Basic Details
Word: Interrogative
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Asking a question or having the form of a question; in grammar, an interrogative sentence asks something, and who, what and which are interrogative words.
Synonyms: questioning, inquiring, curious
Antonyms: declarative
How to Spell Interrogative
Syllables: in - ter - rog - a - tive
Tricky part: Keep the double r of interrogate, then drop its final e and add ive. The vowel before tive is a, not i or e.
Watch out for: interogative, interrogetive, interrogitive
Memory tip: Take interrogate, knock off the final e and add ive: interrogat + ive. The a of gate stays in the word.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Who, what and which are interrogative pronouns.
Example 2: 'Are you coming to the match?' is an interrogative sentence.
Example 3: The teacher gave me an interrogative look when I walked in late.
Fun Fact
Spanish writes an upside-down question mark at the start of an interrogative sentence as well as a normal one at the end.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. exclamatary 2. imperitive 3. interrogative 4. declerative
a) expressing strong feeling
b) making a plain statement
c) in the form of a question
d) giving an order or a command
Show answer
c) in the form of a question. These are the four sentence types; only interrogative is spelt as it should be, the others being imperative, declarative and exclamatory.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
inte_rog_tive
a) r,i
b) r,a
c) l,a
d) r,e
Show answer
b) r,a. Interrogate gives both the second r and the a before tive.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to interrogative as used in the sentence:
Nani raised an interrogative eyebrow when my cousin said he had finished all his homework in ten minutes.
a) friendly
b) sleepy
c) questioning
d) angry
Show answer
c) questioning. Nani doubted the claim, so her eyebrow was asking a question.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is an interrogative sentence?
a) The bus is late.
b) Where did you keep my umbrella?
c) What a lovely garden.
d) Please close the door.
Show answer
b) Where did you keep my umbrella?
2. Which word can begin an interrogative sentence?
a) Why
b) Although
c) Therefore
d) Because
Show answer
a) Why
