Unit 19: Questions
Ngữ pháp Questions / question tags / indirect questions
📘 Giải thích tiếng Việt
Câu hỏi (Questions)
Đảo trợ động từ/be/modal lên trước chủ ngữ. Với động từ thường dùng do/does/did + V nguyên: Did you go to the talk? Câu hỏi Wh- đặt từ để hỏi ở đầu: How do you spell it?
Khác biệt chủ ngữ vs tân ngữ với who/what: khi từ hỏi làm chủ ngữ, không dùng do và động từ giữ nguyên: Who saw you? Khi làm tân ngữ thì cần trợ động từ: Who did you see?
Câu hỏi đuôi (Question tags)
Vế chính khẳng định → đuôi phủ định và ngược lại: You are Canadian, aren't you? Lặp lại trợ động từ/be/modal; động từ thường dùng do: You play guitar, don't you?
Lưu ý: I am… → đuôi aren't I? Sau Let's → shall we? Câu mệnh lệnh → will/would/could you? Từ mang nghĩa phủ định (no, never, hardly) → đuôi khẳng định. Chủ ngữ everyone/no one → dùng they; chủ ngữ there → lặp lại there.
Câu hỏi gián tiếp (Indirect questions)
Sau cụm mở đầu (Could you tell me…, Do you know…, I wonder…) dùng trật tự câu kể (chủ ngữ trước động từ), không đảo như câu hỏi: Could you tell me what time it is? (không nói what time is it). Nếu là câu hỏi Yes/No thì dùng if hoặc whether: I wonder if/whether you have read it. Lịch sự và trang trọng hơn câu hỏi trực tiếp.
Theory
Questions
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| With be as a main verb | Am/Was I on time? Are/Were you/we/they tired? |
| With be as an auxiliary verb | Am/Was I interrupting you? Is/Was he/she/it working? |
| With have as an auxiliary verb | Have/Had I/you/we/they got any money? Has/Had he/she/it finished? |
| With have as a main verb and with all other verbs | Do/Did I/you/we/they have enough time? Does/Did he/she/it need anything? |
| With modals | Should I wait? Could you help me? Will she be here soon? |
| With who, whose, whom, what, which, where, when, why, how | Who is taking the rubbish out? What is the weather like? How do you spell 'environment'? |
⚠️ With who and what, whether we use do or not depends on whether the question word refers to the subject or object of the verb.
- Subject: Who saw you? (= Someone saw you. Who?)
- Object: Who did you see? (= You saw someone. Who?)
⚠️ After do or does, we use the bare infinitive: Did you go to the talk? ✓
⚠️ The verb mean forms questions like other main verbs: What does 'environmental' mean? ✓
Question tags
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| With be as a main verb | You are Canadian, aren't you? She is beautiful, isn't she? |
| With auxiliary verbs and modals | You haven't lost my CD, have you? People should recycle things, shouldn't they? |
| With have as a main verb | Tom has a lovely voice, hasn't/doesn't he? |
| With other verbs | You play the guitar, don't you? Frank lives in Germany now, doesn't he? |
| With Let's | Let's get a DVD tonight, shall we? |
| With imperatives | Pass me that book, will/would/could you? Don't forget tonight, will you? |
⚠️ In sentences with I am, we use aren't I? as the tag. With I am not, we use am I?
⚠️ With everyone, no one, someone, we use they: Everyone's going to be there, aren't they?
⚠️ Positive verb → negative tag. Negative word (no, never, nobody, hardly) → positive tag: You have got no manners, have you?
⚠️ When the subject is there, we repeat there: There's no point calling Tim now, is there?
Indirect questions
| Form | introductory phrase or question + clause with normal word order |
|---|---|
| Can/Could you tell me …? | Could you tell me what time it is? |
| Could you let me know …? | Could you let me know when it starts? |
| Do you know …? | Do you know who that woman is? |
| I wonder if you could tell me … | I wonder if you could tell me how much this costs. |
| I wonder if you know … | I wonder if you know what the starting salary is. |
| I would like to know … | I would like to know what your company is going to do about it. |
⚠️ We do not use question word order in the second part: I would like to know when the next train to London leaves. ✓
⚠️ If a direct question is a 'yes/no' question, the equivalent indirect question uses if or whether: I wonder if/whether you have read this book.
Exercise A
Choose the correct answer.
Exercise B
Write questions from the words given.
Exercise C
Complete using the words in the box. Use each word only once. There is one extra word you do not need to use.
HELP US HELP THE ENVIRONMENT
(1) __________ responsibility is it to look after the environment? Yours! And (2) __________ should you start? Right now is the answer! But (3) __________ is going to help you? We are! We are GreenWarriors, the environmental protest group, and we know the answers to all your questions. We've put together this factsheet to get you started.
(4) __________ me? We all have a responsibility to the world around us. Ordinary people like you can make a big difference.
But (5) __________ can I make a difference? By recycling your paper, glass and plastic and by taking part in GreenWarrior demonstrations and protests in your area.
(6) __________ 's the first step? The first step is to come along to the GreenWarrior offices and speak to one of our officers. They will let you know about the next protest in your area.
(7) __________ other organisations are you connected to? GreenWarriors is a completely independent protest organisation.
(8) __________ is GreenWarriors based? We are a national organisation, with our headquarters in Northampton.
Exercise D
Circle the correct phrase.
'Maria, but she told me she couldn't come.'
'Just Ben, but I don't think he saw me.'
'Oh, I don't know. He just seemed a bit down.'
'Jenny, but she believed me when I told her I hadn't done it.'
'Well, I learned a lot from Extreme History.'
'Tracy, and I need to give it back to her tomorrow.'
'Work, really, and I've always loved this country.'
'He says that John started it by calling him names.'
'I think I would say my grandmother because she's worked hard all her life.'
'I'm not sure, but I think Simone probably told him.'
Exercise E
Write one word in each gap.
Early humans and the weather
(1) __________ you think you understand the weather? For early humans, the weather was a constant source of questions. (2) __________ is it raining? What (3) __________ this storm mean? Where (4) __________ the wind go when it blows? People came up with many explanations for the weather, usually involving gods or ancestors. (5) __________ you explain what a rainbow is? The Cherokee people of America believed that it was the hem of the sun god's coat.
The weather has also been used to explain other things. What would you say if someone asked you (6) __________ kangaroos come from? You'd probably say Australia, but (7) __________ did the Aborigines explain these strange animals? They told a story about a great storm. A group of Aboriginal hunters watched in amazement as the wind blew large creatures over their heads. (8) __________ could they be? Finally, the wind died down and the kangaroos landed on the ground. The storm had brought them a new animal to hunt.
Exercise F
Match to make sentences.
Exercise G
Complete the question tags.
Exercise H
Rewrite the sentences correctly.
Exercise I
Complete each second sentence using the word given, so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. Write between two and five words in each gap.
Do __________ back from Berlin?
Could you tell me __________ tonight?
I would like to __________ in the price.
Could you __________ the salary is?
I __________ to Brussels before.
Do you know __________ her exam?
Where __________ after the party last night?
How many days holiday __________ each year?
Exercise J
Circle the extra word in each sentence.
