Making Questions

Yes / No questions
Most of them start with an auxiliary verb and expect an answer Yes or No.

Yes / No Questions Answers

Do you like your new teacher? Yes / No (Yes I do / No I don’t)

Can you help me? Yes / No (Yes I can / No I can’t)

Have you ever been here before? Yes / No (Yes I have / No I haven’t)

Did you visit your aunt yesterday? Yes / No (Yes I did / No I didn't)

Note: you can ask a yes / no question using the verb "to be" as a full verb (not an auxiliary) as
well.
Are you from The United States?
Yes / No (Yes I am / No I am not)

WH Questions
What / Where / Why / Who / Whose / When / Which

Wh-questions Answers

What is your name? My name is Allen.

When did you come? I came yesterday.

Who is your teacher? Mr. Jack is my teacher.

Whose book is that? That’s mine.

Note: there are other question words that don’t start with "wh" as well.
How / how many / how often / how far / how much / how long / how old etc.
 Examples:

1|Page
 How are you? I am fine.

How old are you? I am fifteen.

How much is it? It is $5.

Tag questions (disjunctive or tail questions)

They are mini-questions asked at the end of a statement to confirm it.
Examples:

You love her, don’t you?

She has seen it, hasn't she?

Nobody knew the answer, did they?

Let’s go, shall we?

 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:

negative statement positive tag

You don't like me, do you?

positive statement negative tag

Snow is white, isn't it?

Notice that the tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and
changes it to negative or positive.

2|Page
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?

Negative Statement Tag Questions

(-) negative statement (+) positive tag

subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary personal

pronoun
same as
subject

3|Page
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?

Answering Tag Questions

 Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the
real facts, not (necessarily) the question.

tag question correct answer notes

Snow is white, isn't Yes (it is). Answer is same in But notice change
it? both cases - because of stress when
snow is white! answerer does not
agree with
Snow isn't white, is Yes it is! questioner.
it?

Snow is black, isn't No it isn't!

it?

4|Page
 Snow isn't black, is No (it isn't). Answer is same in
it? both cases - because
snow is not black!

In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes"
(meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!
Here are some more examples, with correct answers:
The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.
The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes.
The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't!
Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do!
Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't!
Men don't have babies, do they? No.
The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.

Choice Questions
 We use choice questions when we offer choices.

Choice questions Answers

Would you like a house or a flat? A house, of course.

Do you go with your family or alone? With my family.

Are you a little nervous or excited? 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?

5|Page
 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?

Were you with your family at the time of the crime?

Check your progress
Activity 1
Complete the following questions with Who, Which, Where, What, Whose.

1. is your boss? Mr. Derek.

2. one is your car? The orange one.
3. is the teacher? In the yard.
4. are you watching? An old TV show.
5. car is red? Alicia's.
6. is your name? Brian.
7. time are you coming? At 5 o’clock.
8. are you going? To the seaside.

6|Page
9. is that boy? My son.
10. is my book? It’s in the second drawer.

Activity 2
Transform These Sentences Into A Yes Or No Question
He loves this town.
They like soccer.
She can drive a lorry.
They are nice.
They went to the swimming pool.
She wastes her money on jewelery.
He decided to leave his wife.
She wakes up early.
Activity 3
Read the sentences and fill in the blanks with the correct question tags.

1. Let’s go surfing, ____?

2. The children are sleeping, ____?
3. The pan is hot, ___?
4. Amy doesn’t like solving maths problems, _____?
5. You are from West Bengal, ____?
6. I like eating chocolate pastries, ____?
7. You have completed your assignment, ____?
8. You don’t live here, ____?
9. The children are playing in the garden, ____?
10. We often go out for dinner on weekends, _____?

7|Page