Alternative questions

§ 11. An alternative question implies a choice between two or more alternative answers. Like a “yes-no” question, it opens with an operator, but the suggestion of choice expressed by the disjunctive conjunction or makes the “yes-no” answer impossible. The conjunction or links either two homogeneous parts of the sentence or two coordinate clauses. The part of the question before the conjunction is characterized by a rising tone, the part after the conjunction has a falling tone.

Will you go to the opera or to the concert to-night?

An alternative question may sometimes resemble a pronominal question beginning with a question word:

Which do you prefer, tea or coffee?

Where shall we go, to the cinema or to the football match?

Actually such structures fall into two parts, the first forms a pronominal question, the second a condensed alternative question.

Would you prefer tea or coffee?

Shall we go to the cinema or to the football match?

Sometimes the alternative contains only a negation:

Will they ever stop arguing or not?

Suggestive questions

§ 12. Suggestive questions, also called declarative questions, form a peculiar kind of "yes-no" questions. They keep the word order of statements but serve as questions owing to the rising tone in speaking and a question mark in writing, as in:

You really want to go now, to-night?

- Yes, nothing could make me stay.

By their communicative function suggestive questions resemble sentences with tag questions; they are asked for the sake of confirmation. The speaker is all but sure what the answer will be (positive or negative), and by asking the question expects confirmation on the part of the ad­dressee.

You are familiar with the town?

- I spent winter here many years ago.

You still don’t believe me, Aunt Nora?

- No, I don't.

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1319