Negative questions in english and vietnamese – a contrastive analysis

Abstract This paper focuses on English and Vietnamese negative questions in term of structures and word using.. The thesis mainly focuses on the structures of three main types of negativ

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE- A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

(CÂU HỎI PHỦ ĐỊNH TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT,

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU)

VŨ VĂN HỮU

Hanoi, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE- A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

(CÂU HỎI PHỦ ĐỊNH TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT,

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU)

Certificate of originality

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report

entitled Negative questions in English and Vietnamese – A contrastive

analysis, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except for the indicated reference, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the

thesis

Hanoi, 2016

Vu Van Huu

Approved by SUPERVISOR

Dr Nguyen Dang Suu

(Signature and full name)

Date:………

A special word of thanks goes to my lecturers and many others at University, without their support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work

Abstract

This paper focuses on English and Vietnamese negative questions in term

of structures and word using The author wishes only to concentrate on three types of negative questions: negative Yes/ No question, negative Wh-

question and negative alternative question The thesis is divided into five

charters The similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions have been analysed and pointed out Moreover, this research also helps learners and teachers improve their language competence

in order to avoid mistakes and have a deep understanding of negative questions as well

The thesis mainly focuses on the structures of three main types of negative questions in English and Vietnamese, the negative words that are used in negative questions are also considered However, semantic features have been initially investigated; a deeper approach to the pragmatic feature is suggested for further study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality ……….……… … ….…… i

Acknowledgements……….……….…… ii

Abstract………….……….………… … iii

Contents……….…… …….… iv

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research……….……… ……… … … 1

1.2 Aims of the research……….…… ……….… … 2

1.3 Objectives of the research……….……… … 2

1.4 Scope of the research……….……… …… 2

1.5 Significance of the research……….……… 3

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis……….……… 3

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies……….……… 5

2.2 Review of theoretical Background……….… 6

2.2.1 Interrogative sentence in English and Vietnamese in brief……… 6

2.2.1.1 Definition of questions……… 6

2.2.1.2 Classification of questions in English and Vietnamese……… 8

2.2.2 Negation in English……….……… … 10

2.2.2.1 Definition of negation……….… 10

2.2.3 The semantic approach to English negative questions……… 10

2.3 Summary……….……… ……… 13

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research-governing orientations……….… 14

3.1.1 Research approach……….……… … 14

3.1.2 Research questions……….……… … 14

3.1.3 Research setting……….……… …… 14

3.1.4 Principles/criteria for intended data collection and data analysis………… 15

3.2 Research Methods……….……… ………… 15

3.2.1 Major methods and supporting methods……… 15

3.2.2 Data collection techniques……….…… 15

3.2.3 Data analysis techniques……….…… 16

3.3 Summary……….……… ……… 16

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Negative questions in English……….…… 17

4.1.1 Negative questions in English……… 18

4.1.2 Negative Wh- questions……….……… 20

4.1.3 Negative alternative questions……… 21

4.2 Negative questions in Vietnamese……….… 23

4.2.1 Negative Yes/No questions……… 23

4.2.2 Negative WH – questions……….…… 25

4.2.3 Negative alternative questions……… 27

4.3 Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions.……….……… ………

28 4.3.1 Similarities between English and Vietnamese negative questions……… … 28

4.3.1.1 Yes/No questions……….……… 28

4.3.1.2 Negative Wh- questions……… 33

4.3.1.3 Negative alternative questions……… 35

4.3.2 Differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions………… 37

4.3.2.1 Yes/No questions……….……… 37

4.3.2.2 Negative Wh- questions……… 40

4.3.2.3 Negative alternative questions……… 42

4.4 Summary……….……… ……… 44

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the findings……….……… … 45

5.2 Implication for teaching and learning……… 46

5.3 Suggestion for further studies……….…… 47

Bibliography……… 48

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale for the research

English is not the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers there are many more Chinese speakers than native English speakers but Chinese is spoken little outside of Chinese communities, so English is the most widespread language in the world It is difficult to estimate exactly how many English speakers there are, but according to one estimate there are more than 350,000,000 native English speakers and more than 400,000,000 speakers of English as a second language (a language used in everyday life, even though it is not the native language) or foreign language (a language studied but not used much in everyday life)

