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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Can someone give a clear, concise definition of what "polar questions" are?

Greetings:

Can someone give a clear, concise definition of what "polar questions" are in the English Language? I think that they have something to do with question words like why, where, how, what, when but I want to be sure. Also, why exactly are they called "polar" questions? Thank you and I looking forward to your responses.
  

Top answer

Polar questions are ones to which the expected answer is the equivalent of 'yes' or 'no' (and which are thus sometimes called 'yes-no questions'). They contrast with content questions , which contain an interrogative word meaning something like 'who' or 'where', in which some more specific answer is expected; content questions in English are often called 'wh-questions'.

— Mister Micawber

  • Polar questions are ones to which the expected answer is the equivalent of 'yes' or 'no' (and which are thus sometimes called 'yes-no questions').
  • They contrast with content questions , which contain an interrogative word meaning something like 'who' or 'where', in which some more specific answer is expected; content questions in English are often called 'wh-questions'.
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1 Answers
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Polar questions are ones to which the expected answer is the equivalent of 'yes' or 'no' (and which are thus sometimes called 'yes-no questions'). They contrast with content questions, which contain an interrogative word meaning something like 'who' or 'where', in which some more specific answer is expected; content questions in English are often called 'wh-questions'.
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