YES / NO QUESTIONS

Pamela Sue Rohring EDD 537 Language Theories and Strategies II February 22, 2001

Yes / No Questions
Yes / No questions can be answered simply by yes or no, although more complex answers can be given. Yes / No questions can be divided into three basic types.

The first question type corresponds to a declarative sentence in which the subject and the auxiliary verb are inverted.
Declarative sentences
The girl will read a book.

The girl will read a book.

subject verb phrase object

The girl will read a book.

subject auxiliary invert subject and auxiliary

will The girl read a book.

Will the girl read a book ?

change capitalization

add proper punctuation

QUESTION FORM:
Will the girl read a book?

The second type corresponds to a declarative sentence without an auxiliary verb.

Declarative Sentence
The students watched the movie. The students watched the movie.
subject past tense

Add a form of do

WITHOUT AN AUXILIARY VERB

I do we do you do you do he, she, it does they do they do The student s watched the movie.

The auxiliary verb shows tense.

You need a form of do in the past
Singular Plural

I did you did he, she, it did

we did you did they did

The main verb must return to present form. The students did watched the movie. The student did watch the movie.

The students did watch the movie.

subject auxiliary

Then invert subject and auxiliary

did The students watch the movie. Did the student watch the movie. ?

change capitalization add proper punctuation

QUESTION FORM:
Did the students watch the movie?

TAG QUESTIONS
Tag questions are the third type of yes/no questions. These consist of a declarative sentence followed by a question tag. The question tag consists of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun form of the subject.

DECLARATIVE SENTENCE
Judy is leaving now, isnt she? Judy is leaving now, isnt she?
subject is she (Judy) leaving now? Judy

Is she (Judy) leaving now? Is she leaving now?

QUESTION FORM:
Is she leaving now?