Exclamatory Sentences

Interrogative Sentences

There are two structural types of interrogative sentences in Modern English – general questions (yes- or no- questions) and special (or wh-) questions. Both of them are characterized by having partial inversions:

Are we staying here?

Where are we staying?

Besides, the first one has a special (rising) intonation pattern. The second one (whquestion) has interrogative words. But the intonation pattern of wh-questions is identical with that of the affirmative sentences. And it is important to point out that the interrogative sentences require answers (if they are not rhetorical ones).

The actual division of the strictly interrogative sentences expresses an inquiry about information which the speaker does not possess. Therefore the rheme of the interrogative sentence, as the nucleus of the inquiry, is informationally open (gaping). The thematic part of the answer is usually zeroed since it’s already expressed in the question:

· e.g. How are you? – Fine, thanks.

Mixed types:

· e.g. You must all help dear Edward.

· e.g. You saw a good deal of him in London, I believe?

· e.g. Live and learn! e.g. Tell me about John, Mary.

· e.g. Can leopard change his spots?

e.g. Will you do something very kind, boy?

The peculiar features of these sentences are:

1. exclamatory sentences usually express some sort of emotion, feeling or the spirit of the person who pronounces it;

2. in their structure they have such introductory words as what and how:

Ex. What a lovely night! How beautiful it is here!

3. they are always in the declarative form;

4. there’s usually no inversion;

5. they are pronounced with a falling intonation;

Дата добавления: 2013-12-13