Topic 4. Types of Questions
Topic 4. Types of Questions
Topic 4. Types of Questions
This topic intends to help course participants to study the basic question types, analyse their
structure in order to formulate questions and to use them appropriately in different situations.
Learning Outcomes
ASKING QUESTION
QUESTIONS TYPES
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
FORMULATING QUESTION
QUESTIONS STRUCTURE
SsTRUCTURE
What is a question?
When writing a question you should always end the sentence with a question mark (?).
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1. Yes/No Questions
Answer
auxiliary verb subject main verb
Yes or No
Answer
question word auxiliary verb subject main verb
Information
3. Choice Questions
Answer
auxiliary verb subject main verb OR
In the question
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Yes/no questions with the verb be are created by moving the verb be to the beginning
of the sentence. In other words the subject and the verb change their positions in
statements and questions.
Where you are going this Where are you going this We put an auxiliary verb
afternoon? afternoon? before the subject.
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You did read the letter? Did you read the letter?
What you did last night? What did you do last night?
Tag Questions
A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of
cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something
like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
+ -
Positive statement, negative tag?
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- +
Negative statement, positive tag?
personal
main pronoun
subject auxiliary auxiliary not
verb (same as
subject)
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personal
subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary pronoun
(same as subject)
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Nothing came in the post, did treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative
it? statements
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:
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:
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intonation
You don't know where my wallet is, do you? / rising real question
How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes we may repeat
the tag and reverse it (..., do they? Yes, they do). Be very careful about answering tag
questions. In some languages, an oposite 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
answer
Snow is
Yes (it
white, isn't
is). the answer is the same in
it?
both cases - because snow
IS WHITE!
Snow isn't
Yes it is!
white, is it? but notice the change of stress
when the answerer does not agree
Snow is with the questioner
No it
black, isn't
isn't! the answer is the same in
it?
both cases - because snow
IS NOT BLACK!
Snow isn't No (it
black, is it? isn't).
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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!
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.
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.
Don't forget, will you? with negative imperatives only will is possible
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Exercise 1.
Put in What, Where, Why, When, How into the gaps and form meaningful questions.
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Exercise 3.
Instructions: In the following, pretend that you are interviewing a member of your class
named Aina. Write your name in line (1), and then complete the dialogue with appropriate
QUESTION
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7. AINA I’m going to stay here for four years until I graduate.
ME: …………………………………………………………
8. AINA I’m living at my aunt and uncle’s house.
ME: ………………………………………………………………….
9 AINA It’s quite far. It usually takes me an hour to get here.
ME:
10. ANNABEL …………………………………………………….…………….
ME: Sometimes I take the LRT, but usually I take the bus.
11. AINA …………………………………………………………………..
ME: Very much. The facilities are good and the lecturers are great!
12. AINA …………………………………………………………………
ME: I want to study hard and be the best student in my class.
13. AINA Good luck! Anyway, thanks for the interview. I think I have enough information
for the assignment. Nice to meet you.
ME: Nice to meet you, too.
Exercise 4.
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Exercise 5.
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3. English exercises.org:
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=61
http://www.englishexercises.org/buscador/buscar.asp?nivel=any&age=0&tipo=
any&contents=interrogatives
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-
present/form/exercises?04ks:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/word-order/questions
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/fragen.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-exercise-6.html
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-exercise-5.html
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-continuous-exercise-3.html
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-5.html
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/question_tags3.htm
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5573
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