Suggestive questions

§ 12. Suggestive questions, also called declarative questions, form a peculiar kind of "yes-no" questions. They keep the word order of statements but serve as questions owing to the rising tone in speaking and a question mark in writing, as in:

You really want to go now, to-night?

- Yes, nothing could make me stay.

By their communicative function suggestive questions resemble sentences with tag questions; they are asked for the sake of confirmation. The speaker is all but sure what the answer will be (positive or negative), and by asking the question expects confirmation on the part of the addressee.

You are familiar with the town?

- I spent winter here many years ago.

You still don’t believe me, Aunt Nora?

- No,I don't.

The answer is sometimes unexpected.

A child like you talking of “we women”! What next? You’re not in earnest?

- Yes, I am.

Unlike ordinary “yes-no” questions, suggestive questions may contain independent elements, such as interjections, modal words or phrases, the conjunction so, parenthetical clauses, etc., as in:

You are joking, eh?

Surely you are not offended?

So you knew about, it before?

Suggestive questions are frequently used as question responses with various kinds of emotional colouring, most often that of surprise or incredulity.

He said you were a very good ski-teacher.

- He said that?

You sound surprised.

Because of their main communicative function, suggestive questions are very useful as leading questions to get exact information, as seen in the following passage:

You mean to say he at no time asked you the actual purpose of your visit?

- Not at that interview.

- And it did not occur to you to force this information on him ?

- Indeed it did...

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