Kors dwar l-istruttura tal-mistoqsijiet bl-Ingliż - Preparazzjoni TOEIC®
Bl-Ingliż, il-mistoqsijiet isegwu struttura preċiża. L-ordni tal-awżiljarju u tas-suġġett hija differenti minn dik ta' sentenza affermattiva. Hemm diversi tipi ta’ mistoqsijiet:
- Yes/No questions (mistoqsijiet magħluqa)
- Wh- questions (mistoqsijiet miftuħa)
- Tag questions (mistoqsijiet-tag)
- Indirect questions (mistoqsijiet indiretti)
Qabel nidħlu fid-dettall, ftakar li huwa importanti tagħmel id-differenza bejn:
- il-mistoqsijiet fejn wieħed jistenna risposta "Iva" jew “Le” (Yes/No)
- il-mistoqsijiet fejn wieħed jistenna informazzjoni partikolari (Wh-)
1. Ġeneralitajiet dwar il-mistoqsijiet
A. L-awżiljarji
Ħafna mistoqsijiet fihom awżiljarju (do, does, did, have, will, eċċ.) li jitqiegħed jew fil-bidu tas-sentenza, jew eżatt wara l-kelma interrogattiva.
- Awżiljarju “do” (fil-Present) jew “does” (fil-Present fit-3 persuna singular)
- Do you like pizza?
(Tħobb il-pizza?) - Does she work here?
(Taħdem hawn?)
- Do you like pizza?
- Awżiljarju “did” (fil-Past)
- Did they watch the movie last night?
(Raw il-film ilbieraħ filgħaxija?)
- Did they watch the movie last night?
- Awżiljarju “have/has” (fit-tenses Perfect)
- Have you finished your homework?
(Temmejt ix-xogħol tad-dar?) - Has he ever been to London?
(Qatt kien Londra?)
- Have you finished your homework?
- Awżiljarju “will” (Future)
- Will you come to the party tomorrow?
(Se tiġi għall-festa għada?)
- Will you come to the party tomorrow?
B. Il-kliem interrogattiv
Il-kliem interrogattiv (Wh- words) jintuża biex titlob informazzjoni speċifika dwar post, żmien, raġuni, jew mod kif.
Dawn huma l-aktar kliem interrogattiv importanti:
| Wh- word | Tifsira | Eżempju |
|---|---|---|
| What | X’ / X’inhuma / Liema | What do you want for dinner? |
| What time | Liema ħin | What time does the meeting start? |
| What... like | Kif inhu... (deskrizzjoni ta’ persuna, oġġett, esperjenza) | What is your new teacher like? |
| When | Meta | When does the train leave? |
| Where | Fejn | Where can I find a good restaurant? |
| Why | Għaliex | Why are you late? |
| Who | Min (jista’ jkun suġġett jew oggett) | Who is calling me? Who do you want to speak to? |
| Whom (inqas komuni) | Min (oggett ta’ verb jew prepożizzjoni, użu aktar formali) | To whom did you give the book? |
| Whose | Ta’ min / Ta’ min hu (possessiv) | Whose bag is this? |
| Which | Liema / Liema waħda minn diversi għażliet | Which color do you prefer? |
| How | Kif / (jintuża f’diversi forom bħal “How many”, eċċ.) | How are you? How did you do that? |
| How much | Kemm (ammont li ma jingħaddx) | How much water do we need? |
| How many | Kemm (ammont li jingħadd) | How many books do you have? |
| How long | Kemm idum / X’ twila | How long does the journey take? How long is this rope? |
| How often | Kemm-il darba / Kemm spiss | How often do you go to the gym? |
| How far | Kemm ’il bogħod / Sa fejn | How far is the station? |
| How old | Liema età | How old is your sister? |
| How about | X’taħseb... / U jekk... (suggeriment) | How about going to the beach? |
| How come (informali) | Għaliex (stil iktar familjari) | How come you didn’t call me? |
- Who hija iktar komuni minn whom, li hija pjuttost formali jew letterarja.
- How tintrabat ma’ ħafna kliem biex tippreċiża n-natura tal-mistoqsija (tul, distanza, ammont, frekwenza, età, eċċ.).
2. Yes/No questions (mistoqsijiet magħluqa)
Il-mistoqsijiet magħluqa jibdew bl-awżiljarju, wara jiġu s-suġġett u l-verb prinċipali. L-unika eċċezzjoni hija meta l-verb "be" jintuża bħala verb ewlieni:
- Are you busy right now? Yes, I am
- Do they play tennis on weekends? Yes, they do.
- Did she enjoy the concert? Yes, she did.
- Have you seen my keys? Yes, I have.
- Will we travel together next month? Yes, we will.
Dawn il-mistoqsijiet jissejħu « magħluqa » għax jippermettu numru limitat ta’ tweġibiet: ġeneralment « iva » jew « le ». B’differenza mill-mistoqsijiet miftuħa, li joffru ħafna risposti possibbli, mistoqsijiet magħluqa jillimitaw il-possibbiltà tar-risposta.