However, even these numbers do not really indicate how important English is as a world language, because less than fifteen percent of the world population use English The importance of English is not just in how many people speak it but in what it is used for English is the major language of news and information in the world It is the language of business and government even in some countries where it is a minority language It is the language of maritime communication and international air traffic control, and

it is used even for internal air traffic control in countries where it is not a native language

In communicative process in English as well as in other languages, questions play an important role in our daily life We are not able to keep communicating going on well without asking questions We ask in order to exchange information, ideas, feeling and knowledge On the other hand, we sometimes ask questions not for the above purposes but for confirmation,

1.2 Aims of the research

The study is mainly aimed at providing the semantic features of English negative questions in contrast to Vietnamese ones, thus giving some suggested implications for teaching English negative questions to Vietnamese learners

of English

1.3 Objectives of the research

The objectives of the research include:

- Describing the semantic features of English and Vietnamese negative questions

- Pointing out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions

- Suggesting some possible implications for teaching English negative questions to the Vietnamese learners of English

1.4 Scope of the research

The study “English negative questions in English and Vietnamese - a contrastive analysis” focuses on English negative questions and Vietnamese

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equivalents within the frame of negative structures The three main types of questions will be focused: Yes-No question, wh-question, alternative question Especially, only negative questions that use negator “not” will be discussed, others will be suggested for further study

1.5 Significance of the research

The same grammar category in two languages always has similarities and differences It will get mislead for learners if they cannot distinguish the differences in classifications, functions, and even uses of that category

It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have a better solution After the research, it is hoped that the result will be helpful to provide:

(i).input for the learners of English in order to clearly describe the negative questions in the comparisons;

(ii).input for teacher of English with teaching implications of the negative questions;

(iii).good assistance to anyone who is interested in the negative questions in English

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis

Chapter 1 is the general introduction of the study, which consists of the rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope of study, the significance of study, the research questions and organizational structure of study

Chapter 2 presents the previous studies relating to the study, the theoretical background of the study in which it lays emphasis on identifying semantic features of negative questions in English and Vietnamese

Chapter 3 is about the methods and procedures of the study It will mention

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Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Review of previous studies

Negative questions stand in place of questions, important part of the English grammar Negative questions are used to indicate the speaker’s idea(what he/she believes is or is not true) and attitude (surprise, anger,…).Many grammarians have described negative questions like

L.G.Alexander (1990), Betty Scrapper Azar (2002), Anne Seaton( 2007),

& Randolph Quirk (1973) and so on They each have their own way to describe the negative questions Fundamentally, they concentrate their

attention on the definition, formation, functions of the negative questions, types of negative questions and their uses Moreover, negative questions in

Vietnamese are also described by such authors as Diep Quang Ban (2002),

Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003) and L.G Alexander (1990) in

Longman English Grammar constantly concerns with basic different uses

between some questions He focuses on Yes/ No questions, negative statements, yes/ no answers He only doesn’t deal with the formation of ways

of making yes/ no questions, forms of yes/ no questions He also introduces alternative negative forms and negative questions In negative question, he describes the full form and the short form Furthermore, he describes how to use stress and intonation in negative questions

Betty Schrampfer Azar (2002) in Understanding and Using English

Grammar refers to the background knowledge of negative questions He gives

specific details for each negative question He introduces more about the forms of yes/ no and information questions, negative wh- questions, negative tag- questions He specifies forms of avoiding double negatives

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In the book Basic English Grammar book 1, Anne Seaton (2007) only

focuses his attention on two kinds of questions They are yes/ no questions and wh-questions He gives some more simple uses, functions and positions of the questions In addition, he pays much attention to the usages of some negative questions such as yes/ no negative questions and wh- negative questions

