Negative questions; echo questions; questions with that clauses

This lesson covers three related question types used in English: negative questions (often used for confirmation, politeness, or surprise), echo questions (short questions that repeat information to confirm or express surprise), and questions that include a that-clause (a clause introduced by 'that' used as the object or complement of the question).

• Negative questions invert the auxiliary and subject and include a negation (e.g., "Didn't you receive it?").
• Echo questions repeat a statement as a question (e.g., "You approved the budget?") — often spoken with rising intonation.
• Questions with a that-clause embed a full clause introduced by 'that' as part of the question (e.g., "Did she say that the client agreed?").

Remember the main functions and structural patterns:

• Negative questions: use for confirmation, surprise, or polite suggestions. Structure: auxiliary + not + subject + base verb (or contracted form).
• Echo questions: repeat the original statement's word order (subject + verb) and rely on intonation to show surprise or to confirm.
• That-clauses: many verbs (say, think, believe, know, report) take a 'that' clause as an object—keep the clause intact after the reporting verb.

Intonation and context determine meaning—pay attention to rising vs falling intonation in spoken English.

Watch for these universal errors learners make with these question types:

• Using the wrong verb form after an auxiliary in a negative question (e.g., 'Didn't he informed' instead of 'Didn't he inform').
• Changing word order for echo questions (forgetting that echo questions usually keep subject + verb order).
• Dropping 'that' when it changes meaning or clarity in reported content (e.g., 'Did she say she would come?' vs 'Did she say that she would come?').
• Overusing questions where a statement would be clearer—context and intonation are important.
• Using double negation incorrectly in English (e.g., 'Didn't you not receive...' is usually wrong).

Check auxiliary + base verb forms and watch intonation in spoken practice.