Questions

Types of questions

There are two types of questions:

 Yes or no questions
 Wh questions

Yes-no questions

Yes or no questions are questions whose expected answer is either "yes" or "no".

How to form yes-no questions

In English, a special word order (Verb Subject Object) is used to form yes-no questions.

Examples:

Affirmative Yes or No Question

They are American Are they American?
She is nice Is she nice?

The rules

1. If the main verb of the sentence is "to be", simply invert the subject and the verb to be:

Examples:

 They are American. — Are they American?

 They are nice. — Are they nice?

2. If the sentence includes a main verb and another or other helping (auxiliary) verb(s), invert
the subject and the (first) helping (auxiliary) verb.

Examples:

 They are visiting Paris. — Are they visiting Paris?

 She has done the housework. — Has she done the housework
 Nancy has been working all night long. — Has Nancy been working all night
long?
  He will be reading the book. — Will he be reading the book?

3. If the sentence includes a verb which is not the verb "to be" and doesn't include a helping
(auxiliary) verb, the transformation is more complex.

a. If the verb is in the present tense, add either do or does and put the main verb in its base
form:

 do if the subject is the first person singular, second person singular, first
person plural, second person plural and third person plural (I, you, we, they)
Examples:
I like apples. — Do you like apples?
They go to a high school. — Do they go to a high school?
 does if the subject is the third person singular (he, she, it).
Examples:
Nancy reads a lot. — Does Nancy read a lot?
He hates basketball. — Does he hate basketball?

b.If the verb is in the past tense, add did and put the main verb in its base form:

Examples:

 He discovered the truth. — Did he discover the truth?

 She wrote a nice essay. — Did she write a nice essay?
 They did the homework. — Did they do the homework?

Question words

Question words are also called wh questions because they include the letters 'W' and 'H'.

Question
Meaning Examples
words
who person Who's that? That's Nancy.
where place Where do you live? In Boston
reason Why do you sleep early? Because I've got to get up
why
early
when time When do you go to work? At 7:00
how manner How do you go? By car
what object, idea or action What do you do? I am an engineer
which choice Which one do you prefer? The red one.
 whose possession Whose is this book? It's Alan's.
whom object of the verb Whom did you meet? I met the manager.
what kind description What kind of music do you like? I like quiet songs
what time time What time did you come home?
how many quantity (countable) How many students are there? There are twenty.
amount, price How much time have we got? Ten minutes
how much
(uncountable)
duration, length How long did you stay in that hotel? For two
how long
weeks.
how often frequency How often do you go to the gym? Twice a week.
how far distance How far is your school? It's one mile far.
how old age How old are you? I'm 16.
how come reason How come I didn't see you at the party?

Asking questions

1.If you ask about the subject of the sentence, simply add the question word at the
beginning:

Example:
James writes good poems. — Who writes good poems?

2.If you ask about the predicate of the sentence (the part of a sentence which contains the
verb and gives information about the subject), there are three options:

 If there is a helping (auxiliary) verb that precedes the main verb ( for example:
can, is, are, was, were, will, would...), add the question word and invert the
subject and the helping (auxiliary) verb.
Examples:
He can speak Chinese. — What can he speak?
They are leaving tonight. — When are they leaving?
 If you ask about the predicate and there is no helping (auxiliary) verb and the
verb is "to be", simply add the question verb and invert the subject and the
verb.
Example:
The play was interesting. — How was the play?
 If there is no helping (auxiliary) verb in the the predicate and the main verb is
not "to be", add the auxiliary "do" in the appropriate form.
Examples:
They go to the movies every Saturday. — Where do they go every Saturday? 
 He wakes up early. — When does he wake up?
They sent a letter. — What did they send?

Asking questions

1.If you ask about the subject of the sentence, simply add the question word at the
beginning:

Example:
James writes good poems. — Who writes good poems?

2.If you ask about the predicate of the sentence (the part of a sentence which contains the
verb and gives information about the subject), there are three options:

 If there is a helping (auxiliary) verb that precedes the main verb ( for example:
can, is, are, was, were, will, would...), add the question word and invert the
subject and the helping (auxiliary) verb.
Examples:
He can speak Chinese. — What can he speak?
They are leaving tonight. — When are they leaving?
 If you ask about the predicate and there is no helping (auxiliary) verb and the
verb is "to be", simply add the question verb and invert the subject and the
verb.
Example:
The play was interesting. — How was the play?
 If there is no helping (auxiliary) verb in the the predicate and the main verb is
not "to be", add the auxiliary "do" in the appropriate form.
Examples:
They go to the movies every Saturday. — Where do they go every Saturday? 
He wakes up early. — When does he wake up?
They sent a letter. — What did they send?

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-wh-questions.php

Tag Questions
You speak English, don't you?
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:

correct
tag question notes
answer

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

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?

Now, let's check your understanding of tag questions, shall we?

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/tag-questions.htm