Randolph Quirk (1973) in the book A University Grammar of English

gives some features of negative questions or specific details of relationship between subjects, predication with negative questions In his opinion, assertion and non- assertion are some major types of sentence

In the book Ngu Phap Tieng Viet, Diep Quang Ban (2005) deals with specific characteristics, classifications and description of negative questions

He mentions four types of Vietnamese negative questions such as negative structure in Yes/No questions, negative structures in Tag- questions, negative structures in Wh- questions, negative structures in alternative questions

Language group of philology faculty, Hanoi Pedagogical University (2006) in the textbook Ngu Phap Tieng Viet part 1 gives basic features and kinds of

negative questions They pay attention to the classification of negative questions by functions and intended uses

2.2 Review of theoretical background

2.2.1 Interrogative sentence in English and Vietnamese

2.1.1.1 Definition of questions

In the book “Oxford guide to English grammar”, an interrogative sentence, or a question is defined as a sentence whose most basic usage is to ask for information [6, 27] According to Vietnamese linguist Le Quang

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Thiêm, questions are sentences whose main purpose is to find out more about something we have not known or have not understood yet [25, 222]

Examples: Do you speak French? How can I do that?

As you can see, the two above definitions share the same idea with each other However, as Le Quang Thiêm adds, in reality, sometimes we ask questions so as not to seek for extra information but for other purposes For instance, Vietnamese can use questions in order to greet each other [25,222]:

For examples: Phụng, đang ăn cơm hả?

Em đang đi đâu vậy?

It is also true in English We ask questions such as: “Hi there, what are you doing?”, “Hello, how are you?” which do not really need a particular reply When doing research about questions, we may aslo come across some ideas defining question as a sentence that needs a reply This definition is not accurate because I have mentioned, there are some kinds of questions which

do not need an answer Among them are rhetorical questions and paradoxical questions Sometimes we ask questions as a means of expressing the way we feel or as a way of showing our frustration We call this a rhetorical question

For examples: Could my day get any worse? Could you make any more

noise?

There is also another type of question that cannot be answered because there is no answer to it We call this type of question a paradox The most

famous paradoxical question is: “What came first: the chicken or the egg?”

In conclusion, we can see that there are many different ways to define a

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question, largely based on their purpose of usage Most of them are not contradictory to each other, they are complementary to each other.The most accurate and concise definition I think is the one in “Oxford guide to English grammar” Let me put it again here as to sum up this part: A question, or in other words, an interrogative sentence is a sentence whose most basic usage

is to ask for information

2.2.1.2 Classification of questions in English and Vietnamese

a Classification of questions in English

This is not an easy question because there are a variety of ways to classify English questions In “The grammar handbook”, Feigenbaum (1985) says that there are two kinds of them: questions to learn and questions to confirm Questions to learn include information or WH- questions and affirmative yes/ no questions Questions to confirm include negative yes/no questions, tag questions and restatements (p 16) As you can see, this way of categorizing is based on the purpose of using questions

However, according to Angela (2003), interrogative structures in English are of three main types: polar, alternative and non- polar [p 185] A polar interrogative, also called yes/ no question, is a question whose answer

is either “Yes” or “No” (Can you swim?) Non- polar interrogative, also called WH- question or information questions is the one asking for some information refered to by the Wh- word (Where are you from?) The third one is alternative interrogative, which consists of two polar interrogatives joined by “or” (Do you want to stay a bit longer or would you prefer to go home?) There is also another kind of classification In “System in English Grammar”, Master (1996) claims that there are four types of questions in English: yes/ no questions, information questions, tag questions and echo questions [p 136]

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b Classification of questions in Vietnamese

As for Vietnamese, there are also various ways to categorize questions Based on their semantic- structural relationship, questions in Vietnamese can

be classified into two main kinds: alternative questions and non- alternative questions Compared to English, they share the same characteristics as polar and non- polar questions In conclusion, we can see that the main types of English and Vietnamese interrogative sentences are not different from each other As Lê Quang Thiêm synthesized into the following table [25 228]:

