An interrogative sentence has the grammatical form of a question. It can ask for information, request confirmation, or make a polite request. In writing, a direct question normally ends with a question mark.
Yes-or-no and question-word questions
- Yes-or-no question. In Has the parcel arrived?, the auxiliary comes before the subject the parcel.
- Question about the object. In Who did Dana call?, who asks about the person Dana called. The auxiliary did comes before the subject Dana.
- Question about the subject. In Who called Dana?, who is itself the subject. The usual subject–verb order remains.
Embedded questions
An embedded question usually keeps the subject before the verb, as in I wonder where the parcel is. The whole sentence is a statement, so it ends with a period. In Do you know where the parcel is?, the whole sentence is a question. See inversion for more on changes in word order.
