Questions, Answers, Negatives
Revise types of questions and have practice doing the exercises.
There are four main types of questions in English:
- general or Yes / No-questions;
- alternative or Or-questions;
- special or Wh-questions (a – to all memebers of the sentence except subject, b – questions to the subject or Who-questions);
- disjunctive or Tag-questions.
There are also negative questions:
- general: Isn’t his house near here? Wasn’t he a pilot? Didn’t the doctor tell you?
- special: Why didn’t the Dutch inhabit Australia?
Exercise 1. Form the general (Yes/No) questions.
Example: My brother likes skating. – Does my brother like skating?
- He translated a lot of letters into English.
- I had an early morning call at seven o’clock.
- Little children like to ask many questions.
- Their classes will last till four o’clock tomorrow.
- I’ve already done this task.
- She spends a lot of time on her English.
- My children are at college.
- They had supper at seven o’clock.
- I am going to play tennis in the evening.
- They were writing when I came.
- She can play the guitar very well.
- There are many people in the library now.
- Brazil won the football World Cup in 1994.
- He has already read a lot of English books.
- They have classes at 9 every day.
Exercise 2. Form the alternative questions to the words in bold.
Example: My brother likes skating. (3)
- Does my brother like skating or skiing?
- Does your or his brother like skating?
- Does your brother or Pete like skating?
- The film was exciting.(2)
- Thousands of people visited the exhibition. (2)
- He watches TV every day. (3)
- They can go to the country on Friday. (3)
- She has painted the walls. (3)
Exercise 3. Change the general questions into indirect ones. Begin your sentences with Do you know, I wonder or Tell me please.
Example: Has he seen this movie before? – Do you know if/whether he has seen this movie before? Tell me please if/whether he has seen this movie before. I wonder if/ whether he has seen this movie before.
- Is it common to give a waiter a tip?
- Does he want to come round this evening?
- Did you go out last night?
- Are single-parent families becoming more common in Ukraine?
- Is there anything you are very proud of?
- Does she live in the flat above you?
- Do they watch satellite TV or cable TV?
- Does the Internet influence our daily life?
- Did you go to a nursery school?
- Have the police questioned a number of people about the crime?
- Are trains more reliable than buses?
- Has he arranged his meeting for tonight?
- Are there lots of historical monuments in Vienna?
- Is there a great mix of people in Paris?
- Did he book a room at the hotel?
Exercise 4. Form the negative questions.
Example: She took part in the performance. – Didn’t she take part in the performance? OR : Did she not take part in the performance?
- I went to the cinema with my friends.
- They usually go to bed very early.
- They had finished work by 5 o’clock.
- She will be studying at this time tomorrow.
- There was an old bridge here.
- He came home very late.
- She understands Spanish a little.
- They have a three-room flat.
- He has been to the USA lately.
- They are going to build a new house.
- Your son loves music.
- We are going to the theatre today.
- There will be a lot of people at the lecture today.
- We studied at college together.
- His friends liked the film very much.
Exercise 5. Form the tag questions.
Example: She has already come. – She has already come, hasn’t she?
- They will return in a month.
- Let’s buy a loaf of bread.
- Open the window.
- I am late.
- There is a theatre in the centre of the city.
- She has never been to the zoo.
- I am right.
- Don’t go there.
- Peter and Ann know English well.
- He didn’t do his homework.
- Let’s go to the country.
- There were no mistakes in his dictation.
- She won’t be playing the piano at twelve.
- They can’t speak German at all.
- She knows him.
Exercise 6. Correct the mistakes if any.
- Don’t forget to bring the book, will you?
- There aren’t any apples left, are they?
- He is sure to come, doesn’t he?
- Let’s come a bit earlier to have better seats, don’t we?
- It isn’t raining now, is it?
- You and I talked to him last week, didn’t you?
- He won’t be leaving tomorrow, will he?
- She hasn’t been afraid of anything, hasn’t she?
- They have got two children, do they?