The more research we do, the more different ways we will discover Therefore, We cannot say this one is correct and that one is not They are just different points of view and might be based on different foundations Because the purpose of this paper is making a comparison between English and Vietnamese negative questions, I will take the classification of Lê Quang Thiêm, which seems the most logical one related to the two languages, as a foundation for my analysis

Languag

e

Vietnamese English Question

types

Alternative

questions

alternative questions

Non-Alternative questions Non- alternative

questions Yes/ no

questions

Alternative questions

WH- questions

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2.2.2 Negation in English

2.2.2.1 Definition of negation

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English,

published in 1994, negation is the act of stating that something does not exist

or is untrue, and the Vietnamese Dictionary, published in 2002 by the Centre

of dictionary at Da Nang Publishing House says that negation is the act of rejecting the existence, the necessity of something; is the opposition to affirmation There also have been many definitions of negation made by many scholars so far: Frank, Marcela (2005: 53) states that negation shows disagreement, denial, absence of somebody or something, or an opposite idea

or quality Forming a negative clause means putting “not” directly after operator Semantically speaking, Frank has pointed out the importance of negation in establishing “a counter–part” of affirmation Grammatically speaking, the insertion of “not” in predicate of a sentence is a signal of negation

My research mainly bases on English Grammar book “A University

Grammar of English” (R, Quirk.1973) According to him, the negation of a

simple sentence is accomplished by inserting not (abbreviated n’t) between

the operator and the predication Although the definition of negation varies from scholar to scholar, from dictionary to dictionary, we can draw some main points as follows: Negation is a part of men’s cognition activity and communication process It is also a basic category of thinking, of formal logic

It is the opposition to the affirmative category

2.2.3 The semantic approach to English negative questions

Ladd (1981) presents a first look at the semantics and pragmatics of negative questions The first is a systematic ambiguity in negative questions,

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such as:

E.g.1: “Didn’t you hear him as we were leaving?” Fred said [11.67]

E.g.2: ‘Aren’t you finished yet?’ called Ron incredulously [11.114]

The ambiguity in these examples is remarkably hard to keep hold of, and the following elaboration may be helpful

E.g.3: (Situation: Kathleen and Jeff have just come from Chicago on the Greyhouse bus to visit Bob in Ithaca)

Bob: You guys must be starving You want to get something to eat?

Kathleen: Yeah, isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant around here-

Moosewood, or something like that

Bob: Gee, you’ve heard of Moosewood all the way out in Chicago, huh? Ok,

let’s go there.

Kathleen uses the negative question Isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant

Compare this to the following case:

E.g.4: (Situation: Bob is visiting Kathleen and Jeff in Chicago while attending a meeting)

Bob: I’d like to take you guys out to dinner while I’m here, we’d have time

to go somewhere around here before the evening session tonight, don’t you think?

Kathleen: I guess, but there’s not really any place to go in Hyde Park

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Bob: Oh, really, isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant around here?

Kathleen: No, about all we can get is hamburgers and souvlaki

Bob uses the negative question here for a very different reason: he had

previously assumed the truth of the proposition there is a vegetarian

this proposition is actually false, and is using the negative questions to check this new inference

The ambiguity in (E.g.2) is between ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ readings

as seen in (E.g.5) and (E.g.6)

E.g.5: (Situation: A and B are former left-wing activists discussing the recent activities of a colleague.)

A: Did you hear John’s decided to go to business school?

B: Yeah, I can’t believe how much he’s changed these days; didn’t he

even vote for Reagan?

A: That’s what somebody told me

E.g.6: (Situation: A and B are staunch Republicans)

A: What’s Dick been up to these days, I haven’t seen him at the Club for

ages

B: Haven’t you heard? He says he’s disillusioned with two-party politics,

he’s joined Common Cause, gave a lot of money to the Citizens’ Party…

A: Didn’t he even vote for Reagan?

