怎麼去判定一個英文句子是直述句還是問題呢？如果只看局部的話，有可能分得清嗎？如果可能的話，關鍵是在哪一個部分呢？
上次談到剛開始學英文時，最常碰到一些嚇人的詞彙，明明就是一拍、兩拍，偏要說成是單音節、雙音節。同樣的，明明是
主角，偏要說成是「主詞」；明明是
動作，偏要管它叫「動詞」。先來看底下這幾個句子：
They are laughing.
Jordan plays basketball well.
Liz goes to school from Monday to Friday.
The lady over there is Rose.
She will be here in no time.
Tom and his family had lived in Japan for three years.
Martha is a nurse.
在完整閱讀整個句子之前，如果能先對主詞和動詞的相對位置有一些敏感度，這樣當句子變長、變複雜時，也不會亂了章法。最方便練習敏感度的方式就是語調：
they are
... .
we did
... .
she is
... .
it was
... .
he does
... .
you had
... .
上述這幾個「主詞＋動詞」的組合，都是直述句的結構，聲調是往下降的；當把兩者位置調換後，很自然的就形成了發問的模式，聲調就要往上揚：
are they ... ?
did we ... ?
is she ... ?
was it ... ?
does he ... ?
had you ... ?
本篇開頭提到的關鍵部分，其實就在主詞和動詞的相對位置。當然，由於過度訓練的緣故，要將直述句變更成Yes-No問句，幾乎是反射動作，如果是強調狀態的句子，直接將be動詞移到句首就可以了：
They are students. →
Are they students?
She is happy. → Is she happy?
It was hot yesterday. → Was it hot yesterday?
如果是描述動作的句子，則需要用到
助動詞：
We went to the same school. → Did we go to the same school? Yes, we did.
He finishes everything in his plate. → Does he finish everything in his plate? Yes, he does.
We will have a party tonight. → Will we have a party tonight? Yes, we will.
好！對於直述句的主詞、動詞順序（it is、she does、we were、you did、they are...）和問題的主、動詞順序（is it、does she、were we、did you、are they...）應該多增加了一些敏感度。現在來看看一些隱含有疑問性質的直述句時，很容易造成混淆的幾個例子：
1. 你知道他住在哪裡嗎？ Do you know where does he live?
2. 你們確定他們為什麼都在大笑嗎？ Are they sure why are they laughing?
3. 他想不起來她的名字叫什麼了嗎？ Can't he remember what is her name?
4. 我們在想Charles何時才到。 We are wondering when will Charles arrive?
5. 我懷疑Tom在日本住了多久。 I doubt how long has Tom lived in Japan?
其中第4、5句的錯誤最明顯，因為它們不是問題，所以不應該出現「will Charles」或「has Tome」這種問題的主、動詞排列序，畫線部分正確的說法應該是：
4a. We are wondering when Charles will arrive
5a. I doubt how long Tom has lived in Japan.
而第1、2、3句的錯誤則在於問題在句首前三個字就已經問完了，後面畫線的部分應該是明確的形容，而不是發問，因此不應該出現「does he」、「are they」或「is her name」這種主、動詞排序，畫線部分正確的說法應該是：
1a. Do you know where he lives?
2a. Are they sure why they are laughing?
3a. Can't he remember what her name is?
一旦對於主、動詞的位置有了一定的敏感度，再迂迴的間接問句也不會倒錯，試著修改底下這句翻譯中的錯誤：
6. 告訴我那邊那位女士是誰。Tell me who is that lady over there?
Tell me who that lady over there is.
答對了嗎？
