1. DECLARATIVE, which state something; as,—
puer scribit, the boy is writing.
2. INTERROGATIVE, Which ask a question; as,—
quid puer scribit, what is the boy writing?
3. EXCLAMATORY, which are in the form of an exclamation; as,—
quot libros scribit, how many books he writes!
4. IMPERATIVE, which express a command or an admonition; as,—
scribe, write!
FORM OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES.
162. Questions may be either Word-Questions or Sentence-Questions.
1. Word-Questions. These are introduced by the various interrogative pronouns and adverbs, such as—quis, qui, qualis, quantus, quot, quotiens, quo, qua, etc. Thus:—
quis venit, who comes? quam diu manebit, how long will he stay?
2. Sentence-Questions. These are introduced—
a) By nonne implying the answer ‘yes’; as,—
nonne videtis, do you not see?
b) By num implying the answer ‘no’; as,—
num exspectas, do you expect? (i.e. you don’t expect, do you?)
c) by the enclitic -ne, appended to the
emphatic word (which usually
stands first), and simply asking for information;
as,—
videsne, do you see?
A question introduced by -ne may receive
a special implication from the
context; as,—
sensistine, did you not perceive?
d) Sometimes by no special word, particularly
in expressions of
surprise or indignation;
as,—
tu in judicum conspectum venire
audes, do you dare to come into the
presence of the judges?
3. Rhetorical Questions. These are questions merely in form, being employed to express an emphatic assertion; as, quis dubitat, who doubts? (_= no one doubts_).
4. Double Questions. Double Questions are introduced by the following particles:—
utrum ... an;
-ne ... an;
—— ... an.
If the second member is negative, annon (less often necne) is used. Examples:—
utrum honestum est an turpe, } honestumne est an turpe, } is it honorable or base? honestum est an turpe, } suntne di annon, are there gods or not?
a. An was not originally confined
to double questions, but introduced
single questions, having the force of
-ne, nonne, or num. Traces of this
use survive in classical Latin; as,—
A rebus gerendis abstrahit senectus. Quibus? An eis quae juventute geruntur et viribus? Old age (it is alleged) withdraws men from active pursuits. From what pursuits? Is it not merely from those which are carried on by the strength of youth?
5. Answers.