Questions

1. Yes/no questions

Yes/no questions are those which can be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. We put the auxiliary verb before the subject.

Here is a table which shows how to form​​ yes/no questions:

2.​​ Short answers

We can give short answers to yes/no questions in two ways:

Using the​​ same auxiliary verb​​ as in the original question:

Does he like cats?  Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t.

Aren't they here?  Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

Can you swim?  Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.

With​​ afraid/think/suppose/imagine, etc + so/not:

 Does he like cats?​​  I don’t think so.

   I think so.

   I hope so.

   I suppose not.

   I hope not.

3. Wh- (open) questions

Wh- or Open questions​​ start with a question word​​ and the answer can vary according to the question word.

When we ask a question​​ about the object​​ or​​ any of the compliment, we put the question word first,​​ then we use the same question word order as in yes/no questions:

When we ask a question about the subject,​​ we keep the original word order (affirmative order)​​ but we replace the subject with ‘who’:

4. Prepositions

It is important to​​ keep the preposition​​ of the verb​​ when we ask a question. Prepositions can go to two places:

At the front​​ of the questions, before the question word:

At​​ whom are you looking?

About​​ which book did you talk?

At the end​​ of the question:

Who are you looking​​ at?

Which book did you talk​​ about?

The two solutions are equal. Some people prefer the first option, whereas some people prefer the second option.

Note:​​ preposition + who​​ becomes:​​ preposition +​​ whom

5. What or which?

We use​​ what​​ when there is an​​ unlimited choice:

 What car​​ would you​​ like to buy?​​ (out of all the existing types)

 What​​ would you like to eat?​​ (you can choose whatever you want)

We use​​ which​​ when there is a​​ limited choice:

 Which car​​ would you like?​​ (out of those you can see here)

 Which​​ would you like to eat?​​ (out of​​ those you can see here)