KIND OF QUESTION

Questions: wh - questions

Wh-questions begin with what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how. We use them to ask for information. The answer cannot be yes or no:

A: When do you finish college?

B: Next year.

A: Who is your favourite actor?

B: George Clooney for sure!

Forming wh-questions

With an auxiliary verb

We usually form wh-questions with wh- + an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with wh- + a modal verb + subject + main verb:

Be: When are you leaving?	Who’s been paying the bills?
Do: Where do they live?	Why didn’t you call me?
Have: What has she done now?	What have they decided?
Modal: Who would she stay with?	Where should I park?

Without an auxiliary verb

Warning:

When what, who, which or whose is the subject or part of the subject, we do not use the auxiliary. We use the word order subject + verb:

What fell off the wall? Which horse won?

Who bought this? Whose phone rang?

Compare

Who owns this bag?	Who is the subject of the sentence and this bag is the object. We use no auxiliary verb.
Who do you love most?	Who is the object of the sentence and you is the subject. We use the auxiliary verb do.

Responding to wh-questions

Wh-questions ask for information and we do not expect a yes-no answer to a wh-question. We expect an answer which gives information:

A: Where’s the coffee machine? (We expect an answer about the location of the coffee machine.)

B: It’s in the room next to the reception.

A: How old is your dog? (We expect an answer about the age of the dog.)

B: She’s about five. I’m not very sure.

Adding emphasis to wh-questions

We can add emphasis to wh-questions in speaking by stressing the auxiliary verb do. We usually do this when we have not already received the information that we expected from an earlier question, or to show strong interest.

When the wh-word is the object of the sentence, the do auxiliary is stressed to make it more emphatic:

A: How was your weekend in Edinburgh?

B: I didn’t go to Edinburgh.

A: Really. Where did you go?

B: We decided to go to Glasgow instead.

When the wh-word is the subject of the sentence, we can add the auxiliary do to make it emphatic. We stress do:

A: Ronald Price lives in that house, doesn’t he?

B: No. He moved out.

A: So who does live there? (non-emphatic question: So who lives there?)

B: Actually, his son is living there now.

Negative wh-questions

When we ask negative wh-questions, we use the auxiliary verb do when there is no other auxiliary or modal verb, even when the wh-word is the subject of the clause:

Affirmative with no auxiliary	Negative with auxiliary do
Who wants an ice cream?	Who doesn’t want an ice cream?
Which door opened?	Which door didn’t open?

Adding a wh-word at the end of a statement to make a question

Spoken English:

In speaking, we can sometimes turn wh-questions into statement questions:

What’s today’s date? or Today’s date is what?

We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than full wh-questions:

A: So we’re all going to be there at eight?

B: Right, I’m travelling with Larry.

A: You’re travelling with who? (more formal: Who are you travelling with?)

B: With Larry. We’re actually going on our bikes.

A: Is your sister here too or just your mother?

B: Just my mother.

A: And she’s here until when? (more formal: And when is she here until?or even more formal: Until when is she here?)

Intonation and wh-questions

The intonation of wh-questions is normally falling. The falling intonation is on the most important syllable:

Where are the keys to the back do↘or?

Why are the lights re↘d?

When we ask wh-questions to check or clarify information that has already been given, we may use rising or fall-rising intonation:

Wh↗at did you say the time was? (I know you’ve told me before but I’ve forgotten.)

Wh↘o p↗aid for the meal?

Prepositions and particles with wh-questions

We can use wh-words and phrases after prepositions in more formal questions:

Where will the money come from?

From where will the money come? (formal)

Spoken English:

In informal styles, especially in speaking, the preposition may be separated and placed at the end of the question clause:

What will I talk to her about?

Who should we send the invitation to? (informal)

Whom should we send the invitation to? (formal)

To whom should we send the invitation? (more formal)

For what reason did she leave him? (formal: preposition + wh-phrase)

When we make questions shorter, we usually put the preposition and its complement together:

A: We’re all meeting up tonight.

B: At what time?

Not: What time at?

When we ask questions using verbs consisting of a main verb + particle, e.g. get up, set out (phrasal verbs), we do not separate the verb from the particle or preposition:

When did you wake up this morning?

Not: Up when did you wake?

Yes / No questions (closed questions)

In English, there are two basic types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh – questions . Yes / No questions are also called closed questions because there are only two possible responses: Yes or No. When forming a Yes / No question, it must include one of these verbs: BE , DO , HAVE , or a modal verb . It is impossible to ask a Yes / No question without one of these verbs.

correct                                    incorrect

Are elections next year?          Elections next year?

Does he want to stay?             He want to stay?

Have the boys eaten?              The boys eaten?

Can the dog swim?                 The dog swim?

Use the verb BE to ask Yes / No questions about the identity or description of a person, place, or thing.

question                                           response

Am I your friend?                              Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you are my friend.

Is this a good restaurant?                 No. / No, it is not. / No, it is not a good restaurant.

Are these islands Greek?                 Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these islands are Greek.

Was his idea interesting?                 No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his idea was not interesting.

Were they happy?                             Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they were happy.

se the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a past activity or situation. This requires the past progressive : WAS / WERE + (verb+ing).

question                                              response

Was it raining?                                    Yes. / Yes, it was.

Were they playing?                             No. / No, they weren’t.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question with the passive voice.

question                                              response

Is gold mined in Canada?                   Yes. / Yes it is.

Are flowers grown here?                    No. / No, they are not.

Was the book read?                            Yes. / Yes, it was.

Use the verb HAVE to ask if somebody has done something or if some action has taken place. Note that these Yes / No questions use the present perfect (HAVE + past participle).

question                                  response

Has your brother left?             No. / No, he hasn’t.

