Yes/No Questions

Yes/No questions are also called closed questions because there are only two possible responses: Yes or No. When forming a Yes / No question, it must include one of these verbs: BE, DO, HAVE, or a modal verb. It is impossible to ask a Yes / No question without one of these verbs.

✅ Correct	❌ Incorrect
Does he want to stay?	~~Elections next year?~~
How are you?	~~He want to stay?~~
Have the boys eaten?	~~The boys eaten?~~
Can the dog swim?	~~The dog swim?~~

Use the verb BE to ask Yes/No questions about the identity or description of a person, place, or thing

❓ Question	✅ Response
Am I your friend?	Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you are my friend.
Is this a good restaurant?	No. / No, it is not. / No, it is not a good restaurant.
Are these islands Greek?	Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these islands are Greek.
Was his idea interesting?	No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his idea was not interesting.
Were they happy?	Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they were happy.

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Note: The response can be short (Yes. / No.), or long: Yes or No followed by the subject and verb.

Use the verb BE with a preposition to ask Yes/No questions about a present or past location

❓ Question	✅ Response
Am I at the correct location?	No. / No, you aren’t.
Are the keys under the books?	No. / No, they are not.
Was his house on an island?	Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were the demonstrations in the center of town?	No. / No, they weren’t.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes/No question about a current activity or situation

This requires the present progressive: BE + (verb+ing).

❓ Question	✅ Response
Am I going with you and Tom?	Yes. / Yes, you are.
Is she working today?	No. / No, she isn’t.
Are we seeing a play tomorrow?	Yes. / Yes, we are.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a past activity or situation.

This requires the past progressive: Was/Were + (verb+ing).

❓ Question	✅ Response
Was it raining?	Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were they playing?	No. / No, they weren’t.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question with the passive voice

❓ Question	✅ Response
Is gold mined in Canada?	Yes. / Yes it is.
Are flowers grown here?	No. / No, they are not.
Was the book read?	Yes. / Yes, it was.

Use the verb HAVE to ask if somebody has done something or if some action has taken place

❓ Question	✅ Response
Has your brother left?	No. / No, he hasn’t.
Have you driven before?	Yes. / Yes, I have.
Has the party started?	Yes. / Yes, it has.

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Note: These Yes / No questions use the present perfect (HAVE + past participle).

Use the verb DO to ask Yes / No questions in order to obtain facts about people, places, or things

❓ Question	✅ Response
Do they smoke?	No. / No, they don’t.
Does it rain here?	Yes. / Yes, it does.
Did the key work?	No. / No, it didn’t.

Use modal verbs to ask Yes / No questions about possibilities or uncertainties

❓ Question	✅ Response
Can we stay?	Yes. / Yes, we can. / Yes, we can stay.
Could this be true?	Yes. / Yes, it could (be true).
Should they stop?	No. / No, they shouldn’t (stop).
May I help you?	Yes. / Yes you may (help me).

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Remember: When asking Yes / No questions with DO or a modal verb, the main verb remains in the base form (without to).

✅ Correct	❌ Incorrect
Do you drink coffee?	~~Do you to drink coffee?~~
Does she work here?	~~Does she to work here?~~
Can I go with you?	~~Can I to go with you?~~
Should we email her?	~~Should we to email her?~~

However, if there are two verbs that follow DO, the second verb remains in the infinitive (with to).

✅ Correct	❌ Incorrect
Do you want to drink coffee?	~~Do you want drink coffee?~~
Does she like to work here?	~~Does she like work here?~~
Did you need to go home?	~~Did you need go home?~~

Note that there are several ways to answer Yes/No questions, especially when using contractions.

❓ Question	✅ Response
Is he busy?	No.
	No, he isn’t.
	No, he’s not.
	No, he is not.
	No, he isn’t busy.
	No, he’s not busy.
	No, he is not busy.

References

Yes/No questions (closed questions). (2014, April 18). Lawless English. https://www.lawlessenglish.com/learn-english/grammar/questions-yes-no/