INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 1
HCM city University of Education
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
Nguyễn Thị A Liễu
Class: CQBT 05
ABSTRACT:
Language is the most effective tool in communication. When we communicate with
each other, we use many types of sentences such as affirmative, negative,
exclamative sentences. Among of them, interrogative sentences are used the
highest frequency. In communication as well as in thinking, questions made are to
find out information which people do not know or understand. Because of those,
people have to ask questions. However, listening , receiving and making questions
are very difficult for language learners. Especially, in translation and interpretation
questions from alanguage into another language, it is not an easy job. The reasons
for the obstacles above are that beside the questions used to ask for information,
there are other questions used to ask for other purposes such as greeting, invitation,
feeling expression, or suggestion. Hence, we must base on contexts and speakers`
purposes in order to translate correctly. The investigation done with a purpose is to
help language learners know how to make and translate interrogative
sentences.
There are 4 types of interrogative sentences:
Yes- No Interrogatives
Wh- Interrogatives
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 2
Tag Questions
Alternative Interrogatives
1. Yes/No Interrogatives
Y-N questions are a type of questions which will be answered by “yes or no”, and
there are two types of Y-N questions: positive and negative.
Functions of Y-N questions:
Y-N questions are used to ask for information. Asking for information is a basic
function of any questions and with this kind of question, askers are looking forward to
being provided enough information they need. For instance, a man asks a woman “
Are you from England?” and the man expects the woman to answer “yes” or “ no”
because he wants to know where exactly the woman are from. In Vietnamese, we
have the same. Instead of inverting model verbs, to be, or borrowed verbs at the
beginning of a sentence, we use “ có...không, phải không, ạ, ừ, nhé, nhỉ, nha…”.
For example:
Does he work in that factory?
Anh ta làm trong công ty đó phải không?
Will you come?
Bạn sẽ đến chứ?
In English, when we change a positive sentence into an interrogative sentence, we
have to pay attention to its tense. However, in Vietnamese, we needn`t do that
because in Vietnamese, there are no tenses like in English. Sometimes, to
emphasize an action which happened in the past, we use some words such as “ đã,
đã từng”. For instance
Did he live in London?
Anh ta đã sống ở London phải không?
Below is a table containing Y-N questions in tenses.
Tenses
Interrogative elements and
forms
Present simple tense
Am/ is / are + S +…?
Do/ does + S + bare-inf. ?
Present
continuous Am/ is/ are + S + V-ing?
tense
Present perfect tense Have/ has + S + V3/ V-ed?
Present
perfect Have/ has + S + been + V3/
continuous tense
Ved?
Simple past
Was/ were + S …?
Did + S + bare-inf ?
Past continuous
Was/ were + S + Ving?
Past perfect
Past
continuous
Had + S + V3/ Ved ?
perfect Had + S + been + V3/ Ved?
Examples
Are you ok?
Does he love you?
Are they watching TV?
Have you finished?
Has he been slept for 12
hours?
Was he there?
Did you come there?
Were they doing when I
came?
Had he left when I came?
Had he been waited for 3
hours?
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Future simple
Future continuous
Future perfect
Modal verbs
Will/ shall + S + bare-inf.?
Will you come there
tomorrow?
Will/ shall + S + be + V-ing? Will you be learning at 8
o`clock tomorrow?
Will/ shall + S + have + V3/ Wil he have finished that
Ved?
report by tomorrow?
Can/ could/ may/ might/ Could you come here on
must/ should + S + bare- time?
inf.?
Y-N questions function as an invitation. To Vietnamese culture, when we want to
invite someone, we avoid speaking directly, so using Y-N questions are considered
impolite. Nevertheless, to English culture, it is ok. Example
Would you like something to eat, Father?
Trình cha, cha có muốn ăn qua loa chút gì không ạ?
Would you like something to drink, Peter?
Uống chút gì Peter nhé?
Y-N Interrogatives function as suggestion, or asking for help? In our life, asking for
help often occurs. In this case, we can use Y-N questions to express the action. In
English, this action is a question, but when we translate it into Vietnamse, it is a
positive sentence.
For example
Will you tell her how sorry I am?
Xin cô vui lòng nói lại rằng tôi rất lấy làm buồn.