- The boys don’t have classes today, do they?
- I am to blame, aren’t I?
- We like to swim in the swimming-pool, do we?
- Nobody has come, don’t they?
- Please turn off the light, don’t you?
- He has never come back, hasn’t he?
Exercise 7. Put the words into the correct order (you must get special questions).
- time, his, always, who, in, is, lessons, for?
- going, what, her, about, he, week, is, to, in, write, to?
- about, did, speak, in, last, what, week, class, you?
- this, you, read, how, month, books, have, many?
- people, the, to, at, prefer, sometimes, do, study, why, library?
- many, France, he, been, how, to, times, has?
- kind, brave, we, of, call, people, what, do?
- draws, which, them, well, of?
- today, have, the, what, radio, heard, on, news, you?
- USA, states, in, there, the, many, are, how?
Exercise 8. Correct the mistakes if any.
- How often you have your English classes?
- What you do at English lessons?
- What you prepared for your lesson?
- Who were absent from the previous lesson?
- How many points you got for your exam?
- Who do you usually go home with?
- What countries the USA borders on?
- When did the briefing take place?
- Who knows this district well?
- Who did phone yesterday?
- How long you have been studying English?
Exercise 9. Form the special questions to the words in bold (the number of questions is given in brackets).
Example: He went to the theatre. (3) – Who went to the theatre? What did he do? Where did he go?
- My working day lasts eight hours. (3)
- They discussed a lot of articles on economics last weekend. (6)
- I have read this book in the original. (3)
- They were watching TV when I came. (4)
- I was absent because I was ill. (2)
- It took me two hours to get there. (2)
- They are going to travel by car. (3)
- I always speak English to him. (3)
- She will do the work in two days’ time. (3)
- I taught him to swim. (3)
Exercise 10. Change the special questions into indirect ones. Begin your sentence with Do you know, I wonder, or Tell me please.
Example: What does the boss want? – Do you know what the boss wants? Tell me please what the boss wants.
- How long does take him to get there?
- When did he meet her for the first time?
- Who objects to Sunday work?
- What is his date of birth?
- Whose book is it?
- When will the next conference take place?
- How well does she play the piano?
- Why are they buying a new house?
- How long will the interview last?
- What kind of chocolate tastes best?
- Where did they spend their vacation?
- Who does he know from group 3?
- How much does it cost to repair a bicycle?
- How long have you known the Browns?
- Whose bag is on the table?
Exercise 11. Open the brackets and translate into English short replies with So … or Neither / Nor …
Example: He knows English – (Она тоже.) – So does she.
She is not going there. – (Они тоже.) – Neither / Nor are they.
- I am dead with hunger. (Мы тоже.) –
- We are very grateful to him. (Я тоже.) –
- My brother can’t draw. (Мой тоже.) –
- We’ll be meeting in the hall. (Они тоже.) –
- My father always gives me good advice. (Мой тоже.) –
- She did not go to the country because the weather was awful. – (Он тоже.) –
- My sister’s son has made much progress in English lately. – (Наш тоже.)
- We’ll soon join them. – (Мы тоже.)
- I am not at all upset. – (Я тоже.)
- They enjoyed themselves at Jane’s party. – (Мы тоже.)
- I never watch TV. – (Я тоже.)
- She has to get up early. – (Они тоже.)
- He hasn’t got a car. – (Она тоже.)
- He is on the phone now. – (Мы тоже.)
- Nick can afford to buy a new house. – (Анна тоже.)
Exercise 12. Show your disagreement (see the example).
Example: I did not like the film. – Didn’t you? I did. He wants to go to the country. – Does he? I don’t.
- I feel tired.
- He is eager to go to Great Britain.
- She has never been to the Netherlands.
- I don’t like chemistry.
- I am fond of the last book by this writer.
- He is shocked with the news.
- I like jogging in the morning.
- He hasn’t done the work yet.
- We can play tennis well.
- We can’t stay here any longer.
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