What are Rhetorical Questions ?
Rhetorical questions have no answers. The answer is hidden in the question itself. The question is an emphatic statement. Such questions are used in speech and arguments.
Funny Rhetorical Questions
- Do fish get thirsty?
- Can you cry under water?
- Who has seen the wind?
- Who doesn’t know Sachin Tendulkar?
How to to frame Rhetorical Questions?
अलंकारीक प्रश्ना चे उत्तर नसते तर तो प्रश्न हा विधानच असतो. हे प्रश्न युक्तिवाद करताना वापरतात. विधानाचे रुपांतर अलंकारीक प्रश्नात करतांना सहयकारि क्रियापद प्रथम वापरावे नंतर कर्ता वापरावा विधान नकारात्मक असल्यास प्रश्न होकारात्मक करावा व विधान होकारात्मक असल्यास प्रश्न नकारात्मक करावा शेवटी प्रश्नार्थक चिन्ह द्यावे. अलंकारीक प्रश्नाचे विधानात रुपांतर करतांना या उलट प्रक्रिया करावी.
Assertive sentence begins with subject /doer of the action followed by helping verb/main verb.
If the rhetorical question is negative, assertive sentence should be affirmative (remove negative word such as – not, no, never .nothing .nobody. no one etc.)
If the rhetorical question is affirmative ,assertive sentence should be negative. (Add negative word such as – not, no, never, nothing , nobody, no-one, etc.)
Put the remaining words and replace question mark with full stop.
Rewrite as rhetorical questions.
1. We love our motherland.
Ans: Do we not love our motherland?
2. There is no room for secrecy under Bapuji’s leadership.
Ans: Is there any room for secrecy under Bapuji’s leadership?
3. Everyone knows Sachin Tendulkar.
Ans: Who doesn’t know Sachin Tendulkar?
4. No one has seen the wind.
Ans: Who has seen the wind?
5. A letter can not contain all this.
Ans: Can a letter contain all this?
How can a letter contain all this?
6. There is nothing wrong in being grateful to a great man.
Ans : Is there anything wrong in being grateful to a great man?
7. Liberty can not be divorced from equality.
Ans : How can liberty be divorced from equality?
Difference between Interrogative and Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical Questions are different from interrogative sentences. Interrogative sentences require answers whereas rhetorical questions need no answer. Rhetorical questions are to be taken in opposite sense.
Read the following questions and pick out the rhetorical questions and make statements of them.
How long shall we continue to live this life of contradiction?
How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life?
What does fraternity mean?
How can people divided into several thousands of castes be a nation.
Is it wrong to love animal and plant?
Won’t our cricketers come back as winners?
Corruption is getting rooted in social life. Is it fair?
Why do students bunk classes?
Excessive violence is being shown in modern cinema. When will the government take notice of it?
What challenges did the mountaineers face?
Aren’t children wiser than men?
Click the “Show/Hide” button to toggle between hiding and showing the answers:
KEY
1. No longer we shall continue to live this life of contradiction.2. No longer we shall continue to deny equality in our social and economic life.
3. What does fraternity mean?(It needs answer. So it is interrogative sentence.
4. People divided into several thousands of castes can not be a nation?
5. It is not wrong to love animal and plant.
6. Our cricketers will come back as winners.
7. Corruption is getting rooted in social life. It is not fair.
8. Students should not bunk classes.
9. Excessive violence is being shown in modern cinema. The government will never take notice of it.
10. What challenges did the mountaineers face? Interrogative ( wh-question)
11. Children are wiser than men.
While interchanging assertive into interrogative and vice versa
1. Interchange the place of subject and verb
2. Make negative by adding negation( not, no, no one, nobody , never, none etc.)if the given sentence is affirmative
3. Make affirmative by removing negation
4. Use punctuation mark at the end accordingly.
Do the following and check the answers.
1. Is this the way you should come dressed to school ?2. Does anything succeed like success ?
3. We are not going to submit to them so easily.
4. Can anyone bear such an insult ?
5. None is greater than the country?
6. Who can forget his sacrifice ?
7. When will you learn to obey your teachers?
8. A wise man is honoured everywhere.
9. Is drinking not bad for health ?
10. Does anyone like to be called a fool ?
11. Money does not grow on trees.
12. Can there be success without hard work?
13. Joys and sorrows go together.
14. Why should we lament any loss ?
15. Do the brave not deserve honour?
16. Can there be smoke without fire ?
17. Was Rustom not a great warrior ?
18. Who has seen the wind ?
19.When will a wicked man prosper ?
20. Are books not our best friends ?
21. When can their glory fade?
22. How can I repay your kindness?
Click the “Show/Hide” button to toggle between hiding and showing the answers:
KEY
1. This is not the way you should come dressed to school.2. Nothing succeeds like success.
3.Are we going to submit to them easily?
4. No one can bear such an insult .
5.Who is greater than the country?
6.No one can forget his sacrifice.
7. You will never learn to obey your teachers.
8. Where isn’t a wise man honoured?
9. Drinking is bad for health.
10. No one likes to be called a fool.
11. Does money grow on tree?
12. There can not be success without hard work.
13. Do joys and sorrows not go (live) together?
14 .We should not lament any loss.
15. The brave deserves honour.
16.There can be smoke without fire.
17.Rustom was a great warrior.
18. No one has seen the wind.
19. A wicked man will never prosper.
20. Books are our best friends.
21.Their glory can never fade.
22.I can not repay your kindness.
How to change into indirect speech of rhetorical question
Rhetorical question should be transformed to assertive and make changes accordingly.
Well presented.
Nicely presented.