Yes/No Questions Questions with Yes/No answers begin with an auxiliary or modal verb (is, are, do, does, have, has, can, must, will, etc.) We use do/does to form questions in present simple ‘and did to form questions in past simple. ‘She is studying. Is she studying? He hates bowling. ~ Does he hate bowling? (NOT: Boes-he-hates bowling?) Kim left an hour ago. ~ Did Kim leave an hour ‘ago? (NOT: Bie-Kiridet an hour ago?) Wh- Questions Wh- questions begin with a question word Such as (who, what, where, why, when, ‘whose, which, how, etc.). We put the auxiliary ‘or modal verb before the subject. ‘question word + auxiliary/modal + subject “What did you buy?” ‘A scar.” “How do you get to work?” “By bus.” When there is a preposition, it usually goes at the end of the question, though in formal English it can be put before the question word. Who is this letter from? (more usual) From whom is this letter? (formal) We use questions to ask for information or permission. We also use questions to make suggestions, requests, offers or invitations. ‘Asking for information: “How much does it cost?” °€10." ‘Asking for permission: “May | use your phone?” “Of course you may.” Making suggestions: “Shall we have a party?” “Yes, let's.” Making requests: “Could you cary this for me, please?” "Yes, of course.” Making offers: “Would you like some orange juice?” “Yes, please.” Making invitations: “Would you lke to spend this weekend with us?” "Yes, I'd love to.” ‘¢ We normally use the following question words to ask about: people things/animals/actions, place ‘time quantity | manner reason Who | What Where | When How much | How | Why Whose | Which How long | How many Which What time What How often ‘Who is used without a noun to ask about people. Who wrote “Gone with the Wind"? Whose is used to express possession. Whose gloves are these? They're Tony's. Which is used for people, animals or things alone or before nouns, one/ones or of. Which is their office? Which coat is his? I've got two dictionaries. Which one would you like to use? Which of these applicants will be called for an interview? ‘Which is normally used when there is a limited choice of answers. Which is your favourite ice ‘cream flavour - vanilla or strawberry? (there are only two kinds of ice cream flavours to choose from — limited choice) Which can also be used with the comparative and superlative. Which is cheaper, a saloon car ‘or a convertible? Which is the easiest way to do it? What is used alone or before a noun to ask about things. What can | do for you? What size shoes do you wear? What is also used for people, animals and things when there is an unlimited choice of answers. What kind of films do you enjoy watching? (there are many films to choose from - unlimited choice) What can also be used in these patterns: What .. ike? What... for? What colour? What size? What kind/sort? What time? What is he like? What is it used for? etc. What are you waiting here for? © What + be... like asks for a description of someone's character; what ... look like asks for a description of physical appearance. What is Fiona like? She's kind and helpful. What does Fiona {00k like? She's tall and slim. What and which are sometimes both possible. What/Which subjects do you teach? Where is used to ask about a place. Where is my handbag? On your desk. When is used to ask about time. When is your birthday? On 3rd July. Why is used to ask about the reason why something happens/happened. Why are you happy? Because | got anew car. * How is used alone or before an adjective/adverb. How was the party? Amazing. How old is Tanya? She's fiteen. How fast can your car go? Very fast How long is used to ask about a time period. How long does it take you to get to work? Thirty minutes. ‘* How often is used to ask about frequency. How often do you play tennis? Twice a week. How much is used with uncountable nouns. How much flour do you need? Very ite. How many is used with countable nouns. How many apples do you want? Two. aoSubject/Object Questions ‘Subject questions are questions we ask when Object questions are questions we ask when we want to know about the subject of the we want to know about the object of the sentence. These questions usually begin with sentence. These questions usually begin with the words who, what or which. The verb is in the words who, whose, what or which. The the affirmative form. verb is in the interrogative form. Note: In object questions, if a verb is followed by a preposition, the preposition usually ‘comes at the end of the question. Who did you talk to? Where do you come from? subject object Keith invited Stella. Stella invited Fiona. t —" Who invited Stola? (NOT: Who-ci-nvite-Steh@?) wre cig iota invite? It who, which or what are the subject of the question, the word order is the same as in statements (subject questions). If they are the object of the question, the verb is in question form (object questions). Indirect Questions * Indirect questions are used when we ask for information politely. They are introduced with Do you know ...?, Can/Could you tell me ...?, Have you any idea ...? + question word or it/whether. Do you know how old Sam is? Could you tell me how long it takes to get there? Have you any idea when she is leaving? Do you know if]whether there are any vacancies here? a) Direct question: Where is the bank? Indirect question: Could you tell me where the bank is? b) Direct question: Has Tom been invited to the party? Indirect question: Do you know whether Tom has been invited to the party? ‘+ The word order of indirect questions is the same as in statements (subject + verb). Can you tell me where you saw him? (NOT: Can you tell me where dic-you-see him?) ‘Do you know whether they are getting married? (NOT: Do you know whether are-tey-gating married?) How far did they travel? ~ Do you know how far they travelled? When do you plan to move? — Can you tell me when you plan to move? Negative Questions '* Negative questions are