Mexico tomorrow? Yes, she will. No, she won’t.

 

 

AUTHOR

Dr L Suresh

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore - 641020

Contact: 9944138137

e-mail ID: sureshenglit@rmv.ac.in

Adverbs and Common Errors

  

Adverbs and Common Errors 

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with adjectives that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. This present post highlights the common errors that people tend to commit in terms of adverbs.

Adverbs are used to add some additional meaning to the verb and adjective. They also describe the manner of action, time of action, and place of action.

This post briefs the contexts where adverbs are used inappropriately.

1.   I went to a film yesterday night.                                                (Incorrect)

I went to a film last night.                                                        (Correct)

It is advisable to use ‘last night’ instead of using yesterday night.

2.   My brother plays often chess.                                                    (Incorrect)

My brother often plays chess.                                                   (Correct)

Often is usually put before the verb.

3.   The cricket match inside is being played.                                 (Incorrect)

The cricket match is being played inside.                               (Correct)

Adverbs of place (inside, outside, under, above, nearby, in the stadium) are put at the end or in the beginning for contrast.

4.   I am planning seriously for a job.                                              (Incorrect)

I am seriously planning for a job.                                            (Correct)

Adverbs of time such as yesterday, today, tomorrow, seriously, foolishly, kindly, and definitely can occur in the middle before the subject and verb or between modal and main verb. They can also occur in the beginning and end.

5.   I went to the club even.                                                              (Incorrect)

I even went to the club.                                                             (Correct)

'Even' and 'only' are used in the middle unless they describe the subject; then they are put in the beginning. 

 Let us discuss some more ideas on Modals in the next post.

 

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

Reference:

Saumya Sharma. (2017). Common Errors in Everyday English.