8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

1/9

Formation of yes/no

questions and negation(La formacin de preguntas de so no, y la negacin)

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

2/9

In spoken and written Spanish,statementsare normally formed

by placing the subject at the beginning of the sentence, followedby the verb and an object, if any.

rica habla francs.

Habla rica francs?

Statements versus Questions

Questionsthat require a yes-or-no answer are often formed byplacing the subject after the verb, especially when requesting newinformation.

Does rica speak French?

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

3/9

In spoken Spanish, all yes-or-no questions are identifiedby rising intonation at the end of the question, regardlessof word order.

Habla rica francs?

Statements versus Questions

rica habla francs?

To express disbelief about information already given,

maintain the word order for statements, but with risingintonation (called an echo question).

rica speaks French? (Really?)

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

4/9

A yes-or-no question can also be formed by adding a tag

word or phrase at the end of a statement. Tag questions arealso used to confirm given information and have risingintonation over the tag itself.

rica habla francs, no?

Statements versus Questions

rica habla francs, verdad?

rica habla francs, no es as?rica speaks French, right?

rica speaks French, doesnt she?

rica speaks French, isnt that so?

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

5/9

Question Marks and Intonation(Los signos de interrogacin y la entonacin)

An inverted question mark () is always placed at the beginningof a question word or phrase, and another right-side-up questionmark (?) at the end.

While in English, word order or the helper verb donormally indicate aquestion, in Spanish, word order for questions and statements can beidentical, and Spanish has no equivalent to the helper verb do. Thus, inwrittenSpanish, the inverted question mark alerts the reader that a

question follows.

Cmo? Pardon? Hows that again?

Cmo es tu profesor? What is your professor like?

Juan speaks English.Juan habla ingls.Does Juan speak English?Juan habla ingls?

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

6/9

Question Marks and Intonation(Los signos de interrogacin y la entonacin)

Again, with yes-or-no questions inspokenSpanish, the speakersintonation is the indicator of the question.

With questions that do not requireyesor noin the answer, intonation isnot an indicator; instead, we listen for the question word at or near the

beginning of the phrase.

Eres estudiante? Are you a student?

Eres estudiante. You are a student.

Where is he from?De dndees?Hes from California.Es de California.

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

7/9

NegationWe make a sentence negative in Spanish by simply

placing nobefore the verb.

rica nohabla francs.rica doesnt speak French.

Be careful, though. In Spanish, the nois always beforethe verb, even when its equivalent (not,etc.) is after theverb in English.

Nosotros nosomos de Espaa.We are notfrom Spain.

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

8/9

NegationWhen we answer a yes-or-no question negatively, the

word nofollowed by a comma also precedes the verbphrase.

Habla rica francs?

No, no habla francs.The first nosimplynegates the question.

The second nois the equivalent ofdoesnt.

No, she doesnt speak French.

8/12/2019 CH02 2 Formation of Yes-Or-no Questions and Negation

9/9