Learn English Grammar

What are closed questions?

Closed questions demand a yes/no, true/false or right/wrong answer.

When we want to ask yes/no questions we can use do/does, am/is/are or have/has as question words.

• We use do or have or am with personal pronouns (I).
• We use does or has or is with third person singular pronouns (he, she, it) and with singular noun forms.
• We use do or have or are with other personal pronouns (you, we they) and with plural noun forms.

Yes/no questions with the verb be are created by moving the verb be to the beginning of the sentence. In other words the subject and the verb change their positions in statements and questions.

Statement:	I am from England.	Question:	Am I from England?

When forming questions in the present continuous tense use the verb to be.

I	am	speaking English.	=	Am	I	speaking English?
You	are	speaking English.	=	Are	you	speaking English?
He	is	speaking English.	=	Is	he	speaking English?
She	is	speaking English.	=	Is	she	speaking English?
It	is	speaking English.	=	Is	it	speaking English?
We	are	speaking English.	=	Are	we	speaking English?
They	are	speaking English.	=	Are	they	speaking English?

When forming questions in the present simple tense use the verb be, do, or have. The auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.

To Be

If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is a form of be , simply switch the positions of the subject and verb.

I	am	English.	=	Am	I	English?
You	are	English.	=	Are	you	English?
He	is	English.	=	Is	he	English?
She	is	English.	=	Is	she	English?
It	is	English.	=	Is	it	English?
We	are	English.	=	Are	we	English?
They	are	English.	=	Are	they	English?

To Do

If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is do, simply switch the positions of the subject and verb.

I	do.	=	Do	I?
You	do.	=	Do	you?
He	does.	=	Does	he?
She	does.	=	Does	she?
It	does.	=	Does	it?
We	do.	=	Do	we?
They	do.	=	Do	they?

To Have

If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is have, (with or without got to show possession), switch the positions of the subject and verb.

I	have	(got) an English book.	=	Have	I	(got) an English book?
You	have	(got) an English book	=	Have	you	(got) an English book?
He	has	(got) an English book	=	Has	he	(got) an English book?
She	has	(got) an English book	=	Has	she	(got) an English book?
It	has	(got) an English book	=	Has	it	(got) an English book?
We	have	(got) an English book	=	Have	we	(got) an English book?
They	have	(got) an English book	=	Have	they	(got) an English book?

I	have breakfast every morning.	=	Do	I	have breakfast every morning?
You	have breakfast every morning.	=	Do	you	have breakfast every morning?
He	has breakfast every morning.	=	Does	he	have breakfast every morning?
She	has breakfast every morning.	=	Does	she	have breakfast every morning?
It	has breakfast every morning.	=	Does	it	have breakfast every morning?
We	have breakfast every morning.	=	Do	we	have breakfast every morning?
They	have breakfast every morning.	=	Do	they	have breakfast every morning?

If there is one verb, and the verb is not a form of be, the process is more complex. To form a question add the correct form of the verb 'to do' to the beginning. Here there is no subject verb inversion.

I	speak English.	=	Do	I	speak English?
You	speak English.	=	Do	you	speak English?
He	speaks English.	=	Does	he	speak English?
She	speaks English.	=	Does	she	speak English?
It	speaks English.	=	Does	it	speak English?
We	speak English.	=	Do	we	speak English?
They	speak English.	=	Do	they	speak English?

 

Answering a Closed Question

For example:

Q: "Are you from England?"

You can answer with "Yes" or "No".

You can also answer closed questions with a slightly longer answer "Yes, I am." or "No, I'm not."

You can also answer closed questions in the long form "Yes, I am from England." or "No, I'm not from England."

Finally, you can be mean when answering closed questions.

For example:

Q. "Have you got the time?"

A. "Yes, thank you."