B: Not as far as I know

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The situation in (E.g.5) means that in (E.g.3), the negative question is being used to confirm something the speaker believes to be true, which means that John voted for Reagan In (E.g.6), on the other hand, as in (E.g.4), the negative question, which is used to check on a new unexpected inference, means that Dick didn’t vote for Reagan

At first glance it might appear that the different implicatures and appropriate conditions seen in (E.g.3) and (E.g.6) are purely pragmatic, and that apparent ambiguity results from different pragmatic inferences drawn by the hearer on the basis of knowledge about the speaker’s politics, eating habits, etc

2.3 Summary

In short, much research has been done on the negative questions but they don’t carry out comparison between them in English and Vietnamese In fact, there are similarities and differences between them Consequently, it is very essential to have a comprehensive study of negative questions in English in comparison with that in Vietnamese In fact, there has been a great deal of investigation of negative questions However, there has been little research of negative questions in English and Vietnamese

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basing myself on dictionaries, reference books at the library and on some websites to help my students at my university enrich their knowledge of English and Vietnamese negative questions

3.1.4 Principles/criteria for intended data collection and data analysis

(i) Data types: dictionaries, Encyclopediate, books and Internet resources

(ii) Source of data: finding books at libraries, bookshops and on the internet (iii) Data analysis techniques: collecting and investigating

3.2 Research Methods

3.2.1 Major methods and supporting methods

The descriptive and contrastive analysis are considered the two majore methods of the research to describe the semantic features of negative questions in English and Vietnamese so as to do the contrastive study on the

subjec matter

Apart from the above- mentioned, the techniques of statistics and personal observation and consultation are also employed to help describe , analyze the semantic features and compare the similarities and differences of negative questions between English and Vietnamese

3.2.2 Data collection techniques

Materials related to the research topic are collected from research works, dictionaries, Encyclopediate, books and Internet Then the most suitable ones are selected for the theoretical background of the study Moreover, the research is realized by many examples of English and

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Vietnamese negative questions collected from different English books and their Vietnamese- translated versions These examples are most common- used negative questions in English and Vietnamese

3.2.3 Data analysis techniques

Once the data have been collected, they are classified and analysed , basing on the semantic features and types of questions in different contexts and dividing the data by types of questions across all cases collected and invested

Based on the samples collected in English and Vietnamese, the writer selects the most popular to illustrade points under the study investigation In this process, all samples are sorted out and grouped into different kinds of negative questions Since the study is conducted by descriptive and contrastive analysis, English is considered the source language and Vietnamese is the target one

3.3 Summary

The same category of grammar in two languages always has similarities and differences It will be misleading for learners if the two languages always have similarities and differences and if they can not distinguish the differnces

in classifications, funtions, and even usage of that category It is, therefore, essential for teachers to propose another research of methodolody for better solution

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Chapter 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Negative questions in English

According to John Eastwood in the book Oxford Practice grammar

of negative marker They ordinarily do not accomplish questioning in the sense of information seeking

Negative questions differ in meaning from normal questions only in that the speaker expresses an implied assumption or hope for which he is requesting affirmation or denial The structure calls for the speaker to state his/her assumption and then ask the question "did you" if his assumption is negative or "didn't you" if his assumption is positive

Eg.1: “You (did meet) met Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, didn’t you, Harry? [11.264]

The speaker of this question is assuming and / or hoping that the other person “did meet” and requesting affirmation The “did” in parentheses is optional Conversely, one may also say this:

E.g.2: You didn’t meet Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, did you, Harry

In this version, the speaker suspects and /or hopes that the other person

did not meet Hagrid down Knockturn Alley and is requesting affirmation Thirdly, there’s also this version:

E.g.3: Didn’t you meet Hagrid down Knockturn Alley?

