Interrogative clauses

Yeonsol Kim

May 16, 2026

---

1. Interrogative clauses

1. closed interrogative clause
   • subject–auxiliary inversion가 발생한다
   • lexical verb만 있는 경우 dummy auxiliary를 도입하고 subject–auxiliary inversion.
2. open interrogative clause
   • interrogative phrase가 non-subject라면 fronting이 일어나고, 이로 인해 subject–auxiliary inversion까지 발생한다.

2. Questions

interrogative clauses 중에서 semantically하게 questions를 정의하자.

1. closed question
   • polar question
     • positive
     • negative: It is used in a context where the speaker is expecting a specific one of the answers.
   • alternative question
2. open question

Examples.

1. closed question
   • polar question
     • positive: "Did I tell you Tomo was leaving?"
     • negative: "Didn't I tell you Tomo was leaving?"
   • alternative question: "Is the meeting today, tomorrow, or Friday?"
2. open question
   • subject: "Who called the police?"
   • non-subject: "Which one did they pick?"

---