Yes No Questions With MODAL VERBS



TYPES OF QUESTIONS

In English, there are two main types of questions which are;

  • Yes / No Questions
  • Wh – Questions

YES / NO QUESTIONS

Yes / No questions are the questions which are answered yes or no.  It means when we are asking yes/no questions, we are expecting the answer, yes or no. 

To form Yes/No questions, we use one of these verbs: auxiliary verbs ( be, do and have ) or modal verbs ( can, may,etc.).

We can not use questions words like what, how, why, who, etc. whilw making Yes/No questions.


FORMING YES/NO QUESTIONS

Yes / No questions are made, using the verb (am, is, are, was, were, have, had, do, does, did, can, will, should etc.) at the beginning of a sentence. Namely, subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

With An Auxiliary Verb ( “Be” or “Do” or “Have” ) or  Modal Verb


With Modal Verbs

( MODALS / MODAL AUXILIARIES / MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS )

There are many modal verbs in English. Here some are;

Modal Verbs
Can
Could
May
Might
Will
Would
Must
Have to
Shall
Sould
Ought to
Had better
ATTENTION:
We use modal verbs in yes no questions when asking about possibility or uncertainity. All modal verbs are followed by a main verb in its base form ( V1 ). 
In statements, the form is;   
Subject + Modal + Main Verb + ….
Examples:I can swim.We must go.You should do your homework.

They must wait for us.

He may be at home.

Rules:
1. If the sentence has a main verb and a modal verb, question form is;
Modal + Subject + Main Verb + ….

SentenceQuestion
may visit you tomorrow.May I visit you tomorrow?
You can repeat it.Can you repeat it?
She will pass the salt.Will you pass the salt?
We should stay here.Should we stay here?
They might come.Might they come?

2. If we want to make a negative yes/no question with”modals”, question form is
Modal + NOT + Subject + Main Verb + ….

SentenceQuestion
We can be friends.Can’t we be friends?
I will let you go.Won’t you let me go?
You should be in school.Shouldn’t you be in school?
He ought to study hard.Oughtn’t he to study hard?
They could ride.Couldn’t they ride?

3. When we are replying the question, we can use short or long form for the answer. Answer forms are;

Yes + Subject + Modal Verb  ( + … )

No + Subject + Modal Verb + Not ( + …. )

QuestionAnswer
Can we get married?Yes. / Yes, we can. / Yes, we can get married.
Would you like to drink tea?No. / No, I wouldn’t. / No, I wouldn’t like to drink tea.
Might he come tomorrow?Yes. / Yes, I might. / Yes, I might come tomorrow.
Should I clean my room every day?No. / No, you shouldn’t. / No, you shouldn’t clean your room every day .
Will you sit down?Yes. / Yes, I will. / Yes, I will sit down.
Could you tell me about yourself?No. / No, I couldn’t. / No, I couldn’t tell you about myself.

( generally short form is used as an answer )

YES/NO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH MODAL VERBS