Questions making in English, revised (1) - 6

Sentences that contain questions  are called interrogatives sentences. Broadly speaking there are two main types of questions in English, namely ‘yes/no’ questions and ‘Wh’ questions. ‘Yes/no’ questions are also called Polar questions or Closed questions, because these questions have only two possible answers (‘yes’ or ‘no’). We are discussion ‘yes/no’ type questions  in this post.

e.g.

Are you an American?  Yes I am. (‘Yes/No’ question)

‘Wh’ questions contain ‘wh’ in their question words (What, When,  How etc.). They also called open questions, because they have many answer options.

e.g.

How old are you?  I am 26 years old. or I am 26. (‘Wh’ question)

‘Yes/no’ question making Pattern -  with the auxiliary verbs,  am, is, are

Person	Singular	Plural……..
First	am I	are we
Second	are you	are you
Third	Is he Is she Is it	are they are they are they

NOTE

He' includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

'She' includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

'It' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), & collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.

'They' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Model sentences

Are you OK now? Yes I am.

Am I late today ? No  you aren’t.

Is she at home? Yes she is.

Are you an Indian? Yes I am.

Is she a teacher? Yes she is.

Are Albert and Mary friends? Yes they are.

Is your uncle  a Police officer? No he isn’t, he is a Naval officer.

Note: The response can be either positive or negative.

‘Yes/no’ negative question

When a negative word is introduced in ‘yes/no’ question it changes into ‘ yes/no’ negative question.

e.g.

Aren’t  you coming with me? = Are you not coming with me.

‘Yes/no’ question making Pattern   ( with the auxiliary verbs,  am is are)

‘yes/no’ negative questions  are made  with  two different word orders namely uncontracted  and  contracted word order.

Question making pattern (Uncontracted word order)

Person	Singular	Plural……..
First	am I not	are we not
Second	are you not	are you not
Third	Is he not Is she not Is it not	are they not are they not are they not

NOTE

He' includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

'She' includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

'It' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), & collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.

'They' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Question making pattern (Contracted word order)

Person	Singular	Plural……..
First	aren’t  I	aren’t we
Second	aren’t  you	aren’t  you
Third	Isn’t  he Isn’t  she Isn’t  it	aren’t  they aren’t  they aren’t they

NOTE

He' includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

'She' includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

'It' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), & collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.

'They' includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Model Sentences

Is she not a teacher at  Oxford School? = Isn’t she a teacher at Oxford school?

Are you not attending Mary’s Party tonight? = Aren’t you attending Mary’s party tonight?

Have they not finished the job? = Haven’t they finished the job?

Are you not  ready yet? = Aren’t  you ready yet?

Am I  not right? = Aren’t I right? (‘Amn’t  I’ is not acceptable, but certain people use it in their dialect.)

Are Jim and Clara not classmates? = Aren’t Jim and Clara classmates?

Is the boss not in his office? = Isn’t the boss in his office?

Different meanings/Contexts  of Negative questions

1. Why are  your  clothes wet?  Didn’t it rain a while ago?  (=  I believe, you know, that it rained  some time back.)

2. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cup of coffee? = It would be nice to have a cup of coffee.

    (You believe that it’s good to have a cup of coffee.)

3. Hasn’t the milkman come yet? ( You are surprised that the milkman hasn’t come on time)

4.You look tired, Why don’t you have some fruit juice (Suggestion /request)

5. Can’t you keep quiet for some time,  I am watching news on TV? (Order)

    

 End of this Post