1.2.2 Interrogative Sentences

An interrogative sentence is a type of sentence that asks a question. They are marked by inversion of the subject and predicate, which means, the first verb appears before the subject. Interrogative sentences end with a question mark. There are many different types of questions:

Alternative Question: offers the listener a choice between two or more answers. In conversation, it ends with a falling intonation.

Declarative Question: A yes-no question that has the form of a declarative sentence but is spoken with rising intonation at the end.
                                             

Direct Question: A direct quiestion has one or some combination of these three characteristics: rising intonation, an auxiliary verb in a position before the subject, or an interrogative pronoun.                                

Embedded Question: A question that appears in a declarative statement or in another question. The subject usually comes before the verb in an embedded question.

Hypophora: A strategy in which the writer/speaker raises a question and immediately answers it. It is a type of rhetorical question.

Interrogatives: An interrogative is a word that introduces a question which can't simply be answered with yes or no. They are sometimes called question words or wh- words because or their most common initial letters: who, whom, whose, which, where, why, when and how.

Queclarative: A sentence that has the form of a question but the force of a statement or declarative sentence. Very similar to rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical Question: A question asked merely for effect, with no answer expected. Mostly used in speech and informal writing.

Tag Question: Is a question added to a declarative sentence, usually at the end, to engage the listener, verify or confirm something. Common tags include won't you? wasn't it? don't you? haven't you?

Leading Question: A type of question that implies or contains its own answer. It can serve as a form of persuasion.

Yes-No Question: A yes-no question is an interrogative construction that expects the answer of "yes" or "no". In yes-no questions, an auxiliary verb (do,will,have) typically appears in front of the subject - a formation called subject-auxiliary inversion.

WH- Question: A term for a question that is formed with an interrogative word, and that expects an answer other than yes or no. Contrast with yes-no question.