Types of questions in English with examples

In English, interrogative sentences fulfill several roles: gathering or verifying information, keeping a conversation going, showing politeness, and making requests or offers. This article will explore 5 types of questions in English to help you understand how to form them correctly:

• General Questions
• Special Questions (Wh-Questions)
• Subject Questions
• Alternative Questions
• Tag Questions

Sometimes, in addition to these types of questions, you can also meet two more that we will also analyze:

• Negative Questions
• Indirect Questions

Contents

1. General questions in English
2. Wh-questions, or special questions in English
3. Questions to the subject
4. Alternative questions
5. Tag questions
6. Negative questions
7. Indirect questions in English
8. Practice exercise
9. FAQ

In addition to learning how to construct different types of questions, we'll explore various examples. We'll also focus on the connotations of these question types in English and discuss when it’s appropriate to use each one in different contexts.

General questions in English

General questions are a type of interrogative sentence in English that start with the verb "to be" or an auxiliary or modal verb and require a short answer: "yes" or "no." This is why they are also called yes/no questions.

This type of question could be formed in three different ways: 

1. The verb "to be" and the subject switch places:

• She is a student. – Is she a student? 
• They were at the restaurant yesterday. – Were they at the restaurant yesterday? 

2. Auxiliary verbs “do” / “does” or “did” (in the present simple and past simple tenses) are added, and they are placed before the subject:

• He loves watching crime TV series. – Does he love watching crime TV series? 
• You worked hard all day. – Did you work hard all day? 

3. The auxiliary or modal verb switches places with the subject:

• I can speak four languages. – Can I speak four languages? 
• We have been living here since 2016. – Have we been living here since 2016? 

Wh-questions, or special questions in English

Special questions (also known as “wh-questions”) are a type of question in English that begin with a question word and require more detailed information in response than just "yes" or "no." 

In English, special questions are formed using the same three methods used to create general ones. To do this, you simply need to add the appropriate question word before any general question:

• Was he cooking dinner at 5 o’clock yesterday? – When was he cooking dinner? 

Here’s a table of all question words with examples:

“Whom” is used for people in formal English. It is less commonly used and is more typical in written rather than spoken English.

Questions to the subject

Usually, when we ask about something, we are interested in the secondary parts of the sentence: objects, various types of adverbial modifiers, and attributes.

• What do you like doing in your free time? (the object)
• Where did you last see Martha? (the adverbial modifiers of place and direction)
• What clothes do you prefer? (the attribute)

However, we can also ask questions where the answer is the subject of the sentence. This type of question in English is called a subject question and differs from other types in how the sentences are formed. Compare these two examples:

1. Who did Mike speak to? (Object question)
2. Who spoke to Mike? (Subject question)

The rules for placing the auxiliary verb before the subject or switching sentence elements apply only to secondary parts of the sentence and do not apply to subject questions. This type of question in English does not require inversion or additional words and follows a structure similar to a standard declarative sentence.

• Sarah spoke to Mike. – Who spoke to Mike? 

Subject questions are usually formed with the words “who” and “what”, and the answer to this type will be the subject of the sentence.

Alternative questions

Alternative questions offer a choice between two or more options and are formed using the conjunction “or”.

• Are we leaving today or tomorrow?
• Will they move abroad or stay here? 

This type of question in English is formed similarly to general questions. It begins with the auxiliary or modal verb, followed by the subject, the main verb, and the rest of the sentence components; the choice is introduced with “or”:

• Do you want to go out or stay in tonight? 

Alternative questions can also be formed using question words (wh-questions):

• Which coffee do you prefer, with or without sugar?

Another way to form an alternative question in English is to add “or not?” at the end:

• Are you going or not? 
• Do you like it or not? 

Such a question sounds very direct and straightforward and can express the speaker's irritation or impatience.

Tag questions

Tag questions are sentences composed of two parts: a statement and a short question. This question is added at the end of a declarative or negative sentence, like a "tail", turning the sentence into a question.

• The weather is nice today, isn’t it? 
• You didn’t go to the park, did you? 

A tag question is typically formed using a modal or auxiliary verb, or the verb “to be”, along with a personal pronoun (depending on what is used in the main statement). A negative "tail" is added to a positive statement, and a positive "tail" is added to a negative statement. Negative "tails" are often shortened (e.g., “isn't it” instead of “is it not”).

In English, “tags” are used when we want to check or confirm information we believe to be true. They encourage the conversation partner to comment on our statement, thereby keeping the conversation going.

Negative questions

Sometimes, negative questions are considered a separate type of question in English. They appear as either general or special questions, where the negative particle “not” is added to the auxiliary verb.

• Did you hear that? – Didn’t you hear that? 
• Why do you want to go there? – Why don’t you want to go there? 

The use of the shortened form “n't” is more common. Using the full form “not” makes the question more formal; in this case, “not” usually comes after the subject.

• Is that not the most beautiful woman in the world? 

Negative questions are often used to confirm information and to intensify proposals, requests, or complaints.

• Shouldn’t they be leaving? 
• Wouldn’t you like to drop in for a coffee? 
• Can’t you talk to the neighbours about the mess? 

Indirect questions in English

A separate category in English is indirect questions. They consist of an introductory phrase and the question itself, which is in the form of a declarative sentence.

• Can you tell me where the nearest supermarket is? 

In indirect questions, we do not switch the subject (the nearest supermarket) and the verb (is) as we would do in other types of questions in English. The inversion (change in word order) occurs in the introductory part (e.g., can you tell me), after which the words follow the order of a regular declarative sentence.

To form an indirect question with a question word (wh-questions), place the question word after the introductory phrase, then follow it with the subject, the verb, and the other sentence elements:

• Do you know when the bus leaves? 

In general questions, after the introductory phrase, the conjunction “if” or “whether” is added, followed by the subject, the verb, and the rest of the sentence (subject + verb + ...):

• Can you tell me if we are meeting the team today? 

Indirect questions are regarded as very polite and are extremely common in English, especially when interacting with strangers or acquaintances. Here are some common introductory phrases:

• Can you tell me…? 
• Could you tell me…? (even more polite) 
• Can I ask you…? 
• Do you know…? 
• I wonder… / I was wondering… 

Practice exercise

To better understand the material, create questions from the provided sentences, starting with the words in brackets or using the specified type of question. To see the correct option, click on a sentence.

You can complete more activities to understand the rules of forming questions better on Smarte interactive platform for free! The activities are divided into English levels, so choose yours. Have fun with your practice!

FAQ

1. How many types of questions are there in English?

There are 5 main types in English:

• General;
• Special;
• Subject;
• Alternative;
• Tag.

In addition, some sources distinguish two more types.:

• Negative;
• Indirect.

2. What are wh-questions in English?

Wh-questions are a type of interrogative sentence that begin with one of the question words:

• When;
• Where;
• What;
• Why;
• Who.

This type is also called special questions and are used to get information about specific details.

3. How are special questions formed in English?

To form special or wh-questions in English, the following scheme is used:

question word + auxiliary/modal verb + subject + main verb + …

4. What is an alternative question in English?

An alternative question is an interrogative sentence that presents several options using the conjunction “or”.  For example:

• Would you like pizza or sushi? 
• Should I choose the black shoes or the brown ones?