Direct link to YouTube video: https://youtu.be/_pnDfOZQnDk
Explanations + Extra Practice Activities
📘 14 Types of Questions in English
(6 Basic Grammatical Types + 8 Purpose-Based Types)
In English, we can classify questions in two ways:
👉 1. Grammar (structure) – how the question is formed
👉 2. Purpose (meaning) – why we ask the question
✅ PART 1: 6 Basic Grammatical Types of Questions
These types focus on structure.
1. Yes / No Questions
👉 Answer = yes or no
Structure:
Auxiliary + subject + verb / complement
Examples:
- Did you call?
- Are you ready?
2. Wh- Questions
2a. With auxiliary
👉 Ask for information (object)
Structure:
Wh- + auxiliary + subject + verb
Examples:
- Where do you live?
- Why did she leave?
2b. Without DO auxiliary (subject questions)
👉 The Wh-word = subject
Structure:
Wh- + verb (no do/does/did)
Examples:
- Who called you?
- What happened?
3. Choice Questions
👉 Ask someone to choose
Structure:
Question + or + option
Examples:
- Do you want tea or coffee?
- Is it today or tomorrow?
4. Tag Questions
👉 Check or confirm information
Structure:
Statement + short question (tag)
Examples:
- You’re coming, aren’t you?
- She called, didn’t she?
5. Wh- Indirect Questions
👉 A question inside another question
Structure:
Main clause + Wh- clause (statement order)
Examples:
- Do you know where he lives?
- Can you tell me why she left?
6. Yes/No Indirect Questions
👉 Embedded yes/no question
Structure:
Main clause + if / whether + clause
Examples:
- Do you know if he’s coming?
- Can you check whether it’s open?
✅ PART 2: 8 Purpose-Based Types of Questions
These types focus on why we ask the question.
1. Negative Questions
👉 Show surprise or expectation
Examples:
- Don’t you like pizza?
- Isn’t she coming?
2. Echo Questions
👉 Show surprise or repeat information
Examples:
- You did what?
- She said what?
3. Rhetorical Questions
👉 No answer needed
Examples:
- Who cares?
- Isn’t life strange?
4. Declarative Questions
👉 Statement form + rising intonation
Examples:
- You’re coming?
- She works here?
5. Clarification Questions
👉 Check understanding
Examples:
- What do you mean?
- Can you explain that?
6. Hypothetical Questions
👉 Ask about imaginary situations
Examples:
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
7. Polite Questions
👉 Make requests softer
Examples:
- Could you help me?
- Would you mind opening the window?
8. Elliptical (Short) Questions
👉 Short, informal questions (some words are missing)
Examples:
- Coming? (= Are you coming?)
- Need help? (= Do you need help?)
🎯 Important Note
👉 One question can belong to both categories:
- Could you help me?
- Grammar → Yes/No question
- Purpose → Polite question
Extra Practice Activities
📝 ERROR CORRECTION QUIZ – 14 TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Each sentence has a mistake. Find it and correct it.
✅ 1. Yes / No Questions
1. ❌ Did you went home?
✅ Answer: Did you go home?
2. ❌ Are you understand?
✅ Answer: Do you understand?
3. ❌ Is she go to work?
✅ Answer: Does she go to work?
4. ❌ Did he has finished?
✅ Answer: Has he finished?
5. ❌ You are ready?
✅ Answer: Are you ready?
✅ 2a. Wh- Questions (with auxiliary)
1. ❌ Where you are going?
✅ Answer: Where are you going?
2. ❌ Why she left?
✅ Answer: Why did she leave?
3. ❌ What you want?
✅ Answer: What do you want?
4. ❌ When he arrived?
✅ Answer: When did he arrive?
5. ❌ How she did it?
✅ Answer: How did she do it?
✅ 2b. Wh- Questions (no auxiliary / subject)
1. ❌ Who did call you?
✅ Answer: Who called you?
2. ❌ What did happened?
✅ Answer: What happened?
3. ❌ Who is want to go?
✅ Answer: Who wants to go?
4. ❌ Which student did pass?
✅ Answer: Which student passed?
5. ❌ Who does live here?
✅ Answer: Who lives here?
✅ 3. Choice Questions
1. ❌ Do you want tea and coffee?
✅ Answer: Do you want tea or coffee?
2. ❌ Is it Monday and Tuesday?
✅ Answer: Is it Monday or Tuesday?
3. ❌ Will you stay or you leave?
✅ Answer: Will you stay or leave?
4. ❌ Do you prefer coffee or do you prefer tea?
✅ Answer: Do you prefer coffee or tea?
5. ❌ Is he coming or he not?
✅ Answer: Is he coming or not?
