COBUILD English Grammar by Collins Cobuild

Author:Collins Cobuild
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-01-23T16:00:00+00:00

5.46When you use a yes/no-question to offer help or to make a request, you still expect the answer yes or no. However, people sometimes say things that seem like yes/no-questions, although they do not expect an answer at all. They are using the yes/no-question form to express a strong feeling, opinion, or impression.

For example, instead of saying That’s an ugly building, someone might say Isn’t that an ugly building? Or instead of saying You never seem to get upset, someone might say Don’t you ever get upset?

Questions like these are called rhetorical questions.

Is there nothing she won’t do?

Can’t you see that I’m busy?

Hasn’t anyone round here got any sense?

Does nothing ever worry you?

Another kind of rhetorical question consists of a statement followed by a question tag such as are you? or is it? For example, someone might say So you are the new assistant, are you? or So they’re coming to tea, are they?

So you want to be an actress, do you?

So they’re moving house again, are they?

Rhetorical questions can also begin with how. They usually express a feeling of shock or indignation. For example, instead of saying You are very cruel, someone might say How can you be so cruel?

How can you say such things?

How dare you speak to me like that?

Rhetorical questions are dealt with fully in paragraph 9.94.

questions without a verb

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