Question Types

Sam An Teng

In English, there are few types of questions you may use to ask for responses, confirmations, information, etc. They include yes/no question, information question, negative question, alternative question, embed question.


[1]  YES/NO QUESTIONS

Yes/no questions may be simply answered "yes" or "no". To form yes/no questions, we can use the form below:

a) To be: In sentences which “be” is main verb, we swap the position of subject and verb. For examples,

• She is a student. → Is she a student? 
• You are tired. → Are you tired?

b) Modal verb: In sentences with auxiliary verbs, we swap the position of the subject and auxiliary verb. Fore examples,

• They are sitting in the class. → Are they sitting in the class? 
• They have been living here for long. → Have they been living here for long? 
• They should bring umbrella. → Should they bring umbrella? 
• He can rewrite the report. → Can he rewrite the report?

c) No auxiliary verb: In sentences which there are no auxiliary verb, we need to add the auxiliary verb "Do/Does" and place in front of the sentence. For examples,

• He studies English. → Does he study English? 
• He got up late. → Did he get up late?

[2]  INFORMATION QUESTIONS

Wh-questions (or information questions) begins with a question word (like what, which, where…) and are used to request information. For examples,

• What → What is your favorite color? 
• Which → Which book do you prefer? 
• When → When did you finished high school? 
• Where → Where do you live? 
• Why → Why did you change your career? 
• How → How can I get to the post office? 
• Who → Who is standing over there? 
• Whom → Whom did you talk to?

[3]  NEGATIVE QUESTIONS

Negatives questions are used when we expect the answer is “yes”.

• Isn’t she beautiful? → Yes, she is. 
• Aren’t you afraid of failure? → Yes, sure. 

Negatives questions are also used to confirm information whether something is correct or not, or to seek an agreement. For examples,

• Didn’t you understand what I’ve said? → No, I didn’t. or Yes, I did. 
• Are they coming for the party? → No, they aren’t. or Yes, they are.

Note:

Negative questions can be formed in two ways:

a) Auxiliary verb + n’t + subject 

• Aren’t you interested in the book? 
• Weren’t you worried about her health?

b)Auxiliary verb + subject + not 

• Are you not interested in the book? 
• Were you not worried about her health?

[4]  CHOICE QUESTIONS

Alternative or choice questions express two or more choices. For examples,

• Will you go to Malaysia or Indonesia? 
• Should I choose apple, banana, or grape? 
• Do you like coffee or tea?

[5]  EMBEDDED QUESTIONS

Embedded questions are questions within another questions or statements. See indirect questions.