Polar Questions
Polar Questions are ones which present the recipient with two contrasting options for their answer, typically an affirmative and a negative. The most common type of Polar Questions is Yes/No Questions. The rest can be thought of as variations of Yes/No Questions. Here, we’ll cover two of those other types: Negative Questions and Choice Questions.
Yes/No Questions
The most rudimentary of question forms, Yes/No Questions form the basis of Negative Questions and Choice Questions, particularly because they introduce ‘subject-auxiliary inversion’, which means the 1st auxiliary verb comes before the subject (unlike in declarative sentences).
Negative Questions
When we expect or want the answer to be affirmative, we might ask a Negative Question. These can be used to lead the recipient to a particular answer, or they could be used to express surprise if a situation seems to go the opposite of what we want or expect. If it’s the latter, we may be asking for clarity or an explanation, or we may even be trying to change the other person’s mind.
To form a negative question, simply add ‘not’ or ‘negative’ to a Yes/No Question. For example: Don’t you want to take an umbrella? which might be a suggestion if it’s raining. Or Have you never been to the zoo? which might express surprise after the recipient states that they have never seen an elephant.
Choice Questions
Also known as ‘Alternative Questions’ or ‘Either-Or Questions’, these present the recipient with specific alternatives for the possible answers. They differ from other Polar Questions in that the answers are not ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
To make an alternative question, start with a Yes/No question. For example: Would you like chocolate ice cream? The question should contain one of the alternatives. Next, add ‘or’ and then second alternative. This can come either at the end or immediately after the first alternative. For example: Would you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream? The two alternatives (in the example: ‘chocolate’ and ‘vanilla’) can be any part of speech, or even clauses.
For short answers, the recipient can simply state the alternative of their choice; no other words are necessary. For longer answers, restructure the sentence as a statement and only include the chosen alternative (For example: I would like vanilla ice cream.)
The other way that Choice Questions can be different from other Polar Questions is that they can offer more than two alternatives, in which case the options would come in a list in the question.
Tag Questions
Tag Questions are a type of Polar Question because they prompt one of two contrasting answers, typically ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Similar to Negative Questions, Tag Questions are made with the expectation of a certain answer in mind.
The bulk of these sentences are constructed like declarative sentences (and therefore do not undergo subject-auxiliary inversion), but they have an additional tag at the end, which changes the sentences into its question form. The tag itself, like other Polar Questions, does undergo subject-auxiliary inversion.
Visit the Question Tags page to learn more.