Master 9 Types of English Questions | Grammar Lesson

Elevate your English with this complete guide to the main types of questions in English. In this grammar lesson, you’ll learn how to use different question types: “yes/no” questions, “wh-” questions, question tags, and more. You’ll learn the purpose, structure, and correct context for each question type, along with plenty of examples of each. This grammar class is essential for intermediate and advanced learners. We will cover: • Yes/No questions with auxiliary verbs • Interrogatives (question words) • Indirect questions for polite communication • Special purpose questions such as introducing a topic or challenging someone • Question tags for natural conversation Improve your speaking and writing by learning to form questions in various contexts. From casual chats to formal discussions, you’ll sound more fluent and natural. Put your learning into practice by trying these structures in your daily English use. Start now by writing some questions in the comments. Get extra help with your English on my website: More of my English grammar videos: Talking about the future in English The 3rd Conditional In this lesson: 0:00 Question Types in English 1:00 YES/NO Questions 5:50 Interrogatives 8:58 Indirect Questions 11:21 More ways to use questions 11:51 Are you with me? 12:50 Introducing a topic with a question 13:41 Give yourself time to think with a question 14:12 Challenging with a question 15:05 Use a question to lead someone 16:16 Question Tags TRANSCRIPT: Hi folks, and welcome back to engVid with me, Benjamin. In today’s lesson, we are looking at lots of different ways to ask questions, because you can ask questions and you should ask questions in a variety of ways. Otherwise, you’re going to start sounding like a broken record. Now, this lesson is for my more advanced students. You need to have a good grounding in grammar to be able to access all the sort of grammatical constructions. And we will be looking at, I don’t know, six different ways of asking questions. Some of these have been covered in detail in separate videos on the engVid website. So, if you go to the and do search, if you’re not sure about any of these, that’s where you will find extra information. Okay, so let’s get started, then. Well, the most simple form of question is a “yes“ or “no“ question. What’s meant by that is the answer is either going to be “yes“ or “no“. Now, it’s formed, the actual question, with an auxiliary verb. “Auxiliary“, yep, it means a helping verb. These are all examples of auxiliary verbs, so we’ve got - repeat after me, yeah, because I’d like you to be involved over there - “be“, “can“, “could“, “do“, “have“, “may“, “may not“, “might“, “must“, “shall“, “should“, “will“, and “would“. Okay? So, I’m going to use one of those at the beginning, then a subject, like “I“, “you“, “he“, “she“, “it“, “we“, “they“, and then the rest of the question, for example. And you also need to conjugate the verb, here. I can’t say, “Be you able to sing me a song?“, because that would sound weird, but I could say, “Are you able to sing me a song?“ “Am I looking good tonight?“ No, Benjamin, your hair’s a mess, as usual. Oh, sorry, guys. Okay. “Can“, “Can I borrow your pink pajamas?“ No, they’re mine. Oh, sorry. “Could“, “Could I use your telephone?“ Thanks very much. “Do you support Tottenham Hotspur?“ No, they’re awful, I support Arsenal. I don’t, I support Chelsea. “Have you been to Piccadilly Circus?“ Now, these two are slightly strange ones, and they only really work in the first person singular. For example, “May you pass me the wine?“ Sounds really weird and old-fashioned. So, I mean, it still sounds quite weird in the first person. “May I have a look at your exercise book?“ Very formal. “Might“, so these are coming into some quite polite modals, auxiliary verbs here. “Might I be able to come to your house for a party later?“ Excellent. “Must you spend all day playing computer games, Adrian?“ “Must you“, really? Is that such a good use of your time? “Shall“, again, this one, and “may“ we like using in first person singular. “Shall I play you a song?“ “Should“. “Should I visit Niagara Falls on Thursday?“ Yeah, that’d be great. “Will“, and subject. “Will it rain on Thursday?“ “Would you take a packed lunch if you were going there?“ Yes, I would, and I’d have really nice sandwiches. Okay. Now, the answers, we want more than just “yes“ and “no“. Okay? “Yes“, “no“, it’s a bit of a, like, conversation killer. “Thank you, not talking to you“, I’m not going to do all of these, I’ll demonstrate with one. Shame, you can’t ask me a question. “Must you walk on that side of the street?“ “Must you walk on that side of the street?“ No, no, you can walk on that side of the street, too. More ideas, more. Actually, that side of the street is really nice […]