WORD ORDER IN INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES: A VIEW FROM ENGLISH, FRENCH,

PENINSULAR AND AMERICAN SPANISH

SPANISH

1. TOTAL INTERROGATIVE QUESTIONS / CLOSED QUESTIONS

❖ They do not contain an interrogative pronoun

❖ They have the same structure as declarative sentences → SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT
(SVO). Intonation is the only thing that makes the difference
❖ They appear between question marks (¿…?)

EXAMPLES:

Yo puedo ir contigo al cine → ¿Yo puedo ir al cine?

Tu quieres comprar helado → ¿Tú quieres comprar helado?

Spanish is a null-subject language, meaning we don’t usually make the subject explicit.
¿Puedo ir contigo al cine? / ¿Quieres comprar helado?

There are two types of closed questions:

● Yes-no questions → the unmarked order, that is to say, the most neutral is VERB +
SUBJECT

EXAMPLES:

¿Vive Juan en Almería? / ¿Juan vive en Almería? → almost no difference

When both the subject and the object are expressed, it is preferred to put the longest
element in the final position so that the verb is not far from them.

EXAMPLES:

¿Se comieron los niños el arroz? / ¿Se comieron el arroz los niños? → almost no difference.
The information that we want to emphasize is usually placed at the end.
¿Se comieron los niños el arroz que sobró ayer? → In this case, the object is longer than the
subject, so it is better to place it at the end of the sentence.

● Or-choice questions → the subject can either precede or follow the verb, although it
is most frequent for the subject to precede the verb (SV)

EXAMPLES:

¿Juan viene hoy o mañana? / ¿Viene Juan hoy o mañana?

2. OPEN QUESTIONS (oraciones interrogativas parciales)

❖ They cannot simply be answered with yes/no; they require more information.
❖ They contain an interrogative pronoun like cuándo, cómo, cuál, dónde, quién, por
qué… (when, how, which, where, who, why)
❖ They follow the following structure → INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN + VERB + SUBJECT
❖ They can start with a preposition (a, con, de, desde, hasta, para, por…)

EXAMPLES:

¿Dónde vive Juan?

¿Con quién vais al cine? → the preposition always precedes the interrogative pronoun, as
opposed to English.

When both the subject and the object are expressed, there are several ways to construct
the sentence:

a. With a short subject, placing it after the verb but before the object is preferred.

b. With a long subject, it is preferred after the object.

EXAMPLES:

¿Dónde detuvo la policía a los secuestradores? / ¿Dónde detuvo a los secuestradores la

policía? → both the object and the subject are short so both options are correct; there is
almost no difference.
¿Dónde detuvo la policía a los secuestradores de la tele?

¿Dónde detuvo a los secuestradores el policía que conocí ayer?

→ Longest element at the end of the sentence.

3. Spanish can be direct or indirect:

Direct questions → standard questions that appear between question marks

EXAMPLE:

¿Por qué lloras con las películas románticas?

Indirect questions → they are included in another sentence as a subordinate clause.

❖ They are introduced by interrogative pronouns or by the conjunction si

❖ They do not appear between between question marks

EXAMPLES:

No entiendo por qué lloras con las películas románticas (interrogative pronoun + VSO)

No estoy segura de si recomendaría la película (si + SVO)

 ENGLISH

-In English, there are several ways of making a question. Depending on the kind of question
we want to ask, we have different types of interrogative clauses.
-English interrogative clauses are normally characterized by the inversion of subject and
finite verb.
-The inverted verb pattern appears in both polar interrogatives and constituent interrogatives
and is only pre-empted in constituent interrogatives if the subject constituent is replaced by a
wh-word.
-They have the same structure as declarative sentences: SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT
-The question mark only appears at the end of the sentence (...?).

Three types of interrogative clauses:

● CONSTITUENT QUESTIONS
-Are the ones that contain a question word.
-This question words are interrogative pronouns (when, how, which, where, who, why)
-They expect more informative answers than polar questions. They ask for some piece of
information, whose place is signaled by the wh-word to be given by the hearer.
-They follow the structure: INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN + VERB + SUBJECT
-They can’t start with a preposition, in opposition to Spanish. There is one exception.
EXAMPLES:
→ I played tennis with John. Who did you play tennis with?
When a question word needs a preposition, the preposition goes at the end of the question
(after the verb or after verb + object if there is an object)

The only exception is the interrogative pronoun “Whom” which in some cases needs a
preposition and it appears at the beginning of a sentence.
→ To whom does this belong?

● POLAR QUESTIONS
-Expect a simple answer yes or no.
-For every such polar interrogative, there is a corresponding declarative.

