The interrogative sentences in the context of semantic features of adverbs describing the way of doing something

Abstract

The article concentrates on the problem that was discussed at the conference „Synchronia i diachronia – zbliżenia i dialogi”, i.e. the boundary line between the language system and the use of language. This issue occurs when interrogative sentences are analyzed. When somebody asks someone about the way of doing something, they cannot predict the interlocutor’s reaction. However, this remark refers to each utterance which requires on’s verbal reaction. This is why from the semantic viewpoint the equivalence of the thematic-rhematic structure of interrogative and affirmative sentences must be assumed. According to this theory each interrogative sentence determines the rheme of the reply. From which it appears that questions say a lot about the semantic structure of search terms, e.g. the best question about ad verbs of manner expressing an opinion is: Jak według ciebie ktoś coś robi. Whereas the most adequate question about adverbs of manner qualifying samobody’s activity is: Na czym polega sposób, w jaki ktoś coś robi? A nd f inally, the third group concenrs adverbs of manner expressing the circumstances of somebody’s activity. Their characteristic feature is saying something about what can be verified in reality. The appropriate question about these adverbs is: W czym przejawia się to, że ktoś coś robi.