Questions and Negatives 223
3. That eliminated the problem.
4. That is stretching the material.
5. They will hire a consultant.
6. We have gathered enough material.
7. You can get away this weekend.
8. They questioned the results.
9. Ruth can convince them of anything.
10. The kids are making too much noise.
11. This seat is occupied.
12. It will rain this afternoon.
13. I should ignore his advice.
14. They have examined the issue carefully.
15. The photographer is ready.
There are not many differences in grammar between British and American English, but the
use of have as a main verb is one of them. In American English, have as a main verb is just like
any other main verb (except be, of course). To form a yes-no question, we must use the dummy
helping verb do. For example:
Statement Inverted yes-no question
She has a cold. Does she have a cold?
They had a good time. Did they have a good time?
I have a question. Do you have a question?
The program had a bug. Did the program have a bug?
In British English, however, have can also be treated like the main verb be: it is inverted with
the subject without the use of do. For example:
Statement Inverted yes-no question
She has a cold. Has she a cold?
They had a good time. Had they a good time?
I have a question. Have you a question?
The program had a bug. Had the program a bug?
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9. The letter has a stamp.

10. The car has a GPS.

One problem nonnative speakers may have with yes-no questions is that in informal conver-
sational English, nobody seems to follow the rules. In listening to casual conversation, you will
be surprised at how frequent nonstandard, informal yes-no questions are. One study of conver-
sational English found that informal questions made up an astonishing 41 percent of the total
number of questions.
By far the most common informal yes-no question is one in which an inverted verb (or be as
a main verb) has been deleted. In the following examples, the deleted verb is represented by ∅:
Standard yes-no question Elliptical yes-no question
Are they going to the meeting? ∅ They going to the meeting?
Are you ready? ∅ You ready?
Do you know where the sugar is? ∅ You know where the sugar is?
Have you had lunch yet? ∅ You had lunch yet?
Notice the deleted verb is either a helping verb (some form of be from a progressive tense;
some form of have from a perfect tense; or some form of the dummy helping verb do) or it is
some form of be used as a main tense. We cannot delete modal auxiliary verbs. For example:
Standard yes-no question Elliptical yes-no question
Can I come with you? X ∅ I come with you?
Will we get there on time? X ∅ We get there on time?
Should they call a cab? X ∅ They call a cab?
Exercise 13.6
Change the statements in the left column to the corresponding informal yes-no question in the
right column. Use a ∅ to represent the position of the missing verb. If you cannot change the
statement into an informal yes-no question, write Invalid.
Statement Informal yes-no question
You are taking a break. ∅ You taking a break?

Whose, which Possessive Whose book is on the desk?
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Questions and Negatives 227
Noun phrase Which book do you want?
Where Adverb of place Where are you going?
When Adverb of time When will you get there?
Why Adverb of reason Why do you want to go there?
How Adverb of manner How will you get there?
In addition, there are a number of interrogatives compounded with how. All of these are
adverbs. For example:
How often Frequency How often do you go there?
How long Length in time/space How long will you stay?
How far Distance How far is it?
How much Quantity How much does it cost to go there?
How soon Quickness How soon can you get there?
Sometimes these adverbs are called interrogative adverbs, and sometimes they are merely
lumped together with the other interrogative pronouns, as we will do here.
Exercise 13.7
Underline the interrogative pronouns and label their part of speech: noun, possessive noun, or
type of adverb.
Adv of
frequency
How often do you come here?
1. Who are you?
2. Whom did you say you were?
3. How much gasoline do we need to buy?
4. Whose advice should we take?
5. When shall we three meet again?
6. Why do we want to do that?
7. Whom did they fi nally pick?

questions:
1. Move the interrogative pronoun to the fi rst position in the sentence.
2. Invert the verb and subject.
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Questions and Negatives 229
Here are some more examples showing the application of the two rules:
Adv
of time
Underlying statement: They will be back when.
Rule 1: They will be back when. ⇒ When they will be back.
Rule 2: When they will be back. ⇒ When will they be back?
Adv of
frequency
Underlying statement: You have seen it how often.
Rule 1: You have seen it how often. ⇒ How often you have seen it.
Rule 2: How often you have seen it. ⇒ How often have you seen it?
NP
Underlying statement: We should give them what.
Rule 1: We should give them what. ⇒ What we should give them.
Rule 2: What we should give them. ⇒ What should we give them?
Poss noun
Underlying statement: That is whose car.
Rule 1: That is whose car. ⇒ Whose car that is.
Rule 2: Whose car that is. ⇒ Whose car is that?
Note that the possessive noun whose can never be separated from car, the word whose modifi es.
In other words the possessive noun ϩ noun unit makes up a single noun phrase that cannot be
broken up.
Exercise 13.8
Change the following statements to information questions. Apply the two rules step by step.
We are leaving how soon.