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Simple (Yes
/ No) Questions #2
Simple (Yes
/
No) questions in English are made in
three
similar but different ways.
The form of simple
questions
depends on whether the statement from which
the question
is made has
| 1. |
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BE (but no other verb), or |
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| 2. |
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an
auxiliary verb
(including BE)
and
a main
verb, or |
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| 3. |
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only
a
main verb (not BE and not with
an auxiliary.) |
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Making Simple
Questions:
Auxiliary Verbs + Main Verbs
Many English
sentences use both auxiliary
verbs and
main verbs. There are three main types
of auxiliary verbs:
| type |
|
examples |
| BE |
|
progressive
forms:
is going / was doing
passive
forms:
is eaten / were stolen
other uses of
BE:
is able to go / are supposed
to go
/
were
(adjective) to go / were about
to go / are going to
go
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| |
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|
has, have,
had |
|
perfect
tenses:
has finished / have gone /
had eaten / had
left
other uses of has,
have,
had:
had better go / have got to go /
have
got ( = have )
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modal
auxiliaries |
|
may go / should go / must go
will go / would rather go /
would like to go
/ may have gone /
should have gone / would have gone |
| |
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To make simple questions when
there is an auxiliary
verb,
the form is
auxiliary + subject
+ main verb
+ other words?
Examples:
Joe's wearing an earring.
---> Is Joe wearing
an earring?
Their car was stolen. --->
Was their car
stolen?
She's able to go. --->
Is she able to go?
You're ready to leave. --->
Are you ready to leave?
He was about to say something.
--->
Was
he about to say
something?
She's already finished. --->
Has she already
finished?
They'd left when you arrived.
--->
Had
they
left when you
arrived?
He'd better not leave. --->
Had he better
not leave?
You've got the time. --->
Have you got the
time?
She's got to study. --->
Has she got to
study?
We
should stop now. --->
Should we stop now?
We must accept the results.
--->
Must
we accept the results?
You'd rather be alone. --->
Would you rather
be alone?
He'd like to help. --->
Would he like to
help?
He
should have helped. --->
Should he have
helped?
They would have helped us.
--->
Would
they
have helped us?
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Answering
Simple Questions:
Verbs with Auxiliary Verbs
For simple
questions with an auxiliary
verb before the
main
verb, there are three possible
answers: with Yes,
with
No, and
with I don't
know.
The answers with
Yes
and No
can be
complete
sentences or "abbreviated
forms." In
the "abbreviated forms,"
the auxiliary verb
is repeated.
Examples:
Is Joe going to stay? --->
Yes,
Joe (he) is going to
stay. /
Yes,
he is.
/
Yes.
No, Joe (he) isn't (he's not)
going to stay.
/
No, he isn't. (No, he's not.) /
No.
I don't know.
Have Alice and Bob been here?
--->
Yes, Alice and Bob (they)
have been here.
Yes, they have.
Yes.
No, Alice and Bob (they) haven't
(they've not)
been
here.
No, they haven't.
No.
I don't know.
Would you like to join us?
--->
Yes, I
would (I'd) like to
join you.
Yes, I would.
Yes.
No, I wouldn't (I'd not) like
to join you.
No, I wouldn't.
No.
I don't know.
etc.
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Special Notes:
| 1. |
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Contractions are very common in
complete answers--with both Yes and
No:
Is Joe ready to leave?
Yes, Joe's
(he's)
ready to leave.
No,
he
isn't (he's not) ready to leave.
Has the train left?
Yes, it's
left.
No,
it hasn't (it's not) left.
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| 2. |
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Contractions are also common
in
"abbreviated"
answers, but only
with No:
Has Joe got to leave?
Yes, he has.
No, he
hasn't (he's
not).
wrong: *Yes, he's.
Would you like something to
eat?
Yes, I would.
No, I
wouldn't.
wrong: *Yes, I'd.
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| 3. |
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In
the expression ought
to,
ought is
used like an auxiliary:
He ought to be here.
--->
Ought he to be here?
This use of ought
is very formal, however,
and it's not very common (Should is
more
common
than ought in questions.)
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| 4. |
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If
there is more than one
auxiliary verb,
the
first auxiliary is the one that comes
before the subject
in questions. It's also
the one that is used in "abbreviated"
answers:
She's been working hard. --->
Has she been working
hard?
He might have left. --->
Might he have
left?
The winners have been announced.
--->
Have
the winners been announced?
etc.
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