yes no questions

There are many types of questions in English. The easiest are questions that can be
answered "yes" or "no."
A: Are you from around here?
B: Yes, I am.
A: Do you come here often?
B: Yes, I do.
A: Can I buy you a drink?
B: No, thanks.
A: Are you married?
B: Yes, I am.
To form a question from a statement, first count the number of verbs.
John is a doctor. One verb: is (be)
Jane drives a sports car. One verb: drives
Joan played basketball last night. One verb: played
Jan is eating her dinner. Two verbs: is eating
June has rented an apartment. Two verbs: has rented
Jen has been living there since 1969. Three verbs: has been living
If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is a form of be, simply switch the
positions of the subject and verb.
Statement Question
John is a doctor. Is John a doctor?
The Jensens are here. Are the Jensens here?
If there are two verbs, simply switch the positions of the subject and first verb.
Statement Question
Jan is eating dinner. Is Jan eating dinner?
June has rented an apartment. Has June rented an apartment?
Jen has been living here since 1969. Has Jen been living here since 1969?
If there is one verb, and the verb is not a form of be, the process is more complex.
1. Add Do to the beginning of the sentence.
The Johnsons live in that house. Do the Johnsons live in that house?
2. If the main verb "carries" a third person singular s, move the s to Do, making it Does.
Jane drives a car. Do Jane drives a car? (Not finished yet!)
Does Jane drive a car? (Good question!)
3. If the main verb "carries" past tense, move the past tense to Do, making it Did.
Joan played basketball last night. Do Joan played basketball? (Not finished yet!)
Did Joan play basketball? (Good question!)
In conversation, most questions are asked of the second person (you) and answered in
the first (I).
A: Are you from California?
B: No, I'm from Oregon. Are you?
A: Yes, I'm from Hollywood.
B: Do you know any movie stars?
A: No, I don't go out at night.
In British English, the main verb have sometimes functions like be in questions. This is
not common in American English.
Statement Question
You have a pet ferret. Have you a pet ferret? (British)
Do you have a pet ferret? (American)
Very Simple Yes/No Questions
Are you from Canada?
Is he a doctor?
Is this free?
Do you like apples?
Does she live in New Orleans? Yes, I am.
No, he isn't.
Yes, it is.
Yes, I do.
No, she doesn't
More examples of Yes/No Questions
Is she going to the dance?
Are they flying home?
Are you coming to the party? Yes, she is.
No, they're taking the bus.
No, I have other plans.

Examples of simple Wh- questions
What do you do (as an occupation)?
What do you do on the weekends?
Where are you from? Where do you live?
How do you say that in English?
How do you spell your name?
How do you know Mr. Amos?
I'm a computer programmer.
I usually stay home and watch television.
I'm from Ontario, California.
I live in Arizona.
I live at the Chateau Apartments.
I don't know.
S-I-M-O-N.
He's my teacher.



TO CONCLUDE

1) Questions without question words in the Simple Present
Auxiliary Subject Verb Rest Yes/No Subject Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do you read books? Yes, I do.
No, I don't.
Does Peter play football? Yes, he does.

________________________________________
2) Questions with question words in the Simple Present
Question word Auxiliary Subject Verb Rest Answer
What do you play on your computer? I play games on my computer.
When does your mother go to work? She goes to work at 6 o'clock.
Where do you meet your friends? I meet them at the bus stop.



Saying ‘Yes, I do. / No, I don’t’ in English is more polite than just saying ‘Yes. / No.’ That’s why short answers are very commonly used.
To form the short answer, you use the first word from the question. (This is either an auxiliary verb or a form of ‘be’.)
Use the long form (he does) in affirmative answers (yes).
Use the short form (he doesn’t) in negative answers (no).
Question Affirmative Negative
Do we know him? Yes, we do. No, we don’t.
Can she see me? Yes, she can. No, she can’t.
Have they read the book? Yes, they have. No, they haven’t.
Is he hungry? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.
Mind: If ‘you’ is the subject of the question, ‘you’ must be replaced by ‘I’ or ‘we’.
Question Affirmative Negative
Do you know him? Yes, I / we do. No, I / we don’t.
If the question starts with ‘are you’, ‘are’ must sometimes be replaced by ‘am’.
Question Affirmative Negative
Are you hungry? Yes, I am. No, I’m not.
But: → Yes, we are. No, we aren’t.











