Talk:Asking questions in English

Well, yes and no
We say:


 * Likewise, not all questions beginning with "Did/Are you...?" etc. lead to a simple yes/no answer. One way of getting students to respond more fully is by asking, for instance, "Did you..., or were you...?"

Surely any question beginning: Did you..., or were you...? could potentially lead to a response:  "Yes, I did." or "No, I wasn't." I agree that they don't have to, and one could create follow up questions, but "Did you ..." will certainly not automatically lead to a fuller response. Should this read, "Why were you ..." or something of that nature?--Admin 11:06, 8 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Did you stay in hotels, or were you camping? Did you stay with your in-laws or did you stay in a hotel? Is that a good idea or would it be better to...? The "or" requires more than a simple yes/no... and I reckon it would be downright wrong to answer "Yes" or even "Yes, I did/was" in the first two examples, and a more natural response for the third example would be "I think...". Gotta dash.--Technopat 11:22, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree that if you add "or" then it's no longer polar. I had read your "or" to mean.  "Did you (do x)?" or "Were you (with friends)?"  In other words two different and seperate polar questions.  I now see that you were suggesting an "either/or" question.  While I agree that this should have been clear to me from your punctuation it is potentially confusing and perhaps needs to be clarified.--Admin 11:29, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
 * So if it ain't crystal clear to someone with the years of teaching experience of our Great an' Wise Admin, imagine how clear it would be for a rookie teacher :) - am off to fix it. --Technopat 13:25, 8 July 2009 (UTC)