EXAMPLE:
→ Did they sleep well?
→ Yes, they did sleep/slept well
There are three varieties of Polar Questions: the inverted question, the inversion with an
alternative, and the tag question.
EXAMPLES:
● Are you going? (inversion)
● Are you staying or going? (inversion with an alternance)
● You are going, aren’t you? (tag question)

INVERTED QUESTIONS
-Merely invert the subject and the first verb of the verb phrase of the corresponding
statement pattern when that verb is either a modal or auxiliary verb or the verb be and
sometimes have.

EXAMPLE:
→ The jewellery was stolen (statement)
→ Was the jewellery stolen? (question)

TAG QUESTIONS
-Are used when someone thinks he/she knows the answer and wants confirmation.

EXAMPLE:
→ You were born in Slovenia, weren’t you?
The declarative sentence keeps the same structure SV, while the tag questions invert into
VS, so there are two different word orders in the same sentence.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT QUESTIONS

Direct Questions→ standard questions that appear between question marks

Indirect/Reported Questions→

Yes/No Questions/Wh-Questions
In the case of yes/no questions, they are introduced by the conjunction if or whether. If in
the direct question, we have a wh-word, it remains the same but in this case introduces the
subordinating sentence.

EXAMPLE:
→
Also, apart from ask, there are other different verbs used to introduce a reported question:
want to know, wonder, suggest, etc.
EXAMPLE:
→
In both cases, the word order is declarative, and the question marks disappear.

FRENCH

Types of interrogative sentences in French

● In French, a distinction can be made between questions in which the position of the
subject and the verb is reversed, which can be classified, in turn, into total
interrogatives and partial interrogatives, depending on whether or not they include
an interrogative pronoun, and questions in which that the natural subject + verb
order is maintained.

Without inversion: subject + verb

● With ascending/raising intonation

In yes/no questions, the word order is typically SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION

○ Interrogative sentences with rising intonation are reserved exclusively for

informal and familiar contexts. These questions present the natural structure
of affirmative sentences (subject + verb), so it is the rising intonation that
allows them to be identified as questions. As it is a question despite its
structure, it must be scored, like all questions, with the corresponding
question mark at the end. These are “yes” and “no” questions that never
contain an interrogative pronoun.
■ Example: Tu aimes aller au cinéma. → Tu aimes aller au
cinéma ?
● With est-ce que

Word order here is : INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN (EST-CE) + SUBJECT +VERB+

OBJECT

○ The formulation of interrogative sentences using est-ce which is mainly used

in French in oral expression. After the expression est-ce the sentence is
 added with its natural structure of affirmative sentences (subject-verb-
complements). They can be formed with or without an interrogative pronoun.
■ Without interrogative pronouns: they are answered with «yes» or
«no».
● Example: Est-ce que je peux venir avec toi
■ With interrogative pronoun: If it includes an interrogative pronoun
and/or a preposition, these precede the formula ‘est-ce que’. This
pronoun requests specific information other than "yes" or "no."

With inversion: subject-verb

● Total interrogatives

Word order = VSO (VERB + (-) + SUBJECT + OBJECT)

○ Total interrogatives in French are those questions which are formulated by

inverting the position of the subject and the verb, without using an
interrogative pronoun, that is, demanding a “yes” or “no” answer. This type
of interrogative sentences are used in formal or cultured texts.
○ To formulate them correctly, we must pay attention to the following aspects:
■ The subject and the verb exchange their natural positions and are
joined by a hyphen. The rest of the elements of the sentence (direct
object, indirect object, time adverbial, manner adverbial, etc.)
maintain their natural order.
● Example: Tu veux acheter du pop-corn.
→ Veux-tu acheter du pop-corn ?
 ■ When the verb ends in a vowel and the subject also begins with a
vowel, a t is inserted, separated by hyphens between the verb and
the subject.
● Example: Viendra-t-elle avec nous ?
Éric aime-t-il les films romantiques ?
■ If the subject is a noun, then it is placed before the verb, as if it were
an affirmative sentence. After the verb, the corresponding personal
subject pronoun is added.
● Example: Vont-ils au cinéma ?
→ Les enfants vont-ils au cinéma ?