formed with not but there is a difference in word order between the short and full form. (Short form) Didn't they inform you? Haven't they returned yet? (auxiliary + n't + subject + verb) (Full form) Did they not inform you? Have they not retumed yet? (auxiliary + subject + not + verb) We normally use the short form in everyday speech and the full form only for emphasis. ‘* Negative questions are used to express: a) surprise Don't you know who Pelé is? ) annoyance/sarcasm Can't you keep quiet for a second? ©) expectation of a 'Yes'-answer Don't you think she's rather mean? 4d) wish to persuade sb Won't you tell me who did it?Question Tags ‘© Question tags are short questions at the end of a statement. They are mainly used when we want to confirm something or when we want to find out if something is true or not. They're leaving soon, aren't they? ‘© Question tags are formed with an auxiliary or modal verb from the main sentence and the appropriate subject pronoun. When the verb of the sentence is in the present or past simple, we form the question tag with do/does/did + subject pronoun She likes classical ‘music, doesn’t she? She arrived early, didn't she? He has been at home, hasn't he? ‘* A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag, and a negative statement is followed by a positive question tag. She Is going to apply for that jb, isn’t she? You weren't listening, were you? They called off the wedding, didn't they? '* Everyone/Someone/Anyone/No one form their question tags with an auxiliary verb + they. Everyone knows the way to the church, don't they? ‘* When we aren't sure of the answer and want to check information, our voice goes up in the question tag. He has been to Paris, hasn't he? (not sure) When we are sure of the answer and expect agreement, our voice goes down in the question tag. She has gota pet dog, hasn't she? (sure) * Question tags can also be affirmative ~ affirmative. If the voice goes up, we mean “Tell me more”. She's getting married, is she? I the voice goes down, we express negative feelings such as disappointment or disapproval. We don't expect an answer. What a pity, the party’s cancelled, is it? © Echo tags are a response to an affirmative or negative sentence. They are used in everyday speech to ask for more information, to show interest, concern, anger, surprise, etc. Affirmative: He's leaving. - He is, isn’t he? (confirmation) He's leaving. - He is? (surprise) Negative: He isn't leaving. - He isn't, is he? (confirmation) He isn't leaving. ~ He isn't? (surprise) Study the following question tags. 1 “lam” = “aren't I?” 11am shorter than her, aren't [? 2 “Lused to” = “didn't 12" ‘She used to like it here, didn’t she? 3. Imperative — “will you/won't you?” Please leave the door open, will you/won’t you “can you/could you?” ‘can youlcould you? 4 “Let's” = “shall we?” Lets consulta specialist, shall we? 5 “Let me/him” etc + “will you/won't you?” Let the children decide, will youlwon't you? 6 “Don't” = “will you?” Don't leave the door open, will you? 7 “Ihave” (= possess) + “haven't I?” He has got a yacht, hasn't he? 8 “Ihave” (idiomatically) + “don't I?" They had a pary lastnight, didn't they? 9 “There is/are” — “isn't/aren’t there?” There is some coffee for me, isn't there? 10 “This/That is” = “isn't it?” This coat is Peter's, isn't it? Short Answer ‘* Short answers are used to avoid repetition of the question asked before. Positive short answers are formed with Yes + personal pronoun + auxiliary verb (do, can, will, have, may, etc). “Will she be leaving soon?” “Yes, she will” Negative short answers are formed with No + Personal pronoun + negative auxiliary verb. “Did he arrive on time?” “No, he didn’t.” So - Neither/Nor ~ But We use: * So + auxiliary verb + personal pronoun/noun after a positive statement. I’m thisty. So am I. (= I'm thirsty too, © Neither/Nor + auxiliary verb + personal pronoun/noun after a negative statement. Jim can’t come tonight. Neither/Nor can I. (NOT: Se-ear-,) * But + personal pronoun/noun + affirmative auxiliary verb to show positive contrast to a negative statement. Katie has never flown in a plane before, but | have. Mike hasn't finished, but James has. © But + personal pronoun/noun + negative auxiliary verb to show negative contrast to a positive statement. He looks like my father, but I don’t. Mike has already finished, but John hasn't. * When we wish to express surprise at what sb has said, we use so + subject + auxiliary verb. Claire: Look; that man’s wearing a wig. Tina: So he is!‘Asking for permission / Making requests Giving / Refusing permission / Answering requests Can | / Could I make a phone call? May | / Might I use your car? Yes, you can. / Yes, of course (you can). / No, you can’t. Yes, you may. / Yes, of course (you may)./ No, you ‘may not. / 'd rather you didn't. /'m afraid not. Making suggestions / invitations ‘Answering suggestions / invitations. Will you / Would you / Would you like to have tea with me tomorrow? Shall we have tea tomorrow? I'd like to. / I'd love to. / Yes, all right. / I'm afraid I can't. /'d love to but I can't. /I'm sorry, | can't. Making offers ‘Answering offers Shall I/we, Can I/we, Would you like me to help you move the sofa? So - Not Yes, please. / No, thank you. / No, thanks. ‘So and not can be used in short answers after: think, hope, expect, suppose, I'm afraid, guess, it seems, say, tell sb, it appears, believe or imagine. I think so ~1 don’t think so/ think not hope so - | hope not I'm afraid so - I'm afraid not “will they buy i?” “1 hope so.” | expect so - | don’t expect so/l expect not | suppose so — | don't suppose so/l suppose not ttappears so - It doesn't appear so/t appears not It seems so - It doesn't seem so/ft seems not He says so/He said so — He didn't say so He told me so - He didn't tell me so | guess so ~ I guess not | believe so —I don't believe so/l believe not | imagine so ~| don't imagine so/l imagine not “Is he planning to retire?" “He didn't say so.”