How do I make Yes and No questions?
‘Yes’ and ‘no’ questions simply require either an affirmative answer (‘yes’) or a negative answer (‘no’). For example:
- Do you own a cat?
- Are you going to class?
- Is it warm outside?
- Would you like to dance?
Questions are anything said or written that requires a response. A simple way to form a question is to invert the subject and the verb of a statement and add a question mark at the end:
| Statement: |
Subject |
+ verb |
| It | is. |
| Question: | Verb | + subject + ? |
| Is | it? |
| Statement | Question |
| It is raining. | Is it raining? |
| She can speak English. | Can she speak English? |
| You were sleeping. | Were you sleeping? |
| They are landing soon. | Are they landing soon? |
How do I make ‘wh’-questions?
One form of question is a WH-question. It requires a verb that begins with the letters wh:
‘Where do you live?’
Form
You can form a WH-question by beginning with a wh verb, and adding another verb, the subject, and a main verb:
| ‘Wh’ verb | + verb | + subject | + main verb |
Where |
do | you | live? |
The –wh verb is known as a modal verb. The main -wh modal verbs and their uses are:
- What – asks for information: (‘What is that?’), repetition (‘What did you say? I didn’t hear you.’), or confirmation (‘You did what?’).
- When – asks about time: ‘When does the tram leave?’
- Where – asks about place: ‘Where is the station?’
- Which – asks about choice: ‘Which one would you prefer?’
- Why – asks for clarification or for a reason: ‘Why did you do that?’
- Who – asks about one person or a group of people: ‘Who is there?’
There are also two other forms of who: ‘whom’ and ‘whose’. You can learn about ‘whom’ and ‘whose’ by following this link.
While the word how does not start with a wh, it is usually included with the wh-question words, and also asks for clarification or information:
- How do I get from London to Calais?