Kinds of Questions
In the English language there are several types of questions.
1. General questions
Also known as "Yes/No questions" because a short answer (yes or no) is expected. This kind of question is formed by putting an auxiliary verb before the subject (=inversion).
General questions most often start with: Do? Did? Have? Has? Is? Are? Was? Were? Can? Could? etc.
Examples:
- Are you from Brazil? Answer: Yes, I am / No, I am not
- Did you meet Andy? Answer: Yes, I did / No, I didn't
- Was she at home yesterday? Answer: Yes, she was / No, she wasn't
2. Special Questions
Special questions are those questions that ask for details. Special questions are also called Wh-questions as most of them start with "wh".
For example: What? Which? When? Where? Why? Whose?
Other special questions include: How? How many? How much?
Special questions require inversion, like general questions.
- Where are you from? Answer: I am from India
- What are you wearing on your head? Answer: I'm wearing a hat or It's a hat!
- How much money do you have? Answer: I have only $10.
- How old are you? Answer: I'm 16.
Attention: If the subject of a special question is the question word itself, then this kind of question is called subject question.
Subject questions have the word order of an affirmative sentence.
- Who will buy milk?
- Who's in charge here?
- What makes you think so?
- Who wants some coffee?
- Will who buy milk?
- Is who in charge here?
- What does make you think so?
3. Disjunctive questions
Disjunctive questions are also called question tags. They are mini-questions that appear at the end of sentence:
You can read more on this topic here.
4. Embedded questions
Embedded questions are also called indirect questions.
Such questions have affirmative word order, and are used in two situations:
a) polite questions ("question within questions")
- Could you tell me where the bus station is?
- Could you tell me where is the bus station?
b) reported speech
- He asked me if I could help him.
- He asked me could I help him.
You can read more on this topic here.
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