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 |
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 + ….
Sentence | Question |
I 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 + ….
Sentence | Question |
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 ( + …. )
Question | Answer |
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