Two Types of Questions
| Type | Expected answer | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/No questions | Yes or No | Do you like coffee? |
| Wh- questions | A piece of information | Where do you live? |
Forming Yes/No Questions
Invert the auxiliary verb and the subject.
| Tense | Statement → Question |
|---|---|
| Present simple | She works. → Does she work? / They play. → Do they play? |
| Past simple | He went. → Did he go? |
| Present continuous | She is sleeping. → Is she sleeping? |
| Will future | They will come. → Will they come? |
| To be (no other aux) | He is ready. → Is he ready? |
Forming Wh- Questions
Wh- word + auxiliary + subject + base verb?
| Wh- word | Asks about |
|---|---|
| What | things, actions |
| Where | place |
| When | time |
| Why | reason |
| Who | person (subject) |
| Whom | person (object) |
| Which | choice |
| How | manner / degree |
| How much/many | quantity |
| How long | duration |
| How often | frequency |
Where do you live? Why did she leave? How long have you been here?
Subject Questions
When who or what is the subject, there is NO auxiliary inversion:
| Normal question | Subject question |
|---|---|
| Who did you call? (you = subject) | Who called you? (who = subject → no did) |
- 1
Identify the tense and auxiliary
to be / do-does-did / will / have / etc. - 2
Move the auxiliary before the subject
Do you… / Is she… / Did they… - 3
For Wh- questions, add Wh- word at the front
Where do you…? - 4
Check the main verb is in base form
Did she GO (not went).
Make a question about the underlined word: She lives in [Rome].
Where does she live?
Real world: job interview
"Can you tell us a little about yourself?" "How long have you been working in this field?" "Why do you want to work for our company?" "What are your main strengths?"
Real world: customer service / survey
"Would you recommend our service to a friend?" "How satisfied are you with your experience today?" "Is there anything we could improve?" "Did you find everything you were looking for?"
Practice Problems
Form a yes/no question: They played tennis yesterday.
Show answer
Form a Wh- question about the underlined part: He went to [the market].
Show answer
Form a yes/no question: She is cooking dinner.
Show answer
Form a subject question: Someone knocked on the door.