Negative Yes/No Questions

A yes-no question is a question whose answer can only be 'yes' or 'no'. For example, 'Is he happy?' 'Yes, he is' / 'No, he's not'.

Negative yes-no questions are question forms that begin with a negative helping verb such as aren't, isn't, can't, don't, didn't.

We usually use this type of question to check something we believe or expect to be true.

Turn the negative statement into a negative question.

When answering negative yes-no questions, the answer is exactly the same as for positive yes-no questions: We answer “no” when the answer is negative, and “yes” when the answer is positive.

Isn’t he happy?

→ No, he isn’t.

→ Yes, he is.

We use negative questions to show surprise, in exclamations and when we expect the listener to agree with us.