Yes-No Question Clauses
Changing questions answered by yes or no to reported speech

Yes-No questions differ from WH-questions.
• These quoted questions begin with auxiliary verb forms such as: is, are, am, do, does, has, have, can, will, must.
They can be answered with "yes" or "no"; hence, they are often called "yes-no questions".
• The pronoun whether or if is used to embed (insert) the question clause into the main clause.

Quoted vs. Reported Questions
QUOTED QUESTION REPORTED QUESTION
Quoted questions restate speech exactly. The quoted speech is set off from the main clause by enclosing it in quotes (" "). Reported questions rephrase the speech by adjusting the time frame, pronouns and adverbs to the speaker's perspective in the main clause. The rephrased speech is joined to the main clause using whether or if. No additional punctuation, such as quotes or commas, is used.
My friend said, "Are you coming?" My friend asked whether I was coming or not.
My friend asked, "Is your brother coming too?" My friend asked if my brother was coming too.
My friend asked, "Can you drive us?' My friend asked whether I could drive them.
My friend asked, "Will you have enough gas?" My friend asked if I would have enough gas.
My friend asked, "Do we have enough money for gas?"
My friend asked whether we had enough money for gas.





PRACTICE
Complete the short answers with the correct form.
1. Are you from Germany? - Yes, . / No, .
2. Are Peter and Sue your friends? - Yes, . / No, .
3. Has your sister got a car? - Yes, . / No, .
4. Do you speak English? - Yes, . / No, .
5. Can he play football? - Yes, . / No, .
6. Had they lived in London before they moved to Manchester? - Yes, . / No, .
7. Is she going by bus? - Yes, . / No, .
8. Did you talk to him? - Yes, . / No, .
9. Have you been waiting for long? - Yes, . / No, .
10. Will she send us a mail?- Yes, . / No, .



New York
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor. The statue represents the goddess of liberty with a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left hand. On the tablet you can see the date of the Declaration of Independence “JULY IV MDCCLXXVI” (July 4, 1776).
The copper statue is 46 meters high and was made by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel (who also built the Eiffel Tower). It was given to the United States by France on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building was opened on May 1, 1931. It is an office building, but the platform at the top of the building is also a popular tourist attraction.
Its height from bottom to the 102nd floor is 381 meters. Including the broadcasting tower, which was added in the 1950s, the total height is 443.5 meters.
Before the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the Empire State building was the second highest building in New York. The Freedom Tower, which is planned to be constructed on Ground Zero, will again be higher than the Empire State Building.
Central Park
Central Park lies in Manhattan and covers an area of 3.4 km² (4 km × 800 m). It is one of the most famous city parks and not only a popular oasis for New Yorkers, but also for migrating birds.
Grammar Exercise on the Text
Short Answers
Using a short answer in English is more polite than just saying 'Yes. / No.' For further information, check out our grammar section: → Short Answers

Exercise
Read the text again and answer the following questions with a short answer. (The first sentence is given as an example.)
1. Is the Statue of Liberty made of copper?
2. Does the Statue of Liberty stand on Liberty Island?
3. Is the Empire State Building more than 500 meters high?
4. Can tourists go to the platform of the Empire State Building?
5. Are there any birds in Central Park?














Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall is an ancient wall across England from Carlisle in the east to Newcastle in the west. The Roman Emperor Hadrian wanted to protect Roman Britain from attacks by Scottish tribes. So he told his soldiers to build a wall.

Roman soldiers guarded the wall, which was 117 kilometres long and 4 metres high. Now there are only ruins left of Hadrian’s Wall. But still, Hadrian’s Wall is the most popular tourist attraction in northern England and a World Heritage Site.


Grammar Exercise on the Text
Short Answers
Using a short answer in English is more polite than just saying ‘Yes. / No.’ For further information, check out our grammar section: Short Answers.
Read the text again and answer the following questions with a short answer. (The first sentence is given as an example.)
1. Is Hadrian's Wall in England?
2. Was Hadrian a Roman Emperor?
3. Did Scottish tribes build the wall?
4. Was the wall 117 metres high?
5. Has Hadrian's Wall become a tourist attraction?