English Questions: Yes/No vs Wh-

In the English language there are two main categories of questions:

1. Yes/No Questions

These questions start with an auxiliary verb or the verb «to be» in the present or past simple. They are called Yes/No questions because in general terms they can be answered with a simple Yes or No. Let’s see some examples:

Did you go to the party last night? Yes, I did. 

Are you ready to go? No, not yet. 

Were you at the cinema when I called you? Yes, I was.

The general structure of these questions is the following:

AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB + COMPLEMENTS?

or

VERB «TO BE» + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENTS?

2. Wh- Questions

These questions start with a Wh- question word (i.e. what, which, where, when, etc.) and, as an exception, How. This type of question is also called «Open Answer Question«, because their answer requires something different from Yes or No. Take a look at the examples below:

Where were you when I called you? I was at the cinema. 

How did you get home last night? A friend gave me a lift. 

The typical structure for these questions is the following:

QUESTION WORD (Wh-) + AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB + COMPLEMENTS?

or

QUESTION WORD (Wh-) + VERB «TO BE» + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENTS?

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