yes / no questionها سوالاتی هستند که با بله یا خیر یا yes , no پاسخ داده می‌شوند. به جملات زیر دقت کنید:
They are working hard.
They will be working hard.
They had worked hard.
They have been working hard.
They might have been working hard.
برای ساختن سوالات بله یا خیر کافی است بخش اول فعل را قبل از فاعل قرار دهیم. مثلا:
Are they working hard?
Will they be working hard?
Had they worked hard?
Have they been working hard?
Might they have been working hard?
جملات منفی
برای منفی کردن جملات، not را بعد از بخش اول فعل قرار می‌دهیم:
They are not working hard.
They will not be working hard.
They had not worked hard.
They have not been working hard.
They might not have been working hard.
در گفتار انگلیسی، اغلب کلمات را به صورت مخفف به کار می‌بریم، در نتیجه not را به شکل n’t در می‌آوریم.
They aren’t working hard.
They won’t be working hard.
They hadn’t been working hard.
They haven’t been working hard.
They mightn’t have been working hard.
سوالات و جملات منفی حال ساده و گذشته ساده
برای ساخت سوالات بله یا خیر در حال یا گذشته ساده، برای تمامی فعل‌ها به جز be و have از do ،does یا did استفاده می‌کنیم. برای مثال:
| .They work hard | > | ?Do they work hard |
| .He works hard | > | ?Does he work hard |
| .They worked hard | > | ?Did they work hard |
برای منفی کردن جملات در زمان حال یا گذشته ساده، برای تمامی افعال به جز be و have از do / does + not یا did + not استفاده می‌کنیم:
| .They work hard | > | .They do not (don’t) work hard |
| .He works hard | > | .He does not (doesn’t) work hard |
| .They worked hard | > | .They did not (didn’t) work hard |
در جدول‌های زیر، حالت سوالی و حالت منفی فعل be در زمان حال ساده و گذشته ساده آورده شده است.
| Positives | Questions | Negatives |
| I am (I’m) | ?Am I | I am not (I’m not) |
| He is (he’s) | ?Is he | He is not (He’s not / He isn’t) |
| She is (she’s) | ?Is she | She is not (She’s not / She isn’t) |
| It is (it’s) | ?Is it | It is not (It’s not / It isn’t) |
| You are (you’re) | ?Are you | You are not (You’re not / You aren’t) |
| They are (they’re) | ?Are they | They are not (They’re not / They aren’t) |
| Positives | Questions | Negatives |
| I was | ?Was I | I was not (I wasn’t) |
| He was | ?Was he | He was not (He wasn’t) |
| She was | ?Was she | She was not (She wasn’t) |
| It was | ?Was it | It was not (It wasn’t) |
| You were | ?Were you | You were not (You weren’t) |
| They were | ?Were they | They were not (They weren’t) |
با فعل have به دو روش مختلف می‌توانیم جملات سوالی یا منفی بسازیم. معمولا از do / does یا did استفاده می‌کنیم:
?Do you have plenty of time
?Does she have enough money
?Did they have any useful advice
.I don’t have much time
.She doesn’t have any money
.They didn’t have any advice to offer
همچنین می‌توانیم با قرار دادن have / has یا had قبل از فاعل جملات سوالی بسازیم:
?Have you plenty of time
?Has she enough money
?Had they any useful advice
و برای منفی کردن از این قبیل جملات کافی است not یا n’t را بعد از have / has یا had قرار دهیم:
.I haven’t much time
.She hasn’t any money
.He hadn’t any advice to offer