Learning Goals & Objectives.

Learning Goal 1: Reading

By the end of this module, the students will be able to critically study and analyze various kinds of
questions.

Learning Goal 2: Writing

They will demonstrate basic competence in managing the writing process and producing effective written
products in the form of syntactically error-free questions.

What is a question?

A question is a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or the request made
using such an expression. The information requested should be provided in the form of an answer. The
principal use of questions is to elicit information from the person being addressed, by indicating, more or
less precisely, the information which the speaker (or writer) desires. However questions can also be used
for a number of other purposes. Questions may be asked for the purpose of testing someone's knowledge,
as in a quiz or examination.

There are a number of question types in English.

1) Yes-No Questions
2) Wh-Questions
3) Tag questions
4) Choice Questions
5) Hypothetical Questions
6) Embedded Questions
7) Leading Questions (and)

8) Rhetorical Questions
 1) Yes / No questions

To ask a question in English you must usually use one of the auxiliary verbs (be, do, have) or
a modal verb such as can, will, may. If you are expecting a yes/no answer, then the question starts with
the auxiliary or modal.

Here are some examples:

Is she an Indian?

Do you like Chinese food?

Can you play chess?

Have you seen Balayya?

Must I go to school tomorrow?

Did you know the answer?

Is she coming to your party?

Will you be able to help me?

2. Wh-Questions
If you want more information than a simple yes/no answer, you must ask a question starting with
one of the following question words: what, where, when, why, which, who(m), whose, how. In this kind
of question you also normally use an auxiliary or modal.

Here are some examples:

What did you say?

Where does she live?

When can you play chess?

Why must I go to school tomorrow?

Which book have you borrowed?

Who has taken my calculator?

Whose bag is this?

How did you know the answer?

Rule-1: Note that questions starting with the question words what/who/whose do not need an auxiliary
verb in the simple present or past.

For example:

What happened?

Who knows the answer?

Whose parents came to Open Day?

Rule-2: The questions what, which, whose are often followed by a noun (before the auxiliary/modal).
The question how is often followed by an adjective. Look at the following examples:

For example:

What time must we be there?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Which painting do you like the best?

Whose parents are coming to the meeting tomorrow?

How long have you lived in Germany?

How much money do you have?

How far is your house from the school?

Rule-3: We quite often want to ask a question containing a preposition. In spoken English the
preposition is usually put at the end of the question, as in the following examples.

For example:

Who did you go to the party with?

Who are you talking to?

What are you talking about?

Where is Mahesh from?

What did you say that for?

What kind of place do you live in?

Rule-4: It is possible to begin questions with the preposition. Students should avoid this, however. Even
in written English such questions sound too formal:

For example:

With whom did you go to the party?

From where is Mahesh?

To where did you go?

In which area does he live in?

3. Tag questions (disjunctive or tail questions)

They are mini-questions asked at the end of a statement to confirm it. A special type of question is
the tag that English speakers put at the end of many statements.

Here are some examples:

It's a lovely day today, isn't it?

You live in Nuzvid, don't you?

Mahesh can't speak German, can he?

You haven't seen Mahesh, have you?

His parents are very old, aren't they?

You will remember to call me, won't you?

Tags are very common in spoken English, and have many functions. One of the common functions is to
start a conversation or help keep it going.

The two basic rules about tag questions are:

Rule-1: If the statement is negative, the tag must be positive. If the statement is positive the tag must
be negative.

For example:

You don't like me, do you?

You won't tell him my secret, will you?
He doesn't speak German, does he?
You're coming to my party, aren't you?
She's really good at chess, isn't she?
You haven't done your homework, have you?
Rule-2: The tense of the tag is determined by the tense of the auxiliary/modal verb of the statement
that precedes it. If the statement does not use an auxiliary/modal (i.e. it is in the present or past simple
tense), then the auxiliary “to do” must be used.

Here are some examples:

She comes from Korea, doesn't she?

You like heavy metal music, don't you?
He got top grade in the math test, didn't he?
I really messed up, didn't I?

4. Choice Questions

We use choice questions when we offer choices.

Here are some examples:

Would you like a house or a flat?

Are you with your family or alone?

Is she a little nervous or excited?

What are you; a student or a teacher?

Does she belong to India or Pakistan?

5. Hypothetical Questions
We ask hypothetical questions to have a general idea of a certain situation (like in a questionnaire).

Here are some examples:

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Would you leave your country and your relatives behind to study abroad?

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Where do you think you would be after twenty years?

How do you change the plight of the current scenario?

 6. Embedded questions (indirect questions)

We use them in reported speech or in polite questions.

Here are some examples:

She asked me where the nearest train station was.

(not where was the nearest train station…)
She inquired if she could claim the expenditure.
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here..
The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.
I was wondering if the lake would be frozen when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go?

7. Leading questions

We ask leading questions when we want to get the answer we desire. Leading questions
either include the answer, point the listener in the right direction and lead them to the 'right'
answer.
Here are some examples:

What do you think of the terrible side effects of drugs?

Were you with your family at the time of the crime?

What might the thief doing when the murder took place?

Do you think prices will go up next year?

Would you prefer to live in Pakistan or in India, where the crime rate is very low?

8. Rhetorical Questions
A rhetorical question is one that requires no answer because the answer is obvious and doesn't
need to be stated. The speaker (of the rhetorical question) is not looking for an answer but is making some
kind of a point, as in an argument.
Here are some examples:

Do you want to be a big failure for the rest of your life?