Have you driven before?        Yes. / Yes, I have.

Has the party started?             Yes. / Yes, it has.

Tag Questions

A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Is that right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.

The basic structure of a tag question is:

positive statement	negative tag
Snow is white,	isn't it?

negative statement	positive tag
You don't like me,	do you?

Notice that the tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive.

Positive Statement Tag Questions

Look at these examples with positive statements. You will see that most of the time, the auxiliary verb from the positive statement is repeated in the tag and changed to negative.

(+) positive statement				(-) negative tag
subject	auxiliary	main verb		auxiliary	not	personal pronoun same as subject
You	are	coming,		are	n't	you?
We	have	finished,		have	n't	we?
You	do	like	coffee,	do	n't	you?
You		like	coffee,	do	n't	you?
They	will	help,		wo	n't	they?
I	can	come,		can	't	I?
We	must	go,		must	n't	we?
He	should	try	harder,	should	n't	he?
You		are	English,	are	n't	you?
John		was	there,	was	n't	he?

Notice:

• the use of do in the two coffee questions. Remember that in Present Simple, do is optional in positive statements (You like coffee/You do like coffee). But the do must appear in the tag. The same applies to Past Simple did.
• in last two questions, no auxiliary for main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple. The tag repeats the main verb.

Negative Statement Tag Questions

Look at these examples with negative statements. Notice that the negative verb in the original statement is changed to positive in the tag.

(-) negative statement						(+) positive tag
subject	auxiliary		main verb			auxiliary	personal pronoun same as subject
It	is	n't	raining,			is	it?
We	have	never	seen		that,	have	we?
You	do	n't	like		coffee,	do	you?
They	will	not	help,			will	they?
They	wo	n't	report		us,	will	they?
I	can	never	do		it right,	can	I?
We	must	n't	tell		her,	must	we?
He	should	n't	drive		so fast,	should	he?
You	wo	n't	be		late,	will	you?
You			are	n't	English,	are	you?
John			was	not	there,	was	he?

Notice:

• won't is the contracted form of will not
• the tag repeats the auxiliary verb, not the main verb. Except, of course, for the verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple.

Answering Tag Questions

How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes we may repeat the tag and reverse it (They don't live here, do they? Yes, they do). Be very careful about answering tag questions. In some languages, an opposite system of answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion!

Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the question.

For example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the correct answers:

tag question	correct answer	notes
Snow is white, isn't it?	Yes (it is).	Answer is same in both cases - because snow is white!	But notice change of stress when answerer does not agree with questioner.
Snow isn't white, is it?	Yes it is!
Snow is black, isn't it?	No it isn't!	Answer is same in both cases - because snow is not black!
Snow isn't black, is it?	No (it isn't).

In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!

Here are some more examples, with correct answers:

• The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.
• The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes.
• The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't!
• Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do!
• Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't!
• Men don't have babies, do they? No.
• The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.

Tag Question Special Cases

Negative adverbs

The adverbs never, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely and scarcely have a negative sense. Even though they may be in a positive statement, the feeling of the statement is negative. We treat statements with these words like negative statements, so the question tag is normally positive. Look at these examples:

positive statement treated as negative statement	positive tag
He never came again,	did he?
She can rarely come these days,	can she?
You hardly ever came late,	did you?
I barely know you,	do I?
You would scarcely expect her to know that,	would you?

Intonation

We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:

	intonation
You don't know where my wallet is,	do you?	/ rising	real question
It's a beautiful view,	isn't it?	\ falling	not a real question

Imperatives

Sometimes we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won't for invitations. We use can, can't, will, would for orders.

imperative + question tag	notes
Take a seat, won't you?	polite invitation
Help me, can you?	quite friendly
Help me, can't you?	quite friendly (some irritation?)
Close the door, would you?	quite polite
Do it now, will you.	less polite
Don't forget, will you.	with negative imperatives only will is possible

Same-way tag questions

Although the basic structure of tag questions is positive-negative or negative-positive, it is sometimes possible to use a positive-positive or negative-negative structure. We use same-way tag questions to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to make real questions.

Look at these positive-positive tag questions:

• So you're having a baby, are you? That's wonderful!
• She wants to marry him, does she? Some chance!
• So you think that's funny, do you? Think again.

Negative-negative tag questions usually sound rather hostile:

• So you don't like my looks, don't you? (British English)

Asking for information or help

Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example, instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn't know where the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:

• You don't know of any good jobs, do you?
• You couldn't help me with my homework, could you?
• You haven't got $10 to lend me, have you?

Some more special cases

example	notes
I am right, aren't I?	aren't I (not amn't I)
You have to go, don't you?	you (do) have to go...
I have been answering, haven't I?	use first auxiliary
Nothing came in the post, did it?	treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements
Let's go, shall we?	let's = let us
He'd better do it, hadn't he?	he had better (no auxiliary)

Mixed Examples of Tag Questions

Here is a list of examples of tag questions in different contexts. Notice that some are "normal" and others seem to break all the rules:

• But you don't really love her, do you?
• This'll work, won't it?
• Oh you think so, do you?
• Well, I couldn't help it, could I?
• But you'll tell me if she calls, won't you?
• We'd never have known, would we?
• Oh you do, do you?
• The weather's bad, isn't it?
• You won't be late, will you?
• Nobody knows, do they?
• You never come on time, do you?
• You couldn't help me, could you?
• You think you're clever, do you?
• So you don't think I can do it, don't you? (British English)
• Shut up, will you!
• She can hardly love him after all that, can she?
• Nothing will happen, will it?

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