Could you show me the way to the nearest post office?
Làm ơn chỉ giùm tôi đường tới bưu điện gần đây nhất ạ.
Y-N interrogatives function as an offer for help. Some people often think that offer
for help is easy to express, but in fact it is not because if they do not know how to
exploit words effectively, they may cause misunderstanding or even hurt someone`s
feelings. Therefore, in order to make people are received helps feel comfortable and
pleased to receive the helps, we use Y-N interrogatives. Below are some examples
with Vietnamse equivalent meanings so that we can distinguish the differences
between English and Vietnamse Y-N questions functioning as an offer for help.
Shall I run fetch him?
Có cần tôi kêu ảnh lại không?
Can I close the door for you?
Bạn có muốn mình đóng cửa giùm bạn không?
Y – N interrogatives function as permission. Sometimes in some situations, we
cannot make a decision by ourselves and we have to ask for permission. In order to
do that, we use Y-N interrogatives.
Can I have wine with the meal?
Tôi có được uống rượu trong bữa ăn không?
Can I park here?
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 4
Tôi có thể đậu xe ở đây được không?
From the examples above, when asking for permission, in English we use Y-N
interrogatives with some model verbs such as “will, can, could”, but in Vietnamse, we
ues words such as “có thể…..được không”.
Y-N interrogatives function as an expression of surprise. When we want to show our
surprise to something, besides using positive sentences, we use Y-N interrogatives.
In Vietnamese, to express this function, we use some words such as “sao, à, ư, vậy
ư, vậy à…”. Below are some examples.
Do you really think that is true?
Ông nghĩ vậy thật sao?
Don`t you know anything, Meg?
Em không biết tí gì ư Meg?
Y-N interrogatives function as an expression of anger. When we feel bothered,
uncomfortable or angry about something, we can use Y-N interrogatives to express
our feelings. In Vietnamse, we often use “hả, hử, chăng, có phải…không, phải
không” to show this feeling. Examples
Have you lost your mind, honey?
Cháu điên rồi hả?
Do you mean to call me a coward?
Có phải ông bảo tôi hèn nhát?
Y-N interrogatives function as an attention. In daily life, there are many things which
we are worried about such as health, job…One of ways expressing emotion is using
Y-N interrogatives. In Vietnamse, we use “chứ, không, sao, à, ư, chứ, nhỉ…”
Examples:
Are all the folks at Tara well?
Mọi người ở Tara vẫn khỏe mạnh chứ?
Are you ok?
Bạn ổn chứ?
Y-N interrogatives function as a worry of the speaker. Sometimes we may encounter
some situations which make us hesitate and we do not know whether it is true or
false. Below are some English and Vietnamese examples.
Do you think it would be any good to try and see her tomorrow?
Theo cô tôi có nên tìm gặp nàng vào ngày mai không?
Y-N interrogatives function as an affirmation of information. To indicate some
information which we are not sure, we can use this question. Often when using this
question, askers expect listeners to answer “yes”.
Did you shoot it Francis?
Chính anh bắn nó phải không Francis?
Y - N interrogatives function as an exclamation. When we have some strong
emotion, or impression about a person or thing, we can use Y-N interrogatives to
express our emotion. In Vietnamse, we express this emotion by using some words
such as “quá, biết mấy, biết bao, bao nhiêu, chừng nào, nhường nào…”. It is not a
question in Vietnamese. Therefore, we end a sentence with an exclamation mark.
Below are some examples.
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Weren`t you wonderful to come here?
Em đến đây thật tuyệt vời quá!
2. Wh- interrogatives.
We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions).
We often refer to them as WH- words because they include the letters WH. WhQuestions allow a speaker to find out more information about topics. Below is the
table on which has some question words, their functions and examples.
Question words
Functions
Examples
What
Asking information about What is your name?
something
What
Asking for repetition or What? I didn`t hear
confirmation
anything
What…..for
Asking for reasons
What did you do it for?
When
Asking for time
When will you come?
Where
Asking for place or Where do you live?
position
Which
Asking for choice
Which one do you like?
Who
Asking
for
people( who opened the door?
subject)
Whom
Asking for people( object) Whom did you see?
