There are three main types of questions in English:
1. Closed questions also called Yes/No questions – the answer to these questions is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
2. Open questions / Wh-questions – there are several possible answers to these questions.
3. Choice questions – used to offer someone an option of two things.
A Video Summary About Asking questions in English
A few explanations about Asking questions in English
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
A Video Summary About Asking questions in English
A few explanation about Asking questions in English
Question Structure
A lot of questions in English follow the same formula, regardless of the tense.
(Wh-word) + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + complement?
| Wh – word | Auxiliary verb | Subject | Main verb | Complement | |
| Present Simple | Where | do | you | go | to school? |
| Past Simple | When | did | you | finish | school? |
| Present perfect | Have | you | finished | your homework? | |
| Future | When | will | you | go | on holiday this? |
There are some exceptions of course!
1. Questions with BE (present simple) – they don’t need an auxiliary verb; the verb BE takes the place of the auxiliary verb. They do not have a main verb.
2. Questions with BE (present continuous, past continuous, future with going to)– they don’t need an auxiliary verb; the verb BE takes the place of the auxiliary verb.
3. Questions with modals – they don’t need an auxiliary verb; the modal verb takes the place of the auxiliary verb.
| Auxiliary verb | Subject | Main verb | Complement |
| Are | you | – | a doctor? |
| Are | you | going | to the wedding? |
| Would | you | like | a glass of water? |
| Can | I | have | a piece of paper? |
Intonation
Intonation plays an important role in English questions
-Closed questions end with rising intonation
-Open questions end with falling intonation
-Choice questions – use rising intonation for all the options except the final option which uses a falling intonation.
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Exercises about Asking questions
Exercise 1 Choice questions – Complete the questions by choosing between ‘which’ or ‘what’
Select the correct intonation for the word in bold. (strawberry, colleague, Chelsea, dishonesty, work)
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Exercise 2 Complete the questions by choosing the correct wh-word.
Choose the most appropriate answer for each question.
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Exercise 3 Gap-fill exercise – choose the correct word to complete the question.
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