Learn English – Can we ask questions in the reverse way

inversionquestionsword-order

It seems that my proofreaders have not spotted some mistakes. To confirm this, I will seek your advice here.

To me, normally questions are asked like this:

Are you a cook?

What are you cooking?

When will you cook?

Where will you cook?

Which of the dishes did you cook?

Why do you cook?

How do you cook?

Is it acceptable to ask the same questions like the following?

You are a cook?

You are cooking what?

You will cook at when?

You will cook at where?

You cooked which of the dishes?

You cook, why?

You cook, and how?

Best Answer

The second form is conversational, typically used with inflection to indicate that it is a question. That form tends to be used when you've just noticed someone does something that you didn't expect; that is, it frequently indicates surprise in addition to posing a question.

For example, if you have a friend who you have never even seen in a kitchen before, and one day you walk in on them preparing a fancy dinner, you might say something like "You cook? Since when?"

In general, the second style of the question is not a way of asking a question normally, and certainly not in formal writing. It's informal, conversational, and often indicates surprise in addition to (or even in place of) being a normal question.

Related Solutions

Learn English – Questions with “whether”

Whether is not a question word, although it looks like one.

Question words beginning with wh are the following:

what
which
where
who
whose
when
why

The rule for making questions using question words is fairly simple:

Question word + auxiliary + subject + infinite or, "QUASI" is a useful acronym. ^{(It is not infallible but it works most of the time)}

1) Which colour did she choose to make it? Blue or green? (if there is a limited choice)

2) What colours did she use? (a wider choice of colours is inferred here)

3) Who made it? Did you? OR "Was it me or you?" (in this case, who is the subject of the question and does not require an auxiliary)

You can omit the wh question word and ask a yes/no type question.

Auxiliary + subject + infinite

"Did you use blue or green?" asked Maria.
Maria asked, "Did you make it?"

If you wanted to use whether you have to rephrase your sentence. Note that the following are not questions. There is no question mark at the end.

Maria asked whether she used blue or green.
Maria asked whether [name] made it or not.

If you really need to make questions with whether then the following is acceptable

Do you know whether she used blue or green to make her scarf (it)?
Did you find out whether it was me or her who made it?

Learn English – What vs. Which – correct usage in questions

This is actually a rather simple answer although it's rarely explained in simple terms:

What seeks the answer from an undefined set while which asks you to choose among possible options. (Additionally, you could ask which when discussing people.)

For instance, to use your first example, let's say that I was making an appointment with a friend:

"What day are we meeting?"
"I'm available on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
"Which one works best for you?"

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Learn English – Questions with “whether”

Learn English – What vs. Which – correct usage in questions

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