Whose
Asking about ownership
Whose is this book?
Why
Asking for reasons
Why didn`t you come?
Why don`t
Making a suggestion
Why don`t we swim?
How
Asking about manner
How did you come there?
How
Asking about condition or How was your exam?
quality
How far
Asking for distance
How far is it?
How long
Asking about length
How long is this river?
How old
Asking for age
How old is he?
How +adj
Asking about extent or
degree
How come
Asking for reasons
How come I can`t see
her?
How many
Asking about quatity How many students are
(countable)
there in this class?
How much
Asking about quatity ( How much sugar do you
uncountable nouns)
need?
In English, we have many question words such as “ what, when, where, how,
what…for, how much, how many, how old, how long, why, which….”, and in
Vietnamese, we have the equivalent words such as “gì, khi nào, ở đâu, như thế nào,
để làm gì, bao nhiêu ( to this word, there are no countable or uncountable nouns, so
we do not have to distinguish which nouns are countable or uncountable), bao nhiêu
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tuổi, bao xa, tại sao, cái nào…). However, in English, when we want to make Whquestions, we just use question words, but in Vietnamse, besides words listed
above, sometimes we need some extra words such as “thế, thế kia, vây…”. Below is
some examples.
What did he buy?
Anh ta mua cái gì thế?
How did Mary come here?
Làm thế nào mà Mary đến được đây vậy?
When will the meeting begin?
Khi nào thì cuộc họp bắt đầu vậy?
The "grammar" used with wh- questions depends on whether the topic being asked
about is the "subject" or "predicate" of a sentence. For the subject pattern, simply
replace the person or thing being asked about with the appropriate wh-word. For
instance
Someone has my baseball
Who has my baseball?
Something is bothering you.
What is bothering you?
For the predicate pattern, wh-question information depends on whether there is an
auxiliary verb in the original sentence. Auxiliary or borrowed verbs are verbs that
precede main verbs. To make a question using the predicate pattern, first form a yes
or no question by inverting the subject and auxiliary verb. Then, add the appropriate
wh-word to the beginning of the sentence.
I will leave tomorrow.
? will you leave?
When will you leave?
He is doing homework.
? is he doing?
What is he doing?
They used to live in London.
? did they use to live?
Where did they use to live?
If there is no auxiliary and there is “be”, invert the subject and verb, then add an
appropriate wh- word to the beginning of the sentence. Below are some examples.
He is a doctor.
? is he?
Who is he?
The meeting is going to be held ? is the meeting going to be held?
tomorrow.
When is the meeting going to be held?
If there are no auxiliary and verbs are not “be”, add “do, does, or did” to the
beginning of the sentence. Then add the appropriate wh- question word, but pay
attention to the tense and plural or single nouns. “Do” is used with present simple
tense and plural nouns. “Does” is used with present simple tense and single or
uncountable nouns. “Did” is used with simple past. Below are some examples.
I want a banana.
? do you want?
What do you want?
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 7
She usually visits Dalat.
He went to Dalat?
? does she usually visit?
Where do she usually visit?
? did he go?
Where did he go?
Differently, in Vietnamese, when making questions, we just need question words and
we do not have to know which verbs are “to be”, which verbs are original verbs and
which tenses the sentences belong to, so we needn`t care much like in English.
Following examples will clarify this.
Where did he go yesterday?
Hôm qua anh ta đi đâu thế?
Where does he go?
Anh ta đi đâu thế?
Where did you go?
Bạn đã đi đâu thế?
3. Tag questions
A tag question is a short question added to the end of a positive or negative
statement. Tag questions are used to verify or to check information that we are not
sure it is true or false. Sometimes we just use them for effect when we are trying to
be sarcastic, or to make a strong point. When we want to find out the agreement or
affirmation of answers, we use tag questions. There are no kinds of sentences called
tag questions in Vietnamese, but when we want to translate a tag question into
Vietnamese, we replace “tag” parts by some words such as “ phai khong, dung
khong…? Below are examples.
He is intelligent, isn`t he?
Anh ta thông minh đúng không?
You won`t come, will you?
Bạn sẽ không đến phải không?
If the tag is a real question, it has a rising intonation. For examples
The chairman is coming at 3.30, isn`t he?