This sentence also implies suspicion that the person at whom it is

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directed didn’t meet, but the connotation of doubt is not nearly as strong But those are closed negative questions, it requires a yes/no answer and closed negative interrogatives are used when the answer is tentatively assumed by the speaker However, it also exists open interrogative, negative or positive meaning, which can have any answer so they don't generally show attitude or assumption on the part of the speaker

4.1.1 Negative Yes/No questions

According to Alexander (1992; 255), negative Yes/No question can

appear in a post subject position in its full form not, or in pre-subject position

in its clinic-contracted form n’t In other word, it has either contracted forms

or uncontracted forms (negative full form and negative short form) According

to Quirk et al (1980) the negator full form is rather formal while the short form is usually preferred in informal spoken English

4.1.1.1.Uncontracted form

“Yes, didn’t you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?” [6.310]

4.1.1.2.Contracted form

E.g 1.: Haven’t I told you he’s not going? [10.63]

E.g 2: Can’t anyone help you [11.15]

Uncontracted forms are normally used in formal questions when we require special emphasis to express anger, surprise, etc And in rhetorical questions, not requiring an answer

E.g.3: Did we not swear when we took him in we’d stamp out that dangerous nonsense? [10.39]

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E.g.4: Will you not apologize for me?

Contracted forms are used when speaker is expecting the answer “Yes”, it’s also used to express surprise, disbelief, annoyance or sarcasm

E.g.5: Don’t you call me an idiot? [10.292]

E.g.6: Haven’t you guessed yet, Harry Potter? Said Riddle softly [6.327]

Also they are used for invitation and exclamation:

E.g.7: Won’t you come in for a few minutes?

E.g.8: Aren’t you finished yet? Called Ron incredulously [10.292] The tag question consists of operator plus pronoun, with or without a negative particle; the choice and tense of the operator are determined by the verb phrase in the subordinate clause:

E.g.9: He came home late, didn’t he? [24.51]

E.g.10: You haven’t seen Ron or Hermione, have you? Said Harry [11.193]

As the examples illustrate, if the subordinate clause is positive, the tag

is negative, and vice versa Both patterns are used to ask the hearer to agree that the statement in the main clause is true

The nuclear tone of the tag occurs on the operator and is either a rise or fall Four main types of tag question emerge from the observance of these

rules: You realize that, don’t you? [10.170]

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However, negative tag questions have been discussed An affirmative statement is often followed by a negative tag question, in order to ask for confirmation of the affirmative statement In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions

E.g.5: You’ve finished your work, haven’t you? [24.51]

E.g.6: She’s very pretty, isn’t she? [24.53]

4.1.2 Negative Wh- questions

Wh-questions are another common kind of question They are also called information questions because the answer to the question requires more than just a Yes- or- No answer Most Wh-questions begin with words that start with the letters “Wh”, and they usually end with falling intonation Negative Wh-questions can be formed by putting Wh-element before a negative operator “not” followed by a subject Or like negative Yes/No questions negator “not” can be put in a post-subject position in its full form or pre-

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subject position in its short form

E.g.1: What wouldn’t he give now for a message from Hogwarts? [11.8] E.g2: What would he not give now for a message from Hogwarts? [11.8]

This kind of question is not merely a means of requesting information, it has much more sense than other questions when going with “why”:

E.g.3: Why weren’t they at the Hallowe’en feast? (Surprise) [11.151]

E.g.4: Why didn’t he do it? (Complaint) [24.59]

Negative question with “why” contains much sense to express speaker’s attitude Meanwhile, “who”, “what”, “which”, Where….etc are only used for requesting information

E.g.5: Who didn’t attend in the meeting yesterday

E.g.6: Which colour didn’t our daughter like?

E.g.7: Where didn’t he do it? [24.60]

4.1.3 Negative alternative questions

An alternative question is a question that presents two or more possible answers and presupposes that only one is true In form, alternative questions are similar to yes/no interrogatives, in starting with the finite operator and not containing a question word Alternative questions offer two or more options for responses Alternative questions, like Yes/No questions, ask on the whole idea expressed by the clauses as options A positive Yes/No question can be

converted into an alternative question by adding or not or a matching of a

negative clause: