Alexandra
Affirmative word order in questions I often hear affirmative word order in questions in english films. But I don't see a particular sequence when it can be done. So, I would be very grateful if you would explain it to me.
Sep 19, 2014 10:23 AM
Answers · 3
Movies are fiction. :) Still, you would hear "affirmative word order" to mean a question in two common cases. 1) A very colloquial style. Even people who do this are very aware of the standard grammar. 2) For confirmation, just like a negative question. The implication is, "this is what I think; please confirm".
September 19, 2014
Do you mean questions that are phrased like statements? For example, "You're coming here?" instead of "Are you coming here?". You can really consider it to be both a statement and a question. It's used to indicate both surprise and uncertainty, and most of the time the question is rhetorical. If you see someone you know going to the airport with a suitcase, you might say "You're going away?". This is rhetorical as you can clearly see that the person is going away, but at the same time you want confirmation and/or an explanation.
September 19, 2014
I'm assuming you mean something like, "You want to go to the movies this weekend?" In English, the important identification for questions is tone: one that rises at the end of the sentence. Sometimes we're just being lazy and dropping the word "Do" like I did in my first example: "Do you want to go to the movies?" "You want to go to the movies?" However, we also use affirmative word order when we're surprised by information. For example, I don't like going to clubs, so when I agreed to go out a few weeks ago, my girlfriend said, "You want to go to a club?" because she was surprised.
September 19, 2014
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