Learning how to ask questions in English can be a little complicated since there are so many ways to do so
We have 12 tenses in English, we have modals and other grammar topics useful to make questions
Let’s start with the basic simple questions so we can move on to far more complex questions in the future.
Table of Contents
Types of Questions in English
There are two types of questions you can make in English:
- Yes or No Questions
- Information questions
Yes or no Questions can be answered with short statements such as:
| A | Are you from Costa Rica? |
| B | Yes, I am |
Information questions require more than a yes or no, you have to provide the information which is being requested.
| A | Where do you live? |
| B | I live in Nicoya |
Yes or No Questions
Yes or No Questions are also called “Closed Questions”
There are many ways to ask questions in English and it would be impossible to cover them all in one post and not feel overwhelmed so let’s check some of the most common simple questions in English
Let’s learn how to make sentences with the simple present, present continuous and the simple past.
Yes or No Questions: Present Continuous
These are some common questions with the present continuous
- Are you working today?
- Yes, I am
- Are you taking a break?
- No, I am not
- Are you leaving right now?
- No, I am not
- Are you coming to the meeting?
- Yes, I am
Yes or No Questions: Simple Present
These are some common questions with the simple present
- Do you have a lot of work?
- Yes, I do
- Do you need my help?
- No, I don’t
- Do you create web applications?
- Yes, I do
- Do you take calls?
- No, I don’t
- Do you sell products online?
- Yes, I do
Yes or No Questions: Simple Past
Those are some questions with the simple past
- Did you finish the project?
- Yes, I did
- Did you talk to Mike?
- No, I didn’t
- Did you call the administrator?
- No, I didn’t
- Did you buy a new license?
- No, I didn’t
- Did you fix the computer problems?
- No, I didn’t
Information Questions in English
Like Yes or No questions, there are many ways to ask Information Questions in English.
Information questions are also called open questions and these use questions words.
| Where? | When? |
| What? | Why? |
| How? | Who? |
| Which one? |
Information Questions: Verb to Be
Let’s have a look at some of them. These are some questions with the verb to be
- Where are you?
- I am at the office
- Who are you?
- I am your boss
- How are you?
- I am fine
- When is the meeting?
- The meeting is at 5
Information Questions: Simple Present
These are some questions with the simple present
- What schedule do you have?
- From 5 to 10
- What program do you prefer?
- I prefer the less expensive option
- Where do you work?
- I work in Taco Bell Liberia
- Who do you work for?
- I work for Spencer Palmer
- What do you have to do?
- I have to make some calls
Information Questions: Present Continuous
These are some questions with the present continuous
- What are you doing?
- I am creating a new application
- Where are you going?
- I am going to the human resources department.
- What time are you leaving?
- I am leaving at 5
- Who are you talking to?
- I am talking to the Walmart Manager
- Why are you leaving?
- I am leaving because I am sick
Conversation using Simple Questions
This is an example of short conversation using simple questions in three tenses
| Jay | Hello Sarah |
| Sarah | Hi Jay |
| Jay | What are you doing Sarah? |
| Sarah | I am fixing this computer |
| Jay | Did you finish the project last night? |
| Sarah | No, I didn’t, I was busy |
| Jay | Do you need any help? |
| Sarah | Yes, clean this for me please |
Related Information
I hope that you have learned how to ask questions in English with the help of this guide
These are some resources that you might be interested in
