Revise Your Grammar

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).

For example:

A: Are you from Greece?

B: Yes, I am / No, I am not

A: Was she at home yesterday?

B: Yes, she was / No, she wasn't.

Special Questions

They ask for details (we also call them Wh-questions as most of them start with "wh": What? Which? When? Where? Why? Whose? Or: How? How many? How much?). Special questions require inversion.

For example:

-Where are you from? 

-I am from America.

!!! Note: Questions to the subject have the word order of an affirmative sentence.

-Who will buy milk?  

-Who wants some tea?       

Disjunctive questions

Or “question tags” \ “Tag Questions”( at the end of sentence). We use them to show emphasis, politeness, irony or lack of confidence.

Main Clause+comma+ Positive/Negative Aux. Verb + Personal Pronoun.

For example:

-They have just arrived, haven't they?    

-You like her, don't you?

Alternative Questions

They are questions that offer the listener a closed choice between two or more answers. They are formed like Yes/No questions.

For example:

-Would you like eggs, pancakes or waffles?

-Will you come at 3 or at 5 in the evening?