Yes or No Questions
Talking about question, our mind will focus on two kinds. They are Yes or No Questions and Wh Questions. The topic being discussed in this post are the definition, the rule and the examples of Yes or No Questions. For information about Wh-Questions we can read previous Post entitled “Kinds of Question Word”. (see : Kinds of Question Word)
Topic of Yes or No Questions
Definition
A yes-no question is an interrogative construction that expects an answer of “Yes” or “No”.
Examples:
Are you a student? Yes, I am.
Do we play tennis? No, we do not.
Can she speak French? No, she can’t.
Will he go abroad? Yes, he will.
Note:
“Yes or No Questions” contrasts with Wh-Question that its function is to ask certain types of questions (question word questions).
Examples:
Where will he go? He will go to America.
What are you doing? I am studying English.
The Rules
For understanding the rules of Yes or No Questions we will use statement to construct “Yes or No Questions”
- If in the statement there is “To Be” (whether “to be” is used as main verb or auxiliary), it is very simply to construct the question. We just invert the subject and the verb “to be”. (also see : The Function of Auxiliary or Verb TO BE)
Examples:
| Statement | Yes or No Questions |
| She is at home. We are sleeping at home. It is a cat. You are happy. | Is she at home? Are we sleeping at home? Is it a cat? Are you happy? |
- If the statement includes a main verb and another or other helping (auxiliary) verb(s), invert the subject and the (first) helping (auxiliary) verb. (also see : AUXILIARY OR MAIN VERB TO HAVE)
Examples:
| Statement | Yes or No Questions |
| She will get a job. I have done the work. They have been dancing on stage. | Will she get a job? Have I done the work? Have they been dancing on stage? |
- If the statement includes a main verb but there is no helping (auxiliary) verb(s), there are two ways to construct Yes or No Questions, they are:
- If the verb of statement is in the present tense, add either “do” or “does” and put the main verb in its base (infinitive) form:
- “do” if the subject is the first person singular, second person singular, first person plural, second person plural and third person plural (I, you, we, they)
Examples:
| Statement | Yes or No Questions |
| You write a letter. We visit the museum. They speak loudly. | Do you write a letter? Do we visit the museum? Do they speak loudly? |
- “does” if the subject is the third person singular (he, she, it).
Examples:
| Statement | Yes or No Questions |
| She writes a letter. He visits the museum. It runs fast. | Does she write a letter? Does he visit the museum? Does it run fast? |
- If the verb of statement is in the past tense, add “did” and put the main verb in its base (infinitive) form:
Examples:
| Statement | Yes or No Questions |
| You wrote a letter. He visited the museum. They spoke loudly. | Did you write a letter? Did he visit the museum? Did they speak loudly? |
(For complete information about auxiliary “To DO” see : The Function of TO DO as Auxiliary or Main Verb)
That’s all I can share about Yes or No Questions. Hopefully the post above can increase our knowledge about English, especially about Yes or No Questions. (also see : Auxiliary Verb Modal Can Could)
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