Question Formation

Questions are sentences that ask for information. To ask a question correctly in English, you need to put the words in the right order.

What You'll Learn

• How to arrange words in the correct order when forming questions
• The difference between Yes/No questions and Wh- questions
• How to use helping verbs (do, does, did, is, are, can, will) to form questions

When to Use

1. Asking Yes/No questions: "Does she like swimming?" (The answer is yes or no.)
2. Asking Wh- questions: "Where did you go yesterday?" (The answer gives information.)
3. Asking about actions happening now: "Is he playing at the playground?" (Using the present continuous tense.)
4. Asking about the past: "Did they visit the zoo last week?" (Using the simple past tense.)

How to Form

In P2, you learnt the question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) and how to ask simple Yes/No questions. Now, let us focus on getting the word order right.

Yes/No Questions

For Yes/No questions, the helping verb comes before the subject.

Pattern: Helping verb + subject + main verb + rest of the sentence + ?

Wh- Questions

For Wh- questions, the question word comes first, then the helping verb, then the subject.

Pattern: Question word + helping verb + subject + main verb + rest of the sentence + ?

Special Case: Questions with "Who" or "What" as the Subject

When who or what is the subject, you do not need a helping verb. The word order stays the same as a statement.

Compare:

• "Who ate the cake?" (Who is the subject -- no helping verb needed.)
• "Who did you invite?" (You is the subject -- helping verb "did" is needed.)

Key Rules

1. Swap the subject and helping verb: In a statement, the subject comes first. In a question, the helping verb comes first. "She is happy." becomes "Is she happy?"
2. Use "do", "does", or "did" when there is no helping verb: If the statement does not have a helping verb (is, are, can, will), add one. "He likes pizza." becomes "Does he like pizza?" (not "Likes he pizza?")
3. The main verb goes back to base form after "do/does/did": "She plays tennis." becomes "Does she play tennis?" (not "Does she plays tennis?")
4. Put the question word at the very beginning: The question word always comes first. "Where does she live?" (not "Does she live where?")
5. Always end with a question mark: Every question must finish with ? not a full stop.

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Helping verbs that start Yes/No questions:

is, am, are, was, were, do, does, did, can, will, shall, would, could

Question words that start Wh- questions:

who, what, where, when, why, which, how

Common question word phrases:

how many, how much, how often, how long, what time, what kind

Tip: Think of the "Flip Rule" -- to turn a statement into a Yes/No question, flip the subject and the helping verb. "He is running." becomes "Is he running?"

Practice Tips

1. Start with a statement: Write the sentence as a statement first, then rearrange the words into a question. "She is reading a book." becomes "Is she reading a book?"
2. Find the helping verb: Look for words like is, are, do, does, did, can, or will. That is the word you move to the front.
3. Check the main verb: If you used "does" or "did", make sure the main verb is in its base form (play, not plays; go, not went).
4. Read it aloud: Say your question out loud. If it sounds odd, the word order might be wrong.

Quick Reference