Grammar
Questions: Yes or no
1st Part
Yes or No
2nd Part
Wh questions
3rd Part
Direct / Indirect
4th Part
Tag questions
Grammar in use
- Topic : Questions : Yes or no
- Skills : Grammar
Use
What is a Yes-No Questions?
A yes-no question is a type of question that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” response.
These questions are typically used to elicit a specific piece of information or to confirm or deny a particular assertion.
Yes-no questions usually begin with an auxiliary verb or the word “do” followed by a subject and the main verb, such as
“Do you like pizza?” or “Is it raining outside?”
 A special word order (Verb Subject Object) is used to form yes-no questions.
| Affirmative | Yes or No Question |
|---|---|
| They are nice | Are they nice? |
| She is pretty | Is she pretty? |
| Rules | Examples |
|---|---|
| If the verb of the sentence is “to be”, just invert the subject and the verb to be: | They are nice → Are they nice? She is pretty → Is she pretty? |
| If the sentence includes a main verb and another or auxiliary verb(s), invert the subject and the first verb or auxiliary. | You are going to the store. → Are you going to the store? The movie starts at 7 pm. → Does the movie start at 7 pm? They have already left. → Have they already left? She should call her mother. → Should she call her mother? |
| If the sentence includes a verb which is not the verb “to be” and doesn’t include an auxiliary, the transformation is more complex. In this case, we need to add a suitable helping verb to form a question. The choice of helping verb will depend on the tense of the main verb. For example, if the main verb is in the present tense, we can add the helping verb “do” or “does” to form a present simple question. If the main verb is in the past tense, we can add “did” to form a past simple question. | She sings in the shower. → Does she sing in the shower? He played basketball yesterday. → Did he play basketball yesterday? They will finish the project by Friday. → Will they finish the project by Friday? I have visited that city before. → Have you visited that city before? |