Question Framing – Types of Questions in English

It is necessary to learn question framing as there are different types of questions in English. For this reason, we are going to see questions tyes using words such as which, why, what, whom, etc. in this lesson.

Yes/No Questions

Questions which are answered in Yes or No are called Yes/No Questions. These questions start with a helping verb.

For example:

Question	Answer in Yes/No
Did she come here?	Yes
Do you know how to play football?	No
Have you done this?	Yes
Are you a driver?	No

Wh-Questions

Questions that start with Wh-words; Why, Who, Where, When, Whose, Whom, How, What, etc are called Wh-Questions. Such questions cannot be replied to in Yes or No because there needs information in the answer.

Examples:

Question	Answer
Where do you live?	I live at Shahadra.
Who is she?	She is Kalpana.
Why did he come?	He came to meet you.
What do you do for a living?	I teach kids for a living.

Also Read: Specific Uses of Gerund/Infinitive Each vs Every | Frequently Used Idioms & Phrases

Tag Questions

They are known by the name question tag or tag question. Such questions are attached like a tail at the end of the sentence. The purpose of these is to make the statement effective or to draw the audience’s attention to the statement, or to seek confirmation of the statement.

For examples:

Question	Answer
Is he your friend, isn’t he?	Yes, he is!
She will help you, won’t she?	Of course, she will.
Sugar is sweet, isn’t it?	Obviously, it is.
You work here, don’ you?	Yes, I do.

Alternate Questions

In alternate questions, ‘or’, ‘or not’ is used to express a choice or alternate.

Examples:

Questions	Answer
Are you going or not?	I am going.
What would you like coffee or tea?	I would like coffee.
Has he helped you or not?	He hasn’t helped yet.
Will you go there or not?	I won’t go there.

Shorts Questions

Shorts questions are often asked with eagerness. They are always used to ask after someone giving some information or news.

Examples:

I am going to buy an HP laptop.	When/Where/Which laptop?
He is going to France.	When/Why/By which flight?
She has resigned from the service.	When/Why/What for?
He has borrowed some money from the bank.	Why/For what?
She will never come here again.	Why/What happened?

Rhetorical Questions

Such questions, whose answer is known to all, are used to impress upon by simply asking point of view in the form of question. Such question are called rhetorical questions.

For example:

Rhetorical Questions	Known answer
Who is born perfect?	Nobody is born perfect.
Who can speak against the boss?	Nobody can speak.
Who will live forever?	None can live forever, man is mortal.
Who doesn’t know about Google?	Everybody knows about Google.