Forming Yes/No Questions

Yes/No questions are closed questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. In English, we form Yes/No questions by moving the auxiliary verb, verb to be, or modal verb to the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.

1. Yes/No Questions with “To Be”

To form questions with am, is, are, was, or were, simply place the verb to be at the beginning.

Formula: Am/Is/Are/Was/Were + Subject + Complement?

  • Statement: She is happy.
    Question: Is she happy?
  • Statement: They were at school.
    Question: Were they at school?

2. Yes/No Questions with Do, Does, and Did

If the statement uses an action verb in the Simple Present or Simple Past, we must start the question with the helping verb do, does, or did.

A. Simple Present (Do / Does)

Formula: Do/Does + Subject + Verb 1 (Base Form) + ...?

  • Statement: You speak English.
    Question: Do you speak English?
  • Statement: He lives here.
    Question: Does he live here?

NOTE When using does, the main verb must drop the -s/-es ending and revert to its base form.

  • Correct: Does he live here?
  • Incorrect: Does he lives here?

B. Simple Past (Did)

Formula: Did + Subject + Verb 1 (Base Form) + ...?

  • Statement: They arrived late.
    Question: Did they arrive late?

NOTE When using did, the main verb must change from Verb 2 back to Verb 1.

  • Correct: Did they arrive late?
  • Incorrect: Did they arrived late?

3. Yes/No Questions with Compound Tenses & Modals

If a sentence already has one or more auxiliary verbs (like is playing, has gone, will buy) or a modal verb (like can, should), we place the first auxiliary or modal verb before the subject.

  • Statement: He is playing tennis.
    Question: Is he playing tennis?
  • Statement: They have finished lunch.
    Question: Have they finished lunch?
  • Statement: You can swim.
    Question: Can you swim?
  • Statement: She will join us.
    Question: Will she join us?

4. How to Give Short Answers

In English, it is polite to answer Yes/No questions using a short answer containing the corresponding auxiliary verb, rather than just saying a bare “yes” or “no.”

  • Question: Is he a doctor?
    Answer: Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.
  • Question: Do you like coffee?
    Answer: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
  • Question: Did they win?
    Answer: Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.
  • Question: Can you help me?
    Answer: Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.

Next, we will explore WH- Questions to learn how to ask open-ended questions using interrogative words.