Interrogative Sentence

A Interrogative Sentence is a linguistic question in the form of an NL sentence.

• AKA: Question Sentence.
• Context:
  • It can start with an Interrogative Word (what, where, when, how, etc.)
  • It can end in a Question Mark.
  • It can be:
    • a Factoid Question Sentence.
    • a List Question Sentence.
    • a Definition Question Sentence.
    • …
• Example(s):
  • “How many calories are there in a Big Mac?", is a Factoid Question Sentence.
  • “List the names of chewing gums.", is a List Question Sentence (with no Question Mark or a Command Sentence?).
  • “What is a golden parachute?", is a Definition Question Sentence.
  • “Is there any more ice cream?"
  • “Did you finish the ice cream?"
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Declarative Sentence, such as “It is the case that Event_X happened on Date_Y”
• See: Query, Rhetorical Question.

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References

2013

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_%28linguistics%29#By_purpose
  • An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to request information — "Do I have to go to work?" — but sometimes not; see rhetorical question.

2012

• (Wikipedia, 2012) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_function#Interrogative
  • QUOTE: An interrogative sentence asks a question and hence ends with a question mark. In speech, it almost universally ends in a rising inflection. Its effort is to try to gather information that is presently unknown to the interrogator, or to seek validation for a preconceived notion held. Beyond seeking confirmation or contradiction, sometimes it is approval or permission that is sought as well, among other reasons one could have for posing a question. The one exception in which it isn't information that is needed, is when the question happens to be rhetorical (see allofunctional implicature section below). While an imperative is a call for action, an interrogative is a call for information.

2009

• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question
  • A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information is provided with an answer.
  • Questions are normally put or asked using interrogative sentences. But they can also be put by imperative sentences, which normally express commands: "Tell me what 2 + 2 is"; conversely, some expressions, such as "Would you pass the butter?", have the grammatical form of questions but actually function as requests for action, not for answers. (A phrase such as this could, theoretically, also be viewed not merely as a request but as an observation of the other person's desire to comply with the request given.)
  • Yes/no questions can be answered with a "yes" or "no", hence the name.
  • Wh-questions use interrogative words to request information. In some languages, wh-movement may be involved. They cannot be answered with a yes or no.
  • Tag questions are a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the "tag"). Tag questions can be answered with a yes or no.

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