When we ask subject-questions

We ask subject-questions:

- with Who to identify a person or persons: Who takes sugar? - Jane (does) Both of us (do).

- with What to identify a thing or things: What caused the damage? - Rain (did) Falling stones (did)

- with What + noun to identify people or things: What careless boy left the tap on? - John (did) What paper has the largest circulation? - 'Today' (has)

- with Which to identify people or things: Which girl spoke first? - Jane (did) Which comes first, A or B? - A (does)

- with Whose to identify a 'possessor': Whose children rang our doorbell? ~ Our neighbour's (did)

- with e.g. How + many to elicit a number: How many students understand this? - They all do

Questions about alternatives

Questions about alternatives

Form of questions about alternatives

What/Which would you prefer, tea or coffee?

Would you like tea or coffee? Tea or coffee? Milk?

How shall we go, by bus or by train?

Did you go there, or didn't you?

Did you or didn't you go there?

Did you go there or not? Did you or didn't you?

When we ask questions about alternatives

Li mited choices

Questions about alternatives narrow a choice to a limited number of items, courses of action, etc.:

- open-ended choice: What would you like to drinks

- three items: What would you like tea, coffee, or milk?

- two items: Which would you prefer, tea or coffee? Limited choices can also be presented with two or more verbs:

Did you laugh or cry? Is he sleeping, reading, or watching TV?

Questions about alternatives are often abbreviated: e.g.

- three or more items: Tea, coffee, or mineral water?

- two items: Tea or coffee? True or false? Yes or no?

- one item: Milk? Right? Ready? Now? Another way of abbreviating a question is not to repeat the verb:

Did you want a black and white film or colour?

Questions ending in negative tags

A clear choice can be presented by repeating the auxiliary at the end, particularly when we are pressing someone to provide an answer:

Did you take it or didn't you? - Yes, (I did) /No, (I didn't) These questions can be differently phrased as follows:

Did you or didn't you take i t?

The negative auxiliary can be replaced by or not?: Did you take it or not⁷

Provided both speaker and listener know what is referred to, such

questions can be reduced even further: Did you or didn't you? can mean 'Did you (take it) or didn't you?' Can you or can't you? can mean 'Can you (help me) or can't you?'

Emphatic questions with 'ever', etc.