Who
Identify the characters in the reading and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines between the characters and describe to yourself the relationship between the characters.
What
Identify the events or actions and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines between the events or actions to show the relationship between them.
Draw connecting lines between the characters and the events as you describe to yourself the relationship between them.
Where
Identify all the places in the reading and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines between places, events and characters as you describe to yourself the relationship among them.
When
Identify all the time factors in the reading and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines between time factors, places, events and characters as you describe to yourself the relationship among them.
Why
Identify causes for events of actions and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines from the causes to effects on the characters, events, places, or times as you describe to yourself the relationship among them.
How
Identify the way events took place and make a list of them.
Draw connecting lines between the way events took place and other factors as you describe to yourself the relationship among them
Yes No Question :
Definition: An interrogative construction that expects an answer of "yes" or "no." Contrast with wh- question.
Examples and Observations:
Homer: Are you an angel?
Moe: Yes, Homer. All us angels wear Farrah slacks.
(The Simpsons)
"Directing a movie is a very overrated job, we all know it. You just have to say 'yes' or 'no.' What else do you do? Nothing. 'Maestro, should this be red?' Yes. 'Green?' No. 'More extras?' Yes. 'More lipstick?' No. Yes. No. Yes. No. That's directing." (Judi Dench as Liliane La Fleur in Nine, 2009).
Principal McGee: Are you just going to stand there all day?
Sonny: No ma'am. I mean, yes ma'am. I mean, no ma'am.
Principal McGee: Well, which is it?
Sonny: Um, no ma'am.
(Eve Arden and Michael Tucci in Grease, 1978)
The yes-no question is found in three varieties: the inverted question, the typical exemplar of this kind; the inverted question offering an alternative (which may require more than a simple yes or no for an answer); and the tag question:
Are you going? (inversion)
Are you staying or going? (inversion with alternative)
You're going, aren't you? (tag)
The inverted question merely inverts the subject and the first verb of the verb phrase of the corresponding statement pattern when that verb is either a modal or an auxiliary verb or the verb be and sometimes have. The question itself may be positive or negative:
She is leaving on Wednesday.
Is she leaving on Wednesday?
. . . A positive question appears to be neutral as to the expected response--yes or no. However, a negative question seems to hold out the distinct possibility of a negative response.
Are you going? Yes/No.
Aren't you going? No.
(Ronald Wardhaugh, Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Approach. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003)
"There are many different ways to format questions on a survey. Let's say you want to measure people's attitudes toward premarital sex. You could ask a simple yes-no question:
Are you in favor of premarital sex?
___ Yes ___ No
Or you could use a Likert-type scale where the question is phrased as a statement." (Annabel Ness Evans and Bryan J. Rooney, Methods in Psychological Research, 2nd ed. Sage, 2011) Also Known As: polar interrogative, polar question, bipolar question
Tag Question :
Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences – particularly in spoken English. There are lots of different question tags but the rules are not difficult to learn.
Positive/negative
If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative ….
He’s a doctor, isn’t he?
You work in a bank, don’t you?
... and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.
You haven’t met him, have you?
She isn’t coming, is she?
With auxiliary verbs
The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’) then the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.
They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?
They weren’t here, were they?
He had met him before, hadn’t he?
This isn’t working, is it?
Without auxiliary verbs
If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.
I said that, didn’t I?
You don’t recognise me, do you?
She eats meat, doesn’t she?
With modal verbs
If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal verb.
They couldn’t hear me, could they?
You won’t tell anyone, will you?
With ‘I am’
Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. The question tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’
I’m the fastest, aren’t I?
Intonation
Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the answer or simply asking for agreement when we already know the answer.
If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation. Our tone of voice rises.
If we already know the answer we use falling intonation. Our tone of voice falls.