● Partial Interrogatives

Word order = INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN + VERB + SUBJECT + OBJECT

○ Partial interrogatives are also formulated by inverting the natural order of the
subject and the verb but can never be answered with "yes" or "no," as they
include an interrogative pronoun. To formulate them correctly, the following
guidelines must be taken into account:
● When the information requested through the question refers to a
complement introduced by a preposition, this preposition is also used before
the interrogative pronoun.
○ Example:Avec qui vas-tu au cinéma ?
Pour qui est le pop-corn ?
● The subject and the verb in their personal form exchange their natural
position in the sentence.
○ Example:Où se trouve le cinéma ?
Quand commence le film ?
Qui as-tu invité ?
● If the subject is a noun, it is placed in front of the verb. The personal pronoun
is placed after the verb.
○ Example: Pourquoi va-t-elle seule au cinéma ?
→ Pourquoi Juliette va-t-elle seule au cinéma ?
 Où sont-ils allés ?
→ Où les enfants sont-ils allés ?
● With the interrogative pronouns que or qu', the subject cannot be repeated
with a pronoun, as in the previous case.
○ Example: Que veut voir Juliette en premier ?
Qu’a vu ton amie au cinéma ?
● If the question is about the subject, then the sentence structure remains the
same as in affirmative sentences. In the response, the subject takes the
place of the interrogative pronoun qui (if it is a person) or que (if it is an
inanimate object), and the verb is conjugated in the 3rd person singular.
Word order = SVO
○ Example: Qui joue dans ce film ?

● Indirect interrogative sentences

Word order in indirect questions in French is generally the same as in English: question
word +subject + verb.
Dites-moi quel (question word) autobus (subject) va (verb) à la gare. Tell me which bus
goes to the station.

● Indirect interrogatives are subordinate sentences that accompany a main sentence.

Example: Tu me demandes pourquoi je pleure devant les films romantiques.
● When the subject of the question is a noun and NOT a pronoun like je or il, the
subject and verb that come after the question word are often inverted.

Je me demande où (question word) sont (verb) mes clés (subject). I wonder where
my keys are.
 LATIN AMERICAN SPANISH

❖ Clitic Doubling

Is the repetition of the clitic, most of the time unnecessary, to emphasise the noun of a
sentence. In interrogative structures, clitic doubling is used in some cases, but not in all. In
Rioplatense Spanish, for example, it has been observed that clitic doubling in partial
questions [those seeking specific information through an interrogative pronoun (what, how,
when, etc.)] is less common than in total questions (those which can be answered with yes
or no) and that its use is subject to certain restrictions.

- Total questions with +animate direct and indirect objects:

Examples. Peninsular Spanish: ¿Saludó a María?

Rioplatense Spanish: ¿La saludó a María?

- Partial questions with +animate direct and indirect objects:

Examples. Peninsular Spanish: ¿Fuiste al hospital para ver a quién?

Rioplatense Spanish: ¿Fuiste al hospital para verlo a quién?

- Rhetorical questions with +animate interrogative pronouns:

Examples. Peninsular Spanish: ¿A quién no asaltaron alguna vez?

Rioplatense Spanish: ¿A quién no lo asaltaron alguna vez?

❖ Use of Relative Pronoun

Relative pronouns are words that serve to join two sentences, establishing a relationship
between them. They introduce a subordinate clause which provides additional information
about a noun in the main sentence. Some of the relative pronouns in Spanish are "que",
"cual", "quien", "cuyo", among others.
In interrogative questions relative pronouns are used to introduce additional information
about the antecedent. The typical structure is Antecedent + Relative Pronoun + Verb + rest
of the sentence. Example. Peninsular Spanish: ¿Cuál es el libro que estás leyendo?

Latinamerican Spanish: ¿Qué libro estás leyendo? As we can see, in Latin American
Spanish, we add this pronoun in partial questions.

❖ Modal verbs in interrogative clauses

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express ability, possibility, necessity, permission or
other modality in relation to the action of the main verb.

In Peninsular Spanish, it is common to place the modal verb before the subject in total
questions.

The structure is Modal Verb + Subject + Main Verb. Example: ¿Puede Juan venir a la
reunión?

In some Latin American regions, the placement of the modal verb may vary and may not
necessarily appear before the subject, but at least in Argentina and Uruguay is after the
Noun. Example: ¿Juan Puede venir a la reunion?

❖ Abscense of Subject-Verb inversion

In Peninsular Spanish, the subject is usually placed after the verb in interrogative sentences,
whereas in Caribbean Spanish the subject can appear before the verb without any problem.
In addition, there are certain interrogative particles that allow this type of construction in
Caribbean Spanish, which are those of the partial questions. Example:

While there are similarities in the general concept of forming questions across languages,
there isn't a universally common structure. Each language discussed—English, French,
Peninsular Spanish, and Latin American Spanish—exhibits unique features and variations in
interrogative clause formation. Differences arise in subject-verb inversion, the use of
interrogative pronouns, and the placement of elements within a sentence. These
distinctions contribute to the linguistic diversity and individual characteristics of each
language's approach to posing questions.