KIND
OF QUESTIONS
-
Yes/no
question
correct
|
|
incorrect
|
Are elections next year?
|
Elections next year?
|
Does he want to stay?
|
He want to stay?
|
Have the boys eaten?
|
The boys eaten?
|
Can the dog swim?
|
The dog swim?
|
Yes / No
questions are also called closed questions because there are only two
possible responses: Yes or No. When forming a Yes / No
question, it must include one of these verbs: BE
, DO
, HAVE
, or a modal
verb . It is impossible to ask a Yes / No question without one
of these verbs.
·
Use the verb BE to ask Yes / No
questions about the identity or description of a person, place, or thing.
question
|
|
response
|
Am I your friend?
|
Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you
are my friend.
|
Is this a good restaurant?
|
No. / No, it is not. / No, it is
not a good restaurant.
|
Are these islands Greek?
|
Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these
islands are Greek.
|
Was his idea interesting?
|
No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his
idea was not interesting.
|
Were they happy?
|
Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they
were happy.
|
·
Use the verb BE with a preposition to
ask Yes / No questions about a present or past location.
question
|
|
response
|
Am I at the correct location?
|
No. / No, you aren’t.
|
Are the keys under the books?
|
No. / No, they are not.
|
Was his house on an island?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
Were the demonstrations in the
center of town?
|
No. / No, they weren’t.
|
·
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No
question about a current activity or situation. This requires the present
progressive : BE + (verb+ing).
question
|
|
response
|
Am I going with you and Tom?
|
Yes. / Yes, you are.
|
Is she working today?
|
No. / No, she isn’t.
|
Are we seeing a play tomorrow?
|
Yes. / Yes, we are.
|
·
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No
question about a past activity or situation. This requires the past
progressive : WAS / WERE + (verb+ing).
question
|
|
response
|
Was it raining?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
Were they playing?
|
No. / No, they weren’t.
|
·
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No
question with the passive voice
question
|
|
response
|
Is gold mined in Canada?
|
Yes. / Yes it is.
|
Are flowers grown here?
|
No. / No, they are not.
|
Was the book read?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
·
Use the verb HAVE to ask if somebody has
done something or if some action has taken place. Note that these Yes / No
questions use the present perfect (HAVE + past participle).
question
|
|
response
|
Has your brother left?
|
No. / No, he hasn’t.
|
Have you driven before?
|
Yes. / Yes, I have.
|
Has the party started?
|
Yes. / Yes, it has.
|
·
Use the verb DO to ask Yes / No
questions in order to obtain facts about people, places, or things.
question
|
|
response
|
Do they smoke?
|
No. / No, they don’t.
|
Does it rain here?
|
Yes. / Yes, it does.
|
Did the key work?
|
No. / No, it didn’t.
|
-
W/H
Question
Wh–
questions are so called because with the exception of the question word how,
all the question words begin with the letters Wh. They are also
called open questions because the number of possible responses is
limitless. This means they must be answered with more information than just a
simple “yes” or “no.”
Here are the WH question words:
Who whom what where when why which
whose how
·
Who and whom are used to obtain
information about a person or people.
question
|
|
response
|
Who is at the door?
|
Tom is at the door.
|
Who wants an apple?
|
I want an apple.
|
Whom is he dating?
(Who is he dating?)
|
He is dating Anna.
|
·
What is used to request information about
somebody or something.
What is this?
|
This is a bird.
|
What did she say?
|
She said to be quiet.
|
What have they done?
|
They’ve broken the window.
|
·
When is used to obtain information about the time period in
which an action occurs.
question
|
|
response
|
When does Anna arrive?
|
She arrives at 10:30.
|
When can I see you again?
|
I don’t know.
|
When was the race?
|
The race was yesterday.
|
·
Where is used to obtain information about the location of a
person or thing.
question
|
|
response
|
Where does Natasha live?
|
She lives in Miami.
|
Where were the keys?
|
The keys were in the car.
|
Where have you been?
|
We have been at the bank.
|
·
Why is used to obtain information about the reason something
happens, or the reason somebody does something.
question
|
|
response
|
Why is the steet closed?
|
They are repairing it..
|
Why did Alex leave?
|
He had a meeting.
|
Why haven’t you called?
|
I lost my cell phone.
|
In
informal American English, "How come?" is sometimes used in
place of "Why?"
