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What are the types of questions?
What are three basic types of question?
Yes/No Questions. The answer to the question is "Yes" or "No."
Question Word Questions. The answer to the question is "Information."
Choice Questions. The answer to the question is "in the question."
These show the three basic types of questions.
There are other types of questions, for example, tag questions.
What is a yes-or-no question?
The answer to the question is ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
What are examples of yes-or-no Questions?

What is a question word question?
The answer to the question is information in various formats.
What are examples of question word questions?

What is a choice question?
The answer to the question is in the question.
What are examples of choice questions?

Question Structure | Question Types | Questions Quiz

Basic Question Types

There are 3 basic types of question:

Yes/No Questions (the answer to the question is "Yes" or "No")
Question Word Questions (the answer to the question is "Information")
Choice Questions (the answer to the question is "in the question")

1. Yes/No Questions

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer Yes or No
Do	you	want	dinner?	Yes, I do.
Can	you	drive?		No, I can't.
Has	she	finished	her work?	Yes, she has.
Did	they	go	home?	No, they didn't.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple past
	Is	Anne	French?	Yes, she is.
	Was	Ram	at home?	No, he wasn't.

2. Question Word Questions

question word	auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer Information
Where	do	you	live?		In Paris.
When	will	we	have	lunch?	At 1pm.
Who	did	she	meet?		She met Ram.
Why	hasn't	Tara	done	it?	Because she can't.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple past
Where		is	Bombay?		In India.
How		was	she?		Very well.

3. Choice Questions

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		OR		Answer In the question
Do	you	want	tea	or	coffee?	Coffee, please.
Will	we	meet	John	or	James?	John.
Did	she	go	to London	or	New York?	She went to London.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple past
	Is	your car	white	or	black?	It's black.
	Were	they	$15	or	$50?	$15.

Can you name various question words?

Wh- Questions allow a speaker to find out more information about topics. They are as follows:

When?

Where?

Who?

Why?

How?

What?

Time

Place

Person

Reason

Manner

Object/Idea/Action

Which (one)?

Whose?

Whom?

How much?

How many?

How long?

How often?

How far?

What kind (of)?

Choice of alternatives

Possession

Person (objective formal)

Price, amount (non-count)

Quantity (count)

Duration

Frequency

Distance

Description

Open Questions

Open questions leave room for a description or opinion, and are more useful in eliciting information

Open questions are often called Wh.. questions:-

There are eight wh-questions - what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose and why and to this list we usually add how as they are all used to elicit particular kinds of information.

You use what when you are asking for information about something.

You use when to ask about the time that something happened or will happen.

You use where to ask questions about place or position.

You use which when you are asking for information about one of a limited number of things. You use who or whom when you are asking about someone's identity.

You use whose to ask about possession.

You use why to ask for a reason.

You use how to ask about the way in which something is done.

Question word Verb + Answer

What is your name? My name is Lynne.

When is the party? The party is on Tuesday.

Where are you from? I'm from England.

Which is your car? The red car is mine.

Who are you? I'm Lynne.

Whose is this web site? It's mine.

Why is this web site here? Because it is!

How are you? I'm fine thanks.

What, which and whose can be used with or without a noun as a question word.

For example:-

What time is it? = What is the time?
Which car is yours? = Which is your car?
Whose web site is this? = Whose is this web site?

Whom can only be used to elicit information about the object of the sentence. Although using whom would be grammatically correct, we normally use who instead because it doesn�t sound so formal.

For example:-

"Whom did you see?" would normally be expressed as "Who did you see?"

Who, what, which and whose can all be used to elicit information about the subject or object of the sentence.

For example:-

If the answer is "I ate the banana." the object question would be "What did you eat?" and the subject question would be "Who ate the banana?"

Object Questions

Object questions ask about the object of a sentence. The word order of the question must be changed and the question requires the use of the auxiliary verb 'to do'.

For example:-

If the answer is "I caught the train to London." the question would be "Which train did you catch?"

If the answer is "I saw a film yesterday." the question would be "What did you do yesterday?"

Subject Questions

There are also subject questions. These are questions that we ask to find out about the subject. When what, which, who or whose refers to the subject, the question word comes before the verb without the use of the auxiliary verb.

For example:-

If the answer is "The train to London was late." the question would be "Which train was late?"

If the answer is "I won the race." the question would be "Who won the race?"

More examples:-

Object questions:-

What did you do today?
Which film did you like best?
Who did I phone?

Subject questions:-

What happened today?
Which film is best?
Who phoned me?

Tag Questions

What is a tag question?

A tag question is a short question added to the end of a positive or negative statement.
For example:-
He is, isn't he?
He does, doesn't he?
He will, won't he?
He can, can't he?
How are they formed?
Normally a positive statement is followed by a negative tag, and a negative statement is followed by a positive tag.
For example:- + - You're English, aren't you?
You're not German, are you?
!The statement and the tag are always separated by a comma.
The verb in the statement should be the same tense as the verb in the tag.
For example:-
Present tense
You are a good singer, aren't you?
Past tense
You didn't go to work yesterday, did you?
Present perfect tense
You have been to London, haven't you?
If the verb used in the statement is an auxiliary verb, then the verb used in the tag must match it. If a modal (can, could, will, should, etc.) is used in the statement, then the same modal is used in the tag part. If the statement doesn't use an auxilliary verb, then the auxiliary do is used in the tag part.
For example:-
Auxiliary verb
She is from England, isn't she?
They aren't very nice, are they?
She doesn't like it here, does she?
Modal verb
You can sing, can't you?
They shouldn't do that, should they?
No auxiliary
He eats meat, doesn't he?
Why do we use them?
Tag questions are used to verify or check information that we think is true or to check information that we aren't sure is true. Sometimes we just use them for effect.
We show the meaning of the tag question through intonation.
If the tag is a real question it has a rising intonation.
For example:-
The chairman's coming at 3.00, isn't he?
If the tag is not a real question it has a flat or falling intonation.
For example:-
soundIt's a nice day today, isn't it?
! It is possible for a positive statement to be followed by a positive tag for even more effect (sarcasm, anger, disbelief, shock, concern etc.).
For example:-
Oh you will, will you?