Questions in English often use forms of the main auxiliary verbs: to be - to have - to do.
When asking questions, it is important to focus on word order and to remember to use an auxiliary form.
Let's do a quick review of some question forms
Question Types
Yes/ No questions: These questions expect an answer with at least 'Yes' or 'No'. They can also be called 'closed' questions.
Examples:
- Are you on holiday? Yes (I am)
- Have you been here long? No (only 2 days)
- Do you like chocolate? Yes (I do) / No (I don't)
Yes/No questions using the Present Simple and Past Simple
We use the auxiliary forms do/does or did when asking questions in the Present or Past Simple.
Examples:
- Did you visit Scotland in September? Yes (I did)
- Do they work hard at school? No (they don't)
- Does she study a lot? Yes (she usually does)
* All other tense forms use inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb when asking a question.
- Have you had dinner yet? No (not yet)
- Are you going to Paris in June? Yes (I am)
WH-questions
Wh-questions use the question words: what, when, which, who, whose, why and how etc. These words are at the beginning of the sentence. Wh-questions are called 'open' questions because there are many ways of answering them.
Examples:
- Where are they going? To the supermarket
- Why have you been working so hard? Because my deadline is tomorrow
- When did she arrive? Three days ago
- Who is he seeing tomorrow? His boss
- What are we doing for your birthday? Let's eat out
Watch the video for an excellent way to remember how to ask questions
Use the acronym QWASM to help you make questions