✅ 4. Tag Questions
1. ❌ You are coming, aren’t you are?
✅ Answer: You are coming, aren’t you?
2. ❌ She likes coffee, doesn’t she likes?
✅ Answer: She likes coffee, doesn’t she?
3. ❌ He didn’t call, did he didn’t?
✅ Answer: He didn’t call, did he?
4. ❌ They are here, are they?
✅ Answer: They are here, aren’t they?
5. ❌ You finished, didn’t you finished?
✅ Answer: You finished, didn’t you?
✅ 5. Wh- Indirect Questions
1. ❌ Do you know where is he?
✅ Answer: Do you know where he is?
2. ❌ Can you tell me what does she want?
✅ Answer: Can you tell me what she wants?
3. ❌ Do you know why did he leave?
✅ Answer: Do you know why he left?
4. ❌ Can you explain how does it work?
✅ Answer: Can you explain how it works?
5. ❌ Do you remember where did we meet?
✅ Answer: Do you remember where we met?
✅ 6. Yes/No Indirect Questions
1. ❌ Do you know if is he coming?
✅ Answer: Do you know if he is coming?
2. ❌ Can you check whether is it open?
✅ Answer: Can you check whether it is open?
3. ❌ Do you know if did she call?
✅ Answer: Do you know if she called?
4. ❌ I wonder if is he ready?
✅ Answer: I wonder if he is ready.
5. ❌ Do you know if can he drive?
✅ Answer: Do you know if he can drive?
✅ 7. Negative Questions
1. ❌ Don’t you likes it?
✅ Answer: Don’t you like it?
2. ❌ Isn’t she go to work?
✅ Answer: Doesn’t she go to work?
3. ❌ Didn’t he went home?
✅ Answer: Didn’t he go home?
4. ❌ Aren’t you understand?
✅ Answer: Don’t you understand?
5. ❌ Isn’t he can swim?
✅ Answer: Can’t he swim?
✅ 8. Echo Questions
1. ❌ You did what you?
✅ Answer: You did what?
2. ❌ She said what did?
✅ Answer: She said what?
3. ❌ He bought how much it?
✅ Answer: He bought how much?
4. ❌ They went where did?
✅ Answer: They went where?
5. ❌ You are serious what?
✅ Answer: You are serious? / What?
✅ 9. Rhetorical Questions
1. ❌ Who cares does?
✅ Answer: Who cares?
2. ❌ Isn’t it is obvious?
✅ Answer: Isn’t it obvious?
3. ❌ Why we even try?
✅ Answer: Why do we even try?
4. ❌ What is the point is?
✅ Answer: What is the point?
5. ❌ Who doesn’t likes this?
✅ Answer: Who doesn’t like this?
✅ 10. Declarative Questions
1. ❌ You coming?
✅ Answer: You are coming?
2. ❌ Here she works?
✅ Answer: She works here?
3. ❌ They finish already?
✅ Answer: They finished already?
4. ❌ He said that.
✅ Answer: He said that?
5. ❌ You understand to me?
✅ Answer: You understand me?
✅ 11. Clarification Questions
1. ❌ What you mean?
✅ Answer: What do you mean?
2. ❌ Can you explain me?
✅ Answer: Can you explain that to me?
3. ❌ What means this?
✅ Answer: What does this mean?
4. ❌ You mean what?
✅ Answer: What do you mean?
5. ❌ Can repeat you?
✅ Answer: Can you repeat that?
✅ 12. Hypothetical Questions
1. ❌ What you would do if you win?
✅ Answer: What would you do if you won?
2. ❌ If you will go, what you do?
✅ Answer: If you went, what would you do?
3. ❌ What will you do if you would lose?
✅ Answer: What would you do if you lost?
4. ❌ If you can travel, where you go?
✅ Answer: If you could travel, where would you go?
5. ❌ What you do if you were rich?
✅ Answer: What would you do if you were rich?
✅ 13. Polite Questions
1. ❌ Can you to help me?
✅ Answer: Can you help me?
2. ❌ Would you mind to open the door?
✅ Answer: Would you mind opening the door?
3. ❌ Could you to tell me?
✅ Answer: Could you tell me?
4. ❌ Can you please helping me?
✅ Answer: Can you please help me?
5. ❌ Would you can help me?
✅ Answer: Could you help me?
✅ 14. Elliptical Questions
1. ❌ Coming you?
✅ Answer: Coming?
2. ❌ You are coming?
✅ Answer: Are you coming? / Coming?
3. ❌ Need you help?
✅ Answer: Need help?
4. ❌ Want you some?
✅ Answer: Want some?
5. ❌ Going where?
✅ Answer: Where are you going? / Where to?