Pragmatic Functions of Interrogative Sentences in English: A Corpus-based Study

Abstract

This study attempts to identify the various discourse functions of interrogative sentences in English. A corpus of authentic literary texts of three plays is surveyed in order to determine the pragmatic functions of this type of sentence. It is found that interrogatives perform more than thirty-five pragmatic functions. The analysis also reveals that contextual factors pertaining to interlocutors, their status and relationships, in addition to the time, place and world of discourse play a vital role in determining the pragmatic function of an interrogative sentence. Relevant implications to teaching English as a foreign language are highlighted..