Word-order-in-English-questions

1. Questions without question words and be

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

Sentence: You are from Germany.
Question: Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No. That's why questions without question words are also called YES/NO-questions.

2. Questions with question words and be

Question word	Verb	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you	from?	I am from Stuttgart. I'm from Stuttgart.
What	is	your name?		My name is Peter.
How	are	Pat and Sue?		They are fine. They're fine.

Questions with question words are also called WH-questions.

3. Questions without question words and have

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Have	you	got	a cat?	Yes,	I	have.
Have	you	got	a new car?	No,	we	haven't.
Has	your brother	got	a bike?	Yes,	he	has.
Do	you	have	a cat?	Yes,	I	do.
Do	you	have	a new car?	No,	we	don't.
Does	your brother	have	a bike?	Yes,	he	does.

4. Questions with question words and have

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	have	you	got	your ruler?	I've got it in my pencil case.
Where	do	you	have	your ruler?	I have it in my pencil case.

5. Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do	you	read	books?	Yes, No,	I I	do. don't.
Does	Peter	play	football?	Yes,	he	does.

6. Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	do	you	play	on your computer?	I play games on my computer.
When	does	your mother	go	to work?	She goes to work at 6 o'clock.

7. Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Did	Max	play	football?	Yes, No,	he he	did. didn't.

BUT:

to be	Subject	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Were	you	in Leipzig last week?	Yes, No,	I I	was. wasn't.

8. Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	did	you	play	yesterday evening?	I played computer games.

BUT:

Question word	to be	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	were	you	yesterday?	I was at the cinema.

9. Subject question

Question word	Verb	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest
Who	runs	to the shop?	Peter	runs	to the shop.

10. Object question

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Who	did	Mandy	phone	last Monday?	Mandy phoned her uncle.

NOTE!

Subject question	Object question
Who phoned John?	Who did John phone?

How do we form questions in Passive voice?

Questions in Passive are formed with to be and the past participle *.

1. Questions without questions words in Passive (Simple Present)

Form of be	Subject	past participle	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Is	the test	written	in room 311?	Yes, No, No,	it it it	is. is not. isn't.
Are	grapes	grown	in California?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	are. are not. aren't.

II. Questions with questions words in Passive (Simple Present)

Question word	Form of be	Subject	past participle	Rest	Answer
Where	is	the test	written?		The test is written in room 311.
Why	are	grapes	grown	in California?	Grapes are grown in California because it's warm and sunny.

3. Questions without questions words in Passive (Simple Past)

Form of be	Subject	past participle	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Was	the book	taken	to the classroom?	Yes, No, No,	it it it	was. was not. wasn't.
Were	the students	taught	at home?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	were. were not. weren't.

4. Questions with question words in Passive (Simple Past)

Question word	Form of be	Subject	past participle	Rest	Answer
Where	was	the book	taken?		The book was taken to the classroom.
Why	were	the students	taught	at home?	The students were taught at home because the school was closed.

5. Other tenses

Here are some more examples in other tenses. Let's start with the simple forms:

Tense	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
Present Perfect	Has	the house	been built?
Past Perfect	Had	the house	been built?
will-future	Will	the house	be built?
going to-future	Is	the house	going to be built?
Future Perfect	Will	the house	have been built?
Conditional	Would	the house	be built?
Conditional Perfect	Would	the house	have been built?

And here are two progessive forms:

Tense	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
Present Progressive	Is	the house	being built?
Past Progressive	Was	the house	being built?

1. Questions without question words in the going to-future

Auxiliary	Subject	going to	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Are	you	going to	watch	TV tonight?	Yes, No,	I I	am. am not.
Is	Hillary	going to	read	a book over the weekend?	Yes, No, No,	she she she	is. is not. isn't.

2. Questions with question words in the going to-future

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	going to	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you	going to	spend	your holidays?	I am going to spend my holidays in Italy.
What	is	Frank	going to	have	for dinner?	He is going to have a pizza.

► Use is with the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), am with the 1st person singular (I) and in all other persons are.

Use going to and the infinitive after the subject in all persons.

1. Questions without question words in the Past Progressive

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Were	you	reading	books?	Yes, No, No,	I I I	was. was not. wasn't.
Was	Peter	playing	football?	Yes, No, No,	he he he	was. was not. wasn't.
Were	they	singing	a song?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	were. were not. weren't.

2. Questions with question words in the Past Progressive

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	were	you	doing	yesterday evening?	I was working on my computer.
Where	was	Diana	going	at ten last night?	She was going to a concert.
Why	were	they	carrying	the buckets?	They were carrying the buckets because they wanted to clean the car.