Każ partikolari bil-verb “be”
Meta "be" ikun il-verb prinċipali tas-sentenza, ma tintużax l-awżiljarji "do/does/did":
- Are they friends? (suġġett “they”, verb “are”)
- Was he at home yesterday? (suġġett “he”, verb “was”)
3. Wh- questions (mistoqsijiet miftuħa)
Il-mistoqsijiet miftuħa isegwu l-istess struttura bħal Yes/No questions, imma jibdew bil-kelma interrogattiva (Wh-).
- What did you eat for breakfast?
- When will you arrive?
- Where are they meeting us?
- Why did he leave so early?
Who, What u Which bħala suġġett jew oggett?
Il-kliem interrogattiv who, what u which jistgħu jkunu suġġett jew oggett fil-mistoqsija. L-istruttura tas-sentenza tinbidel skont il-funzjoni tagħhom.
Meta l-kelma interrogattiva hija s-suġġett
F’dan il-każ, il-kelma interrogattiva tieħu post il-persuna jew l-oġġett li jagħmel l-azzjoni. Is-sentenza ssegwi l-istruttura ta’ affermazzjoni normali, mingħajr awżiljarju do/does/did.
- Who called you yesterday?
(Xi ħadd ċempel, imma ma nafux min.) - What happened yesterday?
(Xi ħaġa ġrat, imma ma nafux x’ġara.) - Which car won the race?
(Karozza rebħet, imma ma nafux liema.)
Tinnota li f’dawn is-sentenzi, m’hemmx awżiljarju “did”, għax il-kelma interrogattiva tirrappreżenta direttament is-suġġett tal-azzjoni.
Biex tkun taf jekk il-kelma interrogattiva hijiex suġġett (u mhux oggett), biżżejjed tissostitwixxi l-kelma interrogattiva b’huwa/hi/huwa (he/she/it)
- Who called you? → He called you. ✅ (who = suġġett)
- What made that noise? → It made that noise. ✅ (what = suġġett)
Meta l-kelma interrogattiva hija l-oggett
Hawnhekk, il-kelma interrogattiva tirreferi għall-persuna jew l-oġġett li tkun qed taqla’ l-azzjoni. Hemm bżonn tiżdied awżiljarju (do/does/did) biex tinżamm l-ordni suġġett + verb + kumpliment.
- Who do you love?
(Tħobb lil xi ħadd, imma ma nafux min.) - What do you want?
(Trid xi ħaġa, imma ma nafux x’inhi.) - Which book did she choose?
(Għażlet ktieb, imma ma nafux liema.)
4. Question-tags
Il-tag questions (jew question-tags) jintużaw biex tikkonferma informazzjoni jew biex titlob l-approvazzjoni tal-interlokutur. Dawn il-mistoqsijiet qosra jitqiegħdu fl-aħħar tas-sentenza.
Il-għan ġeneralment hu li tikseb konferma jew approvazzjoni (Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. eċċ.).
- He’s coming tonight, isn’t he?
- They didn’t leave early, did they?
- She can drive, can’t she?
- We have finished, haven’t we?
Biex tifforma question tag, tuża l-awżiljarju jew il-verb "be" u tinqaleb mas-suġġett. Il-question tag tkun negattiva jekk is-sentenza prinċipali hija affermattiva, u affermattiva jekk is-sentenza prinċipali hija negattiva.
- Sentenza affermattiva, question tag negattiva
- You are a student, aren’t you?
- Sentenza negattiva, question tag affermattiva
- You aren’t a student, are you?
5. Indirect questions (mistoqsijiet indiretti)
Il-mistoqsijiet indiretti jintużaw ħafna f’konversazzjonijiet biex tissaffa mistoqsija jew biex titqiegħed mod ġentili. Spiss jidħlu wara espressjonijiet bħal Could you tell me..., Do you know..., I wonder..., I'd like to know..., eċċ.
B’differenza mal-mistoqsijiet diretti, il-mistoqsijiet indiretti ma jkollhomx inversion bejn l-awżiljarju u s-suġġett. Lanqas ma jintuża punt interrogattiv fil-proposizzjoni indiretta. Il-kelma interrogattiva (Wh-) tibqa’, iżda l-istruttura tas-sentenza ssegwi dik ta’ sentenza affermattiva.
- Mistoqsija diretta: Where is the bathroom?
Mistoqsija indiretta: Could you tell me where the bathroom is? - Mistoqsija diretta: When does the show start?
Mistoqsija indiretta: Do you know when the show starts? - Mistoqsija diretta: Why did they leave so early?
Mistoqsija indiretta: I wonder why they left so early.
Fil-mistoqsijiet indiretti, il-verb isegwi r-regoli tas-sentenza affermattiva. Pereżempju, f’Could you tell me where the bathroom is?, tara li "is" jiġi eżatt wara "bathroom" (suġġett + verb).
Konklużjoni
Dan il-kapitlu huwa essenzjali għall-TOEIC® għax jgħinek tifhem u twieġeb b’mod korrett il-mistoqsijiet Wh- fil-partijiet Listening Part 2 u Reading Part 5 & 6. Barra minn hekk, jgħin biex tanalizza b’mod effettiv l-istruttura tas-sentenzi fil-Reading Part 7 sabiex tista’ tidentifika malajr l-informazzjoni rilevanti.