Can fish swim?

Can birds fly?

Do dogs bark?

Do cats meow?

Do pigs fly?

Is hell hot?

Are you stupid?

There is no point, is there?

Is there anyone smarter than me?

Can we do better next time?

Do you want to be a success in this world?

Is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?

Are you kidding me?

Do liars lie?

An easy way to form (almost) any question in English

Forming questions in English can be confusing. However, there is a simple formula that works for
asking questions in almost all the tenses.

This formula is called QUASM:

Question word
Auxiliary verb
Subject
Main verb

Look how QUASM works for forming questions in the following tenses:
Simple Present Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

Where Do you work?

What Does Mahesh Think about the project?

How Do you Like your new apartment?

How many kids does Babu have?

Simple Past Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

How Did they learn English so fast?

When Did you get home from work yesterday?

What Did the manager think about your idea?

Where Did you Buy that T-shirt?

Present Continuous Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

What are you doing at the moment?

Why is he ignoring me?

What time are we meeting up for dinner?

Who is she dating now?

Past Continuous Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

Who were you talking to on the phone?

What was Jim doing when you called?

Why were the children eating candy before dinner?

How was he feeling after the surgery?

Present Perfect Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

How much have you Spent on clothes this month?

money

How long has your teacher Worked at this school?

What have they been doing all day?

How long has the client been waiting for their order?

Future Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

Who will you invite to the party?

What will your parents think about your plan?

When are you going to clean your room?

Why is she going to quit her job?

Modal Questions:

QUESTION AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB OTHER WORDS

WORD

What would you do if you had a million dollars?

How could we improve our English?

Where should I go on my next vacation?

Exceptions:

1) Yes/No questions do not use a question word (wh), but they still follow ASM (Auxiliary verb – Subject
– Main verb)

Here are some examples:

Do you like bananas?

Did you enjoy the movie?

Are you studying English?

Were you sleeping when I called you last night?

Have you finished your homework?

Will you call me when you get home?

Are you going to accept the job offer?

Should we take the early morning flight?

2) Questions where the main verb is “be” also don’t follow the pattern:

Are you thirsty?

Is she a teacher?

Were your parents angry when you failed the test?

Was her ex-boyfriend a basketball player?

Short Answers

Saying ‘Yes, I do. / No, I don’t’ in English is more polite than just saying ‘Yes. / No.’ That’s why short
answers are very commonly used. To form the short answer, you use the first word from the question.
(This is either an auxiliary verb or a form of ‘be’.)

Use the long form (he does) in affirmative answers (yes).

Use the short form (he doesn’t) in negative answers (no).

Here are some examples:

Question Affirmative Negative

Do we know him? Yes, we do. No, we don’t.

Can she see me? Yes, she can. No, she can’t.

Have they read the book? Yes, they have. No, they haven’t.

Is he hungry? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.

Note-1: If ‘you’ is the subject of the question, whose subject is unclear, ‘you’ must be replaced
by ‘I’ or ‘we’.

Question Affirmative Negative

Do you know him? Yes, I / we do. No, I / we don’t.

Are you in the class? Yes, I am/ we are No, I amn’t / we aren’t.

Note-2: If the question starts with ‘are you’, ‘are’ must sometimes be replaced by ‘am’.

Question Affirmative Negative

Are you a boy? Yes, I am. No, I’m not.

Are you on the campus? Yes, we are. No, we aren’t.

Examples on short answers.

1. Are you from Visakhapatnam? - Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.

2. Are Abhiram and Arun your friends? - Yes, they are. / No, they aren't.

3. Has your sister got a car? - Yes, she has. / No, she hasn't.

4. Do you speak English? - Yes, I do. / No, I don't.

5. Can he play football? - Yes, he can. / No, he can't.

6. Had they lived in Srikakulam before they moved to Vizianagaram? - Yes, they had. / No, they hadn't.

7. Is she going by bus? - Yes, she is. / No, she isn't.

8. Did you talk to him? - Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

9. Have you been waiting for long? - Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

10. Will she send us a mail? - Yes, she will. / No, she won't.

Exercise-1

Complete the sentences with a short answer.

1. Is she at home? Yes,

2. Do you like peas? No,
3. Can they sing? No,
4. Has he got a car? Yes,
5. Has your sister got a computer? No,
6. Do your children go to school by bus? Yes,
7. Can his father ski? Yes,
8. Is it a big house? No,
9. Have their parents got a house? Yes,
10. Can Sumanth and Teju skate? No,
11. Does his mother often go to the cinema? No,
12. Are you often late? No,
13. Is English your favourite subject? Yes,
14. Have you got a cat? No,
15. Is this exercise difficult? No,
16. Does your father work in a bank? Yes,
17. Can you draw a house? Yes,
18. Are there three cats in your room? Yes,
19. Do you have breakfast at eight o'clock? Yes,
20. Are there dolphins in the picture? No,

Exercise-2

Complete the sentence with short answers

Is he nice?

Are you English?

Is she new at our school?

Are the boys in the garden?

Is Mahesh from India?

Are Raju and Ravi your friends?

Has your sister got a coat?

Are you playing cricket?

Have your grandparents got a cat?

Is the cat in her basket?

Do you read books?

Has she got a brother?

Is this your pencil?

Does she play chess?

Can we change at Nuzvid station?

Do you like swimming?

Did he paint your room himself?

Are you going by bus?

Do the girls take photos?

Did they ride their bikes?

The End