Why is she late?
|
=
|
How come she’s late?
|
Why did he stay?
|
How come he stayed?
|
Why can’t you go?
|
How come you can’t go?
|
·
Which is used to obtain information in order to make a comparison
between two or more similar things or people.
question
|
|
response
|
Which of these pens is the best?
|
The black one.
|
Which author do you enjoy?
|
I enjoy reading Borges.
|
Which river is longer, the Nile or
the Amazon?
|
The Nile.
|
Which street leads downtown?
|
The street on the left.
|
·
Whose is used to obtain information about who something belongs
to.
question
|
|
response
|
Whose book is on the table?
|
That’s Tom’s book.
|
Whose idea was that?
|
It was her idea.
|
Whose child is this that has a cough?
|
He is my child.
|
·
How is used to obtain information about the way something
happens, or the manner or way somebody behaves or does something.
question
|
|
response
|
How does this work?
|
Push the red button.
|
How was your mother?
|
She was much better.
|
How has the weather been?
|
It’s been very rainy.
|
How will he win the race?
|
By training every day.
|
-
TAG
QUESTION
A
tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed
by a mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. They mean
something like: "Is that right?" or "Do you agree?" They
are very common in English.
The
basic structure of a tag question is:
positive
statement
|
negative
tag
|
Snow is white,
|
isn't it?
|
-
negative
statement
|
positive
tag
|
You don't like me,
|
do you?
|
Notice
that the tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the
statement and changes it to negative or positive.
·
Positive Statement Tag Questions
(+)
positive statement
|
(-)
negative tag
|
subject
|
auxiliary
|
main
verb
|
|
auxiliary
|
not
|
personal
pronoun same as subject
|
You
|
are
|
coming,
|
|
are
|
n't
|
you?
|
We
|
have
|
finished,
|
|
have
|
n't
|
we?
|
You
|
do
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n't
|
you?
|
You
|
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n't
|
you?
|
They
|
will
|
help,
|
|
wo
|
n't
|
they?
|
I
|
can
|
come,
|
|
can
|
't
|
I?
|
We
|
must
|
go,
|
|
must
|
n't
|
we?
|
He
|
should
|
try
|
harder,
|
should
|
n't
|
he?
|
You
|
|
are
|
English,
|
are
|
n't
|
you?
|
John
|
|
was
|
there,
|
was
|
n't
|
he?
|
Notice:
- the use of do in the two coffee questions.
Remember that in Present Simple, do is optional in positive
statements (You like coffee/You do like coffee). But the do
must appear in the tag. The same applies to Past Simple did.
- in last two questions, no auxiliary for main verb be
in Present Simple and Past Simple. The tag repeats the main verb.
·
Negative
Statement Tag Questions
(-)
negative statement
|
(+)
positive tag
|
subject
|
auxiliary
|
|
main
verb
|
|
|
auxiliary
|
personal
pronoun same as subject
|
It
|
is
|
n't
|
raining,
|
|
|
is
|
it?
|
We
|
have
|
never
|
seen
|
|
that,
|
have
|
we?
|
You
|
do
|
n't
|
like
|
|
coffee,
|
do
|
you?
|
They
|
will
|
not
|
help,
|
|
|
will
|
they?
|
They
|
wo
|
n't
|
report
|
|
us,
|
will
|
they?
|
I
|
can
|
never
|
do
|
|
it right,
|
can
|
I?
|
We
|
must
|
n't
|
tell
|
|
her,
|
must
|
we?
|
He
|
should
|
n't
|
drive
|
|
so fast,
|
should
|
he?
|
You
|
wo
|
n't
|
be
|
|
late,
|
will
|
you?
|
You
|
|
|
are
|
n't
|
English,
|
are
|
you?
|
John
|
|
|
was
|
not
|
there,
|
was
|
he?
|
Notice:
· won't is the
contracted form of will not
· the tag repeats the auxiliary verb, not the main verb.
Except, of course, for the verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple.
-
Choice
Questions
We use choice questions when we offer choices.
Choice
questions
|
Answers
|
Would you like a house or a flat?
Do you go with your family or alone?
Are you a little nervous or excited?
|
A house, of course.
With my family.
A little nervous.
|
-
Hypothetical
Questions
We ask hypothetical questions to have a general idea of a certain situation
(like a questionnaire).
Examples
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Would you leave your country and your relatives behind to study abroad?
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
-
Embedded
questions (indirect questions)
We use them in reported speech or in polite questions.
Examples:
She asked me if she could borrow my dictionary.
She asked me where the nearest train station was.
(not where was the nearest train station…)
Note: notice that the word order is affirmative.
Could you tell me how I can go to The Central Park?
-
Leading
questions
We ask leading questions when we want to get the answer we desire.
Examples:
What do you think of the terrible side effects of drugs?