Yes/No Questions in English

Yes/No Questions in English (How to Form Them Correctly)

Every day, we ask simple questions like: Do you work here? Are you ready? Have you finished? Can you help me? These are called yes/no questions because the answer is usually: Yes or No. They may look simple, but many English learners still make mistakes with word order, auxiliary verbs, or tenses — especially in exams like B2 First or C1 Advanced.

In this lesson, you will learn what yes/no questions are, how to form them correctly, how they work in different tenses and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

What is a yes/no question?

A yes/no question is a question that can be answered with yes or no.

For example:

Do you like coffee? → Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

Are they coming? → Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

Have you finished? → Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.

The basic rule

To make a yes/no question in English, we usually use:

Auxiliary / modal / BE + subject + main verb

In other words we invert the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Compare:

You are tired. → Are you tired?

They have finished. → Have they finished?

She can drive. → Can she drive?

Yes/no questions in different tenses

Let’s see how this works in the most important tenses.

Present Simple

We use do / does:

Do / Does + subject + base verb

You work here. → Do you work here?

She likes it. → Does she like it?

They live nearby. → Do they live nearby?

Answers:

Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t.

Past Simple

We use did:

Did + subject + base verb

You finished. → Did you finish?

They called you. → Did they call you?

Important: the verb goes back to the base form:

❌ Did you went?

✅ Did you go?

Present Continuous

Am / Is / Are + subject + -ing

You are working. → Are you working?

She is sleeping. → Is she sleeping?

Past Continuous

Was / Were + subject + -ing

They were waiting. → Were they waiting?

He was driving. → Was he driving?

Present Perfect

Have / Has + subject + past participle

You have finished. → Have you finished?

She has been there. → Has she been there?

Future (Will)

Will + subject + verb

You will help me. → Will you help me?

They will come. → Will they come?

Be going to

Am / Is / Are + subject + going to

You are going to leave. → Are you going to leave?

She is going to call. → Is she going to call?

Yes/no questions with modal verbs

Modal verbs work like auxiliaries:

Modal + subject + verb

• Can you swim?
• Should we go now?
• Must I finish this today?
• Would you like some coffee?

The verb “BE” (special case)

When BE is the main verb, we don’t use do/does/did.

You are ready. → Are you ready?

He was angry. → Was he angry?

Common mistakes

❌ You like coffee?

✅ Do you like coffee?

❌ Did you went home?

✅ Did you go home?

❌ Are you like this film?

✅ Do you like this film?

❌ You are tired? (spoken English OK, but not correct for exams)

✅ Are you tired?

Short answers

We usually answer yes/no questions like this:

Do you work here? → Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

Is she coming? → Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.

Have they finished? → Yes, they have. / No, they haven’t.

Not:

❌ Yes, I work.

❌ No, she not.

Remember:

If there is no auxiliary in the sentence → use do / does / did.

If there is an auxiliary or modal → invert it.

This rule alone will save you many points in Cambridge exams – Use of English, Writing, and Speaking.

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