If the tag is not a real question, it has a flat or falling intonation.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 8
Examples
It is a nice day, isn`t it?
It is possible for a positive statement to be followed by a positive tag for even more
effect ( sarcasm, anger, disbelief, shock, concern….)
Examples
Oh you will, will you?
You think you are funny, do you?
How are tag questions formed? Normally a positive statement is followed by a
negative tag and a negative statement is followed by a positive tag. The statement
and the tag are separated by a comma and the tense of the statement and the tag is
the same. It means that if the verb of the statement is an auxiliary verb, the verb of
the tag will match it. In Vietnamese, we do not have tag questions, but when we
translate an English tag question into Vietnamese, we use some words such as “
phải không, đúng không”.
For examples:
You can do it, can`t you?
Anh có thể làm việc đó chứ đúng không?
You can`t do it, can you?
Anh không the phải không?
You are Vietnamese, aren`t you?
Bạn là người Việt Nam đúng không?
You aren`t Vietnamese, are you?
Bạn không phải là người Việt hả?
4. Alternative questions
In English and Vienamese, we usually encounter Alternative question. Alternative
question is a kind of question in which 2 or more possible answers are given for the
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 9
listener to choose 1 of them. In English, the sign to identify Alternative question is
“or”, and in English, it is “hay là, hoặc là”
Examples:
You`ll read or I`ll read?
Mình đọc hay tôi đọc?
Do you like maths or English?
Bạn thích Toán hay là Anh?
Do you still remember or forget?
Em còn nhớ hay em đã quên?
Application in teaching Interrogative sentences
Because there is a gap of languages and cultures between English and Vietnamese,
it seems hard for Vietnamese students in learning interrogative questions. In
Vietnamese, there are no tenses, no inversion of special verbs, no kinds of tag
question, so Vietnamese learners feel confused with interrogatives and usually make
mistakes when they make English questions. Many students are influenced by their
mother tongue and they often make questions by translating from their language into
English. For examples: Quyển sách này của ai? Instead of saying “whose is this
book?”, they say “ this book who?” or “ hôm qua anh đi đâu?”. Instead of saying
“Where did you go yesterday?” they say “ yesterday you go where?”. Vietnamese
learners usually use English grammar incorrectly. Therefore, as a to-be teacher, we
must realize this weak point of students and show them the differences between
English and Vietnamese grammar points. In our language, we do not have to pay
attention to tenses, do not use borrowed verbs or invert special verbs when making
questions. However, these are the most important things in making English
questions. Learners have to use special verbs with appropriate tenses and invert
special verbs in some necessary cases. I believe that after student have known the
differences, they will reduce their mistakes in making questions.
For example:
What are you doing now?
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Anh đang làm gì vậy?
Will you come and see me tomorrow?
Anh sẽ đến thăm em vào ngày mai chứ?
In English speaking, there are some sentences used to ask questions but we do not
have to use special verbs or inversion. However, speakers have to raise intonation at
the end of the sentences in order for listeners to recognize that they are asked and
need to give answers for the questions.
For examples:
You bought this bike?
Bạn đã mua chiếc xe đạp này hả?
There are some English questions whose answers are different from our language.
To a negative English question, differently from Vietnamese, people who are asked
will answer the questions according to the fact they have, not according to the
questions like Vietnamese.
For examples
Don`t you love me?
In Vietnamese, if the listener does not love the asker, she will answer “yes”. On the
contrary, in English if the listener does not love the asker, she will say “no”, and if
she loves the asker, she will say “ yes”. This is an interestingly different point in
negative questions, so in teaching English, we, to- be teachers, should pay attention
to this and explain to students so that they can master this point.
Besides, in A descriptive English grammar written by Ha Van Buu, he mentioned
some special things in tag questions which learners usually make mistakes in
making tag questions. Hence, we must include below points when teaching tag
questions because they are so strange to our students because students rarely
encounter the structures and they do not know how to translate them into
Vietnamese. Below are some cases and examples.
1. Modal perfect
Eg:
You could have seen him, couldn`t you?
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Cô có lẽ đã gặp cậu ta đúng không?
He should have told me, shouldn`t he?
Lẽ ra anh ta nên nói với tôi đúng không?
