【Abstract】As a kind of important input， teacher questions play a significant role in classroom teaching. This study used qualitative research approach to figure out the specific functions of display and referential questions in real teaching context.
　　【Key words】display questions； referential questions； functions
　　1. Literature Review
　　1.1 The Definition and Types of Teacher Questions
　　According to the Longman Dictionary of English Language， it defines teacher questions as a command or interrogative expression used to elicit information or a response， or to test knowledge. Generally， there are three categories：1） open and closed questions；2） display and referential questions；and 3） yes/no questions. For display questions， the teacher already knows the answers. They are asked in order to check if the students know the answers；for referential questions， the teacher does not know the answers and the students answer the questions in order to give the teacher information （Tsui， 1995）.
　　1.2 Functions of Teacher Questions
　　Teacher questions serve different functions in English teaching. They can check learners’ understanding and elicit information （Nunan