5W + 1H, Yes/No Question and Tag Questions

5W + 1H

The Basic ApproachThis approach seeks to answer six basic questions in gathering
information about nearly any subject: Who, What, When, Where, Why,
and How. Sometimes, depending on the context, a second "H" might be
used: How Much.

In journalism, news story writing requires that the questions to be
answered take a basic form:

• Who is it about?
  
• What is it about?
  
• When did it happen?
  
• Where did it happen?
  
• Why did it happen?
  
• How did it happen?
  

Applying the 5W1H framework to other types of writing or investigation
takes some interpretation. The order in which the answers to the
questions are presented may vary, but the "what" is usually addressed
first.

What

 In journalism, the "what" identifies an event and is often stated in the
"lead (or lede)," the first paragraph of a news story. The "what" is the primary subject, the reason the information is being gathered and presented. Apart from journalism, it may be stated in a title and in a purpose statement. The "what" may need to be defined, a
process that may comprise the remainder of a document.

 example : What do you do? I am an engineer

 

Who

 A news story identifies who an event involves. The "who" may be part of
the lede, and could be the reason the story is news worthy. In other contexts, the "who" identifies the person(s) or group(s) the "what" concerns. It might describe the audience of a document, or those who are affected by a policy, process or procedure.

 example : Who's that? That's Nancy.

 

When

 A key part of a news story is describing when an event happened. Answering the "when" indicates any time-sensitivity related to the "what." It may be part of an instruction regarding the proper point at which an action should be taken. Sometimes it may be part of an "If...then"
scenario of conditional action.

example : When do you go to work? At 7:00

 

Where 

A news story reports the location at which an event took place. The "where" describes a geographical or physical location of importance to the "what." At times, the where may be less important than other factors.

 example : Where do you live? In Boston

Why

 The "why" is usually the most neglected of the questions in the framework. News stories often lack information from authoritative sources to explain the "why."In other contexts, the "why" may be considered irrelevant, particularly when describing a policy or procedure decreed by an organizational authority. Efforts to determine and explain the "why" may help those affected be
more accepting of any change the "what" requires.

example : Why do you sleep early? Because I've got to get up early

How

 For journalists, determining how an event took place may be nearly as
challenging as explaining the "why," although more effort is usually put
into satisfying the question. When describing policies, processes or procedures, the "how" may be the most important part of the effort. A considerable appetite for understanding how to do something can be found across audiences. Sometimes effort focuses on the "what" when
more work might be devoted to explaining the "how."

example :   How do you go? By car

Yes / No questions

In English, there are two basic types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh- 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
Are elections next year?		Elections next year?
Does he want to stay?		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.

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

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.

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).

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.

Tag Questions
in a tag question, the speaker makes a statement, but is not completely certain of the truth, so he or she uses a tag question to verify the previous statement. Sentences using tag questions should have the main clause separated from the tag by a comma. The sentence will always end a question mark.Example:
1. There are only twenty-eight days in February, aren’t there?
2. It’s raining now, isn’t it?
3. The boys don’t have class tomorrow, do they?
4. You and i talked with the professor yesterday, didn’t we?
5. Jill and Joe have been to Mexico, haven’t they?

Reference: 1, TOEFL: Preparation Guide by Michael A. Pyle, M. A. and Mary Ellen Munoz Page, M. A.

ref:

http://www.davebaldwinconsulting.com/5W1H.html

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/learn-english/grammar/questions-yes-no/