2. Had better
Eg:
We had better study harder, hadn`t we?
Chúng ta nên học chăm chỉ hơn phải không?
3. Used to
Eg:
You used to go there, usedn`t you?
Bạn đã từng ở đó phải không?
Or : You used to go there, didn`t you?
4. Let`s
Eg: Let`s do it right now, shall we?
Chúng ta làm bây giờ được không?
5. Let me
Eg: Let me give you a hand, will you/ won`t you?
Để tôi giúp bạn một tay nhé?
6. Affirmative imperative
Eg: Come and see me tomorrow, will you?
Hãy đến thăm em vào ngày mai nhé?
7. Negative words such as never, nothing, nowhere, seldom, hardly…
Eg: You have never seen her, have you?
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 12
Anh chưa bao giờ gặp cô ấy phải không?
You seldom see her, do you?
8. Little, a little, few, a few
Eg: he has little knowledge of that matter, has he?
Ông ta không có hiểu biết về vấn đề đó đúng không?
He has a little knowledge of that matter, hasn`t he?
Ông ta có kiến thức về vấn đề đó đúng không?
9. Everybody, everyone
Eg: Everyone knew that, didn`t they/ didn`t he?
Mọi người đều biết phải không?
In teaching Wh- questions, we need to classify Wh-questions into many small cases
so that students can master this kind of questions more clearly and easily. We can
divide Wh-questions into 5 small kinds. In each part, we compare and contrast with
Vietnamese kinds of questions in order to know which kinds are similar to
Vietnamese and which kinds are not . This will help students not be influenced by
their mother tongue and avoid mistakes.
1. Wh-question plays a roll as a subject. This kind is similar to Vietnamese. To
make this kind of question, we follow the formular below.
Wh- word + V +……?
Eg:
Who is your sister?
Ai là chị cậu thế?
What happened?
Chuyện gì xảy ra vậy?
2. Wh- question plays a roll as a direct object. This kind is different because we
have to invert special verbs when making this kind of question.
Direct object + Y-N question +…..?
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 13
Eg
Whom did you see?
Anh đã gặp ai vậy?
What are you doing?
3. Wh- question plays a roll as a compliment. This is also different from
Vietnamese questions.
Wh- word + be + adj ?
Eg
What is this?
What is his name?
4. Wh- question plays a roll as an adverb of time, place, reason or manner.
Eg
Why did she leave me without a word?
Where did you live when you were 5 years old?
5. Interrogative word + ever
Interrogatives can combine with “ever” such as “however, wherever, whenever,
whatever, whoever…” to express strong emotion such as surprise, anger, or fear.
Eg
Why ever did you do that? ( anger)
Tại sao mày lại làm thế?
However did you get in? ( surprise)
Làm thế nào mà anh vào được vậy?
Whoever is that waving to you? ( anger- jelousy of a husband)
Ai vẫy tay chào em vậy?
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 14
Whatever is that noise?
( fear)
Tiếng gì vậy?
This is one point to keep in mind with a negative question with “why”. “ Why don`t
you go out with me ? and “ Why does`t she close the door?”. The 2 examples are
the same in grammar. However, the first example is just like an invitation and an
English will respond that “ Let` go” or “ I`m sorry, I have something to do”. The
second one is basically a question asking a reason and it needs an answer. That
structure is also used in Vietnamese but it is rare, so teacher should present
them to the students.
Conclusion
When we teach English, besides using English we need exploit the native language
of students by comparing and contrasting 2 language: mother tongue and foreign
language so that students can distinguish the differences and reduce mistakes in
learning. This contrast about interrogative sentences in English and Vietnamese is to
carry out this purpose.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 15
REFERENCES
Quang Thiem, Le ( 2004). Ngon ngu hoc doi chieu. Ha Noi national university
Publisher
Van Buu, Ha. A Descriptive English Grammar. The youth Publisher
A, Le, Phan Phung Dung, Vu Thi Kim Hoa. Tieng Viet. Education Publisher and
Educational University publisher
Y-N questions from http://www.kh-sdh.udn.vn/zipfiles/sv2008tb21/2R.HO%20THI%20THANH%20HA.pdf
Wh- questions from http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/wh-questionwords.htm