► Use was with the 1st and 3rd person singular (I, he, she, it) and in all other persons were.

Add -ing to the infinitive.

Questions in the Present Perfect

1. Questions without question words in the Present Perfect

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Have	you	done	the shopping?	Yes, No, No,	I I I	have. have not. haven't.
Has	Jane	played	basketball?	Yes, No, No,	she she she	has. has not. hasn't.
Have	they	been	to Canada?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	have. have not. haven't.

2. Questions with question words in the Present Perfect

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
How often	have	you	tried	to download the file?	I have tried to download the file three times.
How long	have	they	lived	in Ottawa?	They have lived in Ottawa since 2009.
Where	has	he	been?		He has been at home.

► Use has with the 3rd person singular (he, she, it) and in all other persons have.

Use the verb in the past participle:

regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs

1. Questions without question words in the Present Progressive

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Are	they	writing	e-mails?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	are. are not. aren't.
Is	Peter	playing	football?	Yes, No, No,	he he he	is. is not. isn't.
Are	they	singing	a song?	Yes, No, No,	they they they	are. are not. aren't.

2 Questions with question words in the Present Progressive

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	are	you	doing	right now?	I am working on my computer.
Where	is	Tyler	going?		He is going to the pet shop.
Why	are	they	carrying	the buckets?	They are carrying the buckets because they want to clean their bikes.

► Use is with the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), am with the 1st person singular (I) and in all other persons are.

Add -ing to the infinitive.

1 Questions without question words in the will-future

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Will	you	lend	him the book?	Yes, No, No,	I I I	will. will not. won't.
Will	Jane	arrive	on time?	Yes, No, No,	she she she	will. will not. won't.

2. Questions with question words in the will-future

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
When	will	you	send	me the e-mail?	I will send you the e-mail tonight.
What	will	we	need	for the party?	We will need cola, sandwiches and crisps.

► Use will every time regardless the subject.

The verb is used in the infinitive.

Question tags in English

1. Use

frequently used in spoken English when you want someone to agree or disagree

2. Form

positive statement → question tag negative → You are Tom, aren't you?
negative statement → question tag positive → He isn't Joe, is he?

3. Examples

3.1. with auxiliaries

You've got a car, haven't you?

3.2. without auxiliaries (don't, doesn't, didn't)

They play football on Sundays, don't they?
She plays football on Sundays, doesn't she?
They played football on Sundays, didn't they?

Questions tags are used to keep a conversation going. You can agree or refuse to a sentence with a question tag.

Affirmative sentence: He is from Germany, isn't he?
Negative sentence: He isn't from Germany, is he?

Possible answers are Yes or No. If you use Yes, do not use contracted forms. If you use No, contracted form are possible.

Yes, he is.
No, he is not. or No, he isn't. or No, he's not.

4. Special points

4.1. Although the negative word not is not in the sentence, the sentence can be negative. Then we use the positive question tag.

He never goes out with his dog, does he?

4.2. If have is a main verb in the sentence and refers to states, there are two possible sentences – We have a car, _____?

We have a car, haven't we? mostly British English
We have a car, don't we? mostly American English

4.3. Use will/would with imperatives (Simple Present).

Open the window, will you?
Open the window, would you?
Don't open your books, will you?

4.4. We use won't with a polite request.

Open the window, won't you?

4.5. We use shall after Let's.

Let's take the next bus, shall we?

4.6. Auxiliary must

We must be at home at 8 pm, mustn't we?

Yes, we must.
No, we needn't.

4.7. Personal pronoun I

I am late, aren't I?

This form is commonly used (mostly informal). It is because there is no contracted form for am + not (amn't). Grammatically correct would be: am I not. This is only used in formal situations.

Questions with question words and the verb be

Questions with question words – be (am, are, is)

Question word	Verb	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you	from?	I am from Stuttgart. I'm from Stuttgart.
What	is	your name?		My name is Peter.
How	are	Pat and Sue?		They are fine. They're fine.

Questions with can

Use can every time regardless the subject.

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Short answer
Can	you	speak	English?	Yes,	I	can.
Can	you	climb	a tree?	No, No,	I I	can't. cannot.
Can	he	play	rugby?	Yes,	he	can.
Can	Mandy	read	poems?	Yes,	she	can.
Can	they	sing	nice songs?	No, No,	they they	can't. cannot.

In WH-questions (questions with question words) can goes after the question word.

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	can	they	ride?		They can ride skateboards.
Where	can	Frank	play	the trumpet?	Frank can play the trumpet in his room.
When	can	she	see	her friends?	She can see her friends after school.

Questions with have and have got

1. Yes/No Questions and short answers

1.1. have as a main verb

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do	you	have	a cat?	Yes,	I	do.
Do	you	have	a new car?	No,	we	don't.
Does	your brother	have	a bike?	Yes,	he	does.

1.2. have as auxiliary (have got)

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Have	you	got	a cat?	Yes,	I	have.
Have	you	got	a new car?	No,	we	haven't.
Has	your brother	got	a bike?	Yes,	he	has.

2. Questions with question words (Wh-questions)

2.1. have as a main verb

Questions word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	do	you	have	your ruler?	I have it in my pencil case.

2.2. have as auxiliary (have got)

Questions word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	have	you	got	your ruler?	I've got it in my pencil case.

NOTE:

In American English we only use have. In this case have is a main verb. So we need the auxiliary do for questions and short answers.
In British English we usually use have got. In this case have is an auxiliary.

Questions in the Simple Past, Questions with did

1. Questions without question words in Simple Past

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Did	Max	play	football?	Yes, No,	he he	did. didn't.
Did	you	watch	the film yesterday?	Yes, No,	I I	did. didn't.

BUT:

to be	Subject	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Were	you	in Leipzig last week?	Yes, No,	I I	was. wasn't.

2. Questions with question words in Simple Past

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	did	you	play	yesterday evening?	I played computer games.
When	did	she	meet	her boyfriend?	She met him yesterday.
Where	did	they	go	after the match?	They went to a café.

BUT:

Question word	to be	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	were	you	yesterday?	I was at the cinema.

Questions in the Simple Present, Questions with do, does

1. Questions without question words in Simple Present

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do	you	read	books?	Yes, No,	I I	do. don't.
Does	Peter	play	football?	Yes, No,	he he	does. doesn't.

2. Questions with question words in Simple Present

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	do	you	play	on your computer?	I play games on my computer.
When	does	your mother	go	to work?	She goes to work at 6 o'clock.
Where	do	you	meet	your friends?	I meet them at the bus stop.

Questions with who and what – Subject – Object

1. Subject questions

Question word	Verb	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest
Who	runs	to the shop?	Peter	runs	to the shop.
What	happened	yesterday?	A tragedy	happened	yesterday.

2. Object questions

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Who	do	you	like?		I like my mum.
Who	did	Mandy	phone	last Monday?	Mandy phoned her uncle.
What	does	he	read?		He reads detective stories.

Mind the difference in meaning in the following two questions:

Subject question	Object question
Who phoned John?	Who did John phone?

Question words in English

Question words with examples

Nearly all question words in English start with the same two letters – WH. That's why questions with question words are also called WH-questions.

Question word	Example
where	Where do you live?
who	Who are you?*
who	Who did you phone?**
when	When do you get up?
what	What is this?*
what	What are you doing?**
why	Why do you smoke?
whose	Whose book is this?
which	Which bus do you take to school?
how	How old are you?

* This is a subject question.

** This is an object question.

For more information see: Questions with who and what – Subject – Object

Short answers in English

Why do use short answers?

We do not use only Yes or No to answer a question. This is not polite. We use short answers. Here are some examples:

Yes/No question				Short answer
Is	he		from London?	Yes, No,	he he	is. isn't. *
Are	the boys		at your school?	Yes, No,	they they	are. aren't. *
Can	you	play	ice-hockey?	Yes, No,	I I	can. can't. *
Have	we	got	ketchup?	Yes, No,	we we	have. haven't. *
Has	she	got	a mobile phone?	Yes, No,	she she	has. hasn't. *
Do	they	live	in a flat?	Yes, No,	they they	do. don't. *
Does	he	work	in an office?	Yes, No,	he he	does. doesn't. *
Did	it	rain	yesterday?	Yes, No,	it it	did. didn't. *
Are	they	writing	a test now?	Yes, No,	they they	are. aren't. *
Have	you	been	to Scotland?	Yes, No,	I I	have. haven't. *
Has	she	been waiting	for long?	Yes, No,,	she she	has. hasn't. *
Is	he	going to see	his sister?	Yes, No,	he he	is. isn't. *
Will	we	arrive	on time?	Yes, No,	we we	will. won't. *

* Use long forms instead of contracted forms to emphasize your answer.

Do you